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| Christ Risen by Peter Paul Rubens Courtesy of artbible.info |
Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards
-- the things we live by and teach our children --
are preserved or diminished by how
freely we exchange ideas and feelings.
Walt Disney
Murchison, "What Texas Won't Teach": Thumbs UP!
I was browsing the paleoconservative website American Conservative (think Pat Buchanan) when I stumbled across this post. At first I thought it might reflect on K-12 curriculum or textbook battles, but I was surprised to find out it involved one of my alma maters (the University of Texas at Austin) and in particular how American history is taught there.
To provide some background a key point of discussion is a study from the National Association for Scholars (NAS). Peter Wood (president) describes the group's beginning and purpose:
NAS was founded [in New York] as the Campus Coalition for Democracy in the early 1980s—a gathering of mostly liberal academics alarmed by the rise of illiberal ideologies in their universities. Generally, they didn’t like racial preferences in admissions or hiring; they worried that the Modern Language Association was “abandoning” serious literature; and they were alarmed over the vociferous violations of academic freedom.My interpretation of "illiberal ideologies" is an abuse of the free market of ideas; topics are promoted or restricted based on extrinsic factors; NAS is particularly focused on the academic freedom of students whom are intimidated by actual or perceived abuses of authority (grading power, threats of university sanction, ridicule in the classroom, etc) Conventionally NAS is considered a "conservative" organization, a characteristic it rejects: it thinks the integrity of academia inquiry is at stake, and professional standards are being unduly subordinated to ideology.
The researchers found that “78 percent of UT faculty members were high assigners of RCG readings.” [Nearly 90% of those obtaining their PhD's over the past 20 years assigned politically correct race, class or gender reading lists.]
A few illustrations. During the 2010 fall semester—the period covered by the NAS study—UT offered, in fulfillment of the U.S. history requirement, “History of Mexican Americans in the U.S.,” “Introduction to American Studies,” “Black Power Movement,” “Mexican-American Women, 1910–Present,” “Race and Revolution,” and “The United States and Africa.”
Among reading assignments at UT: “Africanisms in American Culture,” “Chicana Feminist Thought,” “Lakota Woman,” “Little X: Growing Up in the Nation of Islam,” “The Shawnees and the War for America,” “When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality, and Power in Colonial New Mexico, 1500–1800”...NAS noted that there was scant coverage of key American source documents in reading lists of, e.g., the Federalist Papers, and expressed concerns what non-majors will take away from their history core requirement is (my words) politically correct nonsense versus "the larger political conflicts, institutional frameworks, and philosophic ideals that have governed the course of American history".
The university and student newspaper were predictably dismissive of the NAS study, but facts are stubborn things. It's not just grade inflation which has eroded the value of college degrees; the multicultural nonsense had started before I ever started college. I had to read Carlos Castaneda and attend a lecture by Alex Haley, but anyone arguing authors like these earned their place in a legitimate curriculum, even displacing core courses in Western Civilization, is not being serious.
IPPON!
I have already commented on Kathleen Sebelius' incompetent understanding of insurance:
At a White House briefing Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said some of what passes for health insurance today is so skimpy it can't be compared to the comprehensive coverage available under the law. "Some of these folks have very high catastrophic plans that don't pay for anything unless you get hit by a bus," she said. "They're really mortgage protection, not health insurance."There is no such thing as a "free lunch" or "free healthcare". These costs can be extraordinary (say, cancer treatment) or ordinary expenses that can be paid out of pocket (e.g., doctor visits, tests, meds, etc.) It is true that more comprehensive coverage will cover some out-of-pocket expenses--but you pay a lot more money for the policy. The difference is the insurance provider incurs costs for handling those transactions that are recaptured in the form of higher insurance premium. Just because someone is handling some expenses out of pocket doesn't imply he's getting less/inferior health care or paying more for his overall health costs.
Sebelius is promoting a bastardized version of "heath insurance (really "bundled health services"); government subsidizes employer-provided insurance, including minor out-of-pocket expenses. Of course, the person paying for catastrophic policies on his own isn't being subsidized by the government--Obama's version of equal protection.
Mankiw tongue-in-cheek responds to Sebelius' distinction of mortgage (i.e., bankruptcy) protection:
I have the same problem with my other insurance policies. My homeowner insurance doesn't cover the cost when my gutters need cleaning, and my car insurance doesn't cover the cost when I need to fill the tank with gas. Instead, the policies cover only catastrophic events, like my house burning down or a major accident. Now that the Obama administration has fixed the health insurance system, I trust they will soon move on to solve these other problems.Oh, God, let's hope not; I don't want the Obama Administration "fixing" those insurance plans up another third, too.
Entertainment Potpourri
I've spent Sunday afternoon with a 'The Bible' miniseries watchathon. The series has picked up phenomenal ratings for its Sunday evening time slot on the History Channel, roughly in the top 10 shows, across national networks or cable. Very good performances, great storytelling; there are some minor inaccuracies; you can review one such list here. The series concludes tonight, and the miniseries DVD set is for sale, starting this Tuesday. I have to smile over the biggest phony kerfuffle--that Satan looks like a dead ringer for Barack Obama.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Earth, Wind & Fire, "September"
Gallup Looks at Catholics in the USA
I just want to comment on the point that traditionally lower-observing Protestants are now outperforming Catholics. Whereas pedestrian progressive Catholics want to blame things like the real, unconscionable but grossly exaggerated sexual abuse scandal, I and other more traditional Catholics look more as poor leadership in the Church, excessive accommodation to the morally bankrupt culture, and unintended consequences to ill-conceived, pushing-on-a-string reforms. I can say these factors influenced my decision not to go to seminary after graduation.
