Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Another quilt...doing what quilts do best.

One Spring Sunday Morning

One Sunday Morning

Bio for Alex Sutter

Some political writing I have been doing...a bio for Alex Sutter running for the Idaho House...

It was while serving on his local school board  that Alex Sutter began to understand how the strength of community governance was being eroded. No longer was his school district able to best utilize local resources and creativity to provide excellent educations for their children, all that was left for them to do was to fill in the blanks from the outline given to them by the state and federal governments. Alex, as one who believes that governance should always be done at the smallest level possible, was compelled to an in depth study of U.S. History and the ideas and intent of our Founding Fathers. He could see a gap between the ideal and the reality, and he sought the information so he could help bridge that gap.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Alex found residency an easy decision when confronted with where he wanted to make his life and raise his family. He would choose the state that had been so good to his wife and his wife’s family: he would be an Idahoan. After nine years of living in the Gem State, Alex, along side his wife Deanna is most importantly raising a family of freedom- loving Americans - Olivia, Jared, Luke, and Caleb, by name. He is building an insurance and real estate business in the Magic Valley and is involved in the professional organization that serves the insurance field, he is serving in his church community, holding positions in the Republican Party, and now putting himself forward to represent the interests of freedom- loving conservatives in Idaho’s District 25.

Through the financial concerns of owning a business, Alex understands how increasing taxes only serves to deter entrepreneurship and employment growth. He believes that in tough times like these, we can not foster prosperity while spending our children’s futures.
Alex understands integrity and courage in facing the difficult decisions of our day. Eight years in the Army Reserves and National Guard along with a two-year church service mission have been schoolmaster in these lessons. It is not always easy to make the hard choices, but Alex realizes the truth that doing the tough things now, will make the future much easier. Alex is dedicated to the idea that families are the first sovereign unit of society and are deserving of protection; that the least amount of governance possible is ideal; that charity and good-will must be encouraged on a local level; that Idahoans must develop the God-given talents within themselves and continue to build and grow businesses, educational institutions, charitable organizations, and families with the least amount of assistance from government as possible; that the Federal Government is limited by the constitution, and that the state of Idaho must stand strong in protecting its rights. If these things are accomplished, our brightest years are still ahead.

Compare these beliefs of Alex’s with his opponents reliance upon socialistic ideas, support of higher taxes, more government generated quasi-solutions, non-support for resolutions aiming to protect state rights. Alex Sutter is the clear choice for times such as these.

Friday, March 26, 2010

To all those who put so much work and effort into public education:  I respect your intentions, but I believe you have a master you do not quite understand.  I know I take a risk in posting this, but I believe that a cultural shift demanding education be done at a more local level would greatly improve our chances for maintaining liberty.  You who cry-out in opposition to the "Health-Care Bill," what do you think public education is...?

Humanists on Education:  quotes from the founders of today's educational system...


"I am convinced that the battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public classroom by teachers that correctly perceive their role as proselytizers of a new faith: a new religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the sparks of what theologians call divinity in every human being. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and new -the rotting corpse of Christianity together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent with the promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of 'love thy neighbor' will finally be achieved." ~John J. Dunhey in his essay, "The Humanist"



"Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American school is a school of humanism. What can a theistic Sunday school's meeting for an hour a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?" ~Charles F. Potter, in "Humanism: A New Religion"



"The children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone would be interdependent." ~John Dewey, signer of the Humanist Manifesto, Architect of the Modern Public School System



Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. In this way the teacher is always the prophet of the true God and the usherer of the true kingdom of heaven." ~John Dewey, Pedagogic Creed statement, 1887



"We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause." ~Horace Mann, "Father of the Public School System"



"Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life, because they're not tempted to think about any other role." ~William T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1889



"In our dreams... people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions [intellectual and character education] fade from their minds, and unhampered by tradition we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive folk." ~John D. Rockefeller, General Education Board



The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Ghatto is the source for many of these quotes.

Credit to Jasmine Bauchman of joyfullyathomeblog.com for gathering these quotes.

Gratitute

Thankful for:

1.  Spring sprouting all around

2.  12 yo Son loving Narnia class

3.  13 yo Son being soo tired from track and wrestling

4.  Lots of "littles" to always keep me cuddled

5.  A Husband who grabs a broom instead of harsh words

6.  Sea salt and cayenne pepper in infected wound (instead of ER bill)

7.  Enough tax return to pay all accumulated medical bills

8.  Quilting, piano playing, ever helpful daughter

9.  The possiblities of projects finished and new paint

10.  Coming Easter....and the brightness of hope for Eternal Life

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A New Earth...."enlightenment?"

A have just read a very important books for my life:  A New Earth by Eckart Tolle.  Now when this book was really popular a couple of years ago because of Oprah, I just brushed it off (I think I have a real problem doing the "popular" thing.)  But I just picked it up at the thrift store the other day because it was on a reading list by Oliver Demille.  Although, my "doctrine" and his are not the same, the overall philosophy and spirit of the book is deeply life changing.


Two points:  Ego - that voice inside your head that incessantly thinks, and is always trying to protect your percieved identity through forms, or material goods and ideas.  Our individual and collective egos are the main cause of contention and dissatisfaction in our lives.  Ego forces us to never live in the current moment, which ultimately is all there really is for us.  Ego wants us to always look forward to the grandiose of becoming, achieving, obtaining, purchasing something more....or stuck in the past replaying history.  As humans we will have a really difficult time ever completely ridding ourselves of ego, but just being aware of it begins to erode its hold.

Present moment - always stay consciously in the present.  If you are doing anything, whether perceived to be mundane or important...focus on it, feel it, see it, hear it, live it.  This doesn't preclude planning:  but be totally present when you are planning, do it with purpose.  This will open up excellence in your life, maybe even answer the question of quality from a previous post with Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintanence.  It connects so well with another of my favorite life-changing statements:  from Our Town by Thornton Wilder.  "Mama, just look at me, really look at me like you see me."