makeshiftmind

“Thanks to Laissez-Faire Books, we are able to bring you a free audiobook, ‘The Market for Liberty’. This brilliant book explains why government is an unnecessary evil and how the Free Market is superior in every possible way. You may download it in five ways…” 

So, today I learned that in World War II, the 22nd Company of the Polish army adopted a brown bear named Voytek as their official company mascot.  They purchased him from a small boy in Iran who found him almost dead, and they nursed him to health.  The short of it is that he grew to be one of the troops (literally — they enlisted him) and traveled with the 22nd everywhere.  He was fond of smoking, drinking, and wrestling with his comrades.  During combat, he would haul boxes of ammunition to his friends on the front lines.  He was also responsible for uncovering an enemy spy in the 22nd’s bath house.

You think I’m making this up don’t you?  If only.  This story is frankly, way too entirely awesome for me to make up.  Read more about it in this excellent article from Badass of the Week.  Or if you’re still in doubt, the BBC will put your mind at ease.

<sarcasm>Maybe we should start sending bears to Iraq.</sarcasm>

Four prominent atheists (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens) spend a few hours talking about religion and their own beliefs.

Hour 1

Hour 2

What could be more awesome that a level 70 warlock with dark magic superiority? I’ll tell you what could be more awesome. The legendary Stefen Colbear, Paladin of Truthiness.

But alas my friends, our hero will never grace the halls of Stormwind, visit the Great Forge, or become the scourge of the Hellfire Peninsula. According to this truthworthy source:

Upper Deck hired artist Todd Lockwood to produce the above image for a special WoW TCG card inspired by The Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert — a known video-gaming and role-playing enthusiast. Lockwood’s finished product depicts a microphone-sword wielding Human Paladin named Stefen Colbear, who exudes the very essence of Truthiness. Unfortunately, Colbert’s agent nipped the idea in the bud.

Why!? Why Colbert Report blockheads!? Is the attention of millions of WoW players too little for you? Do the cries of the innocent not weigh heavy on your deafened ears? Hopefully our Great Hero will fare better in more traditional role-playing markets.

Fun Facts!

Legendary Stefen Colbear quotes incorrectly attributed to Minsc:

• Butt-kickin’ for goodness!
• Take heart fellow adventurers, for you have curried the favor of Boo, The only miniature giant space hamster in the Realm. My friend and companion ever since my h-h-head wound, he will lead us to victory!
• Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, watch it! I’m huge.
• Stand and deliver, that my hamster might have a better look at you.
• There be safety in numbers and I am two or three at least.
• Yes Boo, I agree. This group could do with a swift kick in the morals.
• I trust those who prey on children no farther than they can be thrown, even if I manage to throw them pretty far!
• These bars will not hold my wrath. Minsc will be free! Butts shall be liberally kicked in good measure.
• Ahhh, I prefer the bright day; evil must be able to see the justice I dispense!
• Make way evil! I’m armed to the teeth and packing a hamster!

(For the complete collection, please visit minscandboo.com (which, for obvious reasons, should be colbearandboo.com).)

The “punch mug” is one of those glorious devices that is necessary for two early morning activities: 1) drinking your preferred blend of delectable coffee; and 2) punching your boss in the FACE and yelling “ADJUST!” when he walks up to your desk at 8:05 AM and drops a shitload of work on you.

This really only makes sense if you’re a sci-fi gaming nerd.

This weekend I found a collection of great Javascript lectures that I thought I would share (for those of you who are freakishly nerdy and don’t have enough excuses not to have a life… like me…).  The first three series below should be watched in order.

Douglas Crockford is a Javascript architect at Yahoo! that works extensively with the Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) team.

The Javascript Programming Language – Douglas Crockford

- Part 1: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111593/1710507
- Part 2: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111594/1710553
- Part 3: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111595/1710607
- Part 4: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111596/1710658
- Slides: http://yuiblog.com/assets/crockford/javascript.zip

Theory of the DOM – Douglas Crockford

- Part 1: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111582/992708
- Part 2: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111583/996002
- Part 3: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111584/996008
- Slides: http://yuiblog.com/assets/crockford/theory.zip

Advanced Javascript – Douglas Crockford

- Part 1: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111585/1027823
- Part 2: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111586/1027832
- Part 3: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/111587/1027854
- Slides: http://yuiblog.com/assets/crockford/advancedjavascript.zip

Browser Wars Episode II: Attack of the DOM – Douglas Crockford

- http://video.yahoo.com/watch/287660/2006940

Quality – Douglas Crockford

- http://video.yahoo.com/watch/529579/2724346

Douglas Crockford’s personal site: http://www.crockford.com/

Honorable Justice H. Walter Croskey (2nd District, Division 3)
Divisions 1 – 5, 7 & 8
Ronald Reagan State Building
300 So. Spring St. 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Dear Honorable Justice H. Walter Croskey:

I am writing this letter in response to a recent court case over which you presided, JONATHAN L. and MARY GRACE L. v. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, filed 28 Feb., 2008. The conclusion of the case was, generally, that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children” according to California compulsory attendance laws, which are justified by the supposition that it is in the best interest of “society” that its members be educated. Further, there were four specific assessments made by the dependency court regarding the petitioners’ mode of home education:

1. “the home schooling the children were receiving was ‘lousy,’ ‘meager,’ and ‘bad’ …”
2. “keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where… they could interact with people outside the family”
3. “keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where… there are people who could provide help if something is amiss in the children’s lives”
4. “keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where… they could develop emotionally in a broader world than the parents’ ‘cloistered’ setting”

As a home-school graduate in the state of Missouri, I would like to briefly state why I think home schooling is a natural right of all individuals; and why, if the above accusations against the petitioners’ are indeed true, they are the exceptions to the rule.

First, I believe that society is a collection of individuals who are conjoined by mutual self interest and a desire to protect those interests. As such, society is an abstraction and has no existence or properties outside of the voluntary associations of its members. Education is an intensely personal matter, and while very important to the development of the human mind, should not be forced on anyone. Compulsory attendance laws are designed with good intention – lawmakers fear that individuals, left to their own devices, would prefer to be stupid and likewise deprive their own children of education. I have no doubt that this would be the case in some situations, but the fact that parents across the United States routinely choose to 1) carve out large amounts of their own time to educate their children while 2) maintaining, often-times, two or more jobs to continue paying high education taxes that their children gain no benefit from, and 3) continue to fight legislation that would prohibit them from exercising this freedom, eliminates all doubt that people can and will educate themselves, even in difficult circumstances.

Second, I contend that the accusations leveled by the dependency court against the home schooling family in this court case are certainly unusual and do not represent the methods or results of the home schooling community at large. Even if they did, however, the abuse of a right by one or a few individuals does not justify encroachment on that right.

As I mentioned before, I am a home school graduate (class of 2001). I attended public elementary school in Missouri for six years (K-5^th grade), was homeschooled 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade, attended a private school for my freshman year, and continued home schooling through the remainder of high school. During that time, I met many other home schooling families, most of which I still maintain contact with today. I have numerous friends who were home schooled, and I would like to cite a few examples of the exemplary results produced by their education.

• My wife was home schooled for most of her primary education. She now works at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP., the largest international accounting firm in the world, holds two undergraduate degrees, one in philosophy and one in accounting from the University of Missouri St. Louis, and a Masters degree in accounting from St. Louis University. She has published papers in philosophical journals, and takes a special interest in feminist issues.
• My friends Norman and Katelyn are former home school students that now study at the University of Austin Texas. Norman holds two undergraduate degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from the University of Missouri, Rolla, and is currently working on his PhD in chemical engineering and Masters degree in theology. Katelyn is finishing her undergraduate degree in music composition, has already started her Masters degree in music theory and cognitive science, and is a phenomenal pianist and vocalist. Both of them are active in campus political groups, and recently hosted a rally for Texas Congressman and former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.
• My friends Perry, Micah, and Ezra, who are all sons of Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, are in the Navy. Perry and Micah have graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Ezra is not far behind. All are exceptionally intelligent, and serve their country with pride.
• My friend Sarah, who recently graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University as a Physician’s Assistant, now works as a humanitarian medical worker among the Sudanese people in Africa. Of all my friends, she has traveled to the most foreign countries, and is perhaps the most outgoing person I know. Her command of medical facts is, frankly, intimidating.
• My brother, sister, and literally hundreds of other home schooled people I know make good livings, are socially adept, and are actively involved in community affairs.

These people are all within the sphere of my own personal experience. St. Louis is not a large city, and yet has a tremendous home schooling population.

Third, I believe that home schoolers are acutely aware of the social needs of their children. As I stated before, I attended both public and private schools, and I know first-hand that socialization problems do not cease to exist in institutional school settings. There are always the misfits, the outcasts, the shy, the nerdy, and the undesirables in any social setting, including public and private schools. And if recent years have taught us anything, it is that the growing socialization problem in schools is beginning to produce people who address their social anxieties by gunning down people on campus. This is a travesty.

Home schoolers are a microcosm of the voluntary social model. Parents know that 1) they are often inadequate to teach certain subjects, 2) their children will benefit from socialization with other children, and 3) their children will benefit from socialization with other adults. Contrary to popular belief (and it is popular, because I hear it all the time), home schoolers construct private, voluntary organizations to help each other overcome these problems.

When I was finishing high school, I was employed at a local community center established by a philanthropic couple specifically for helping home schoolers. The center offered structured, parent-led classes for anyone who wanted to attend. Parents were given the opportunity to use their own education and career knowledge to help each others’ children learn. Over time, more and more parents offered to teach courses in subjects like Latin, macro-economics, physics, speech and debate, American history, etc. When I left to attend college, the general attendance was well over one hundred home school students per semester.

Another way home schooling families help each other is by organizing field trips to local educational institutions in the St. Louis area. We have a tremendous zoo and a Science Center, as well as a wolf sanctuary, wildlife refuge, national parks, history museum, art museum, etc. Families will often take trips to these places together to provide a social context and learning experience for their children.

Finally, I believe that home schooling is a great equalizer. When you home school, there are no social “castes” that exist in institutional schooling. There are no jocks, nerds, goths, skaters, punks, popular crowds or deadheads. Everyone is, more or less, on an equal playing field because everyone is responsible for their own education. No student is forced to compete with or lend assistance to any other student, and yet they do. This is the great secret of free social organization. When people are not coerced into “classes” or “castes”, when they can’t lobby some higher authority for privilege (whether it be a teacher, coach, counselor, etc.), their own wellbeing falls squarely on their own shoulders and they are much more likely to recognize the value of cooperating with others to achieve mutual goals. I believe this is why home schooling is valuable, and why it produces tremendous results, exceptions notwithstanding.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Nicholas Cloud

HSLDA is reporting that a recent court case in California could effectively destroy the right of California residents to home-educate their children.

On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a juvenile court proceeding that declared that almost all forms of homeschooling in California are in violation of state law. (Private tutoring by certified teachers remains an option.) Moreover, the court ruled that parents possess no constitutional right to homeschool their children.

The actual court decision states that:

The trial court’s reason for declining to order public or private schooling for the children was its belief that parents have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home. However, California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children. Thus, while the petition for extraordinary writ asserts that the trial court’s refusal to order attendance in a public or private school was an abuse of discretion, we find the refusal was actually an error of law. It is clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children unless (1) the child is enrolled in a private full-time day school and actually attends that private school, (2) the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught, or (3) one of the other few statutory exemptions to compulsory public school attendance (Ed. Code, § 48220 et seq.) applies to the child. Because the parents in this case have not demonstrated that any of these exemptions apply to their children, we will grant the petition for extraordinary writ.

The justification for taking the family to court in the first place was alleged emotional mistreatment by the family father. This is not an uncommon approach to attacking homeschooling families, but the father’s conduct should be investigated in a court of law apart from the question of homeschooling.

UPDATE: This has also been picked up by LewRockwell.com.

UPDATE: HSLDA has posted an online petition to depublish the unconstitutional court opinion. If I understand the terminology correctly, depublishing a decision basically prevents it from being cited as case-law in other court cases. As of now right now, there are 117,342 signatures.