In reference to the “Pledge of Allegiance” hubbub lately:
There is a fundamental hypocrisy in demanding changes of an inherently Socialist educational system. By definition, a State-run school will have very little direct oversight by the populace, but will instead exist as any other Socialist entity: as a jobs program, and most importantly as a way to perpetuate its own existence as a State institution.
By submitting to a State-run institution, a person may not pick-and-choose by which rules he will abide. If the State dictates that person swear allegiance to a god or a flag in which he does not believe, that person must swear so, based on that person’s prior, implicit submission.
The people who have a problem with public schools make no effort to shut those schools down. They have made no effort to move their kids to a private school, especially if that move means adjusting their standards of living. They have not written their congresspersons. They have not joined local groups to form better education options in their areas. They will not call in sick tomorrow to protest on the White House lawn. They might complain meekly about the terrible state of public schools, but they will not allow their complaints to interrupt their golf games.
I have no sympathy for those who send their children to public schools. The important lesson here is, “You get what you pay for.” The expense of private schools is also irrelevant. By having a child, a person has a personal responsibility to care for that child, and that responsibility extends to ensuring the best education possible, even if this means the parent must cut back on her SUV habit, or his gardening projects.
There is a pervasive and highly incorrect concept, in this country and others, that education is a “right”. There is no such right. Education and information have always been and will always be an extremely valuable commodity, and as such are usually quite difficult to obtain. Our current American education system is not and has not ever been geared towards education. Rather, it is designed for indoctrination.
W00t! My Bloginality is INTJ!
“As an INTJ, you are Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging.
This makes your primary focus on Introverted Thinking with an Extraverted Intution.
This is defined as a NT personality, which is part of Carl Jung’s Rational (Knowledge Seeking) type, and more specifically the Mastermind or Scientist.
You aren’t as openly affectionate as some of you NT counterparts, and this may cause other bloggers to assume you aren’t as friendly. Your ideas and actual applications for these ideas are brilliant, however, and you might be more likely to create something masterful on your journal.“
Yes, masterful, such as my subtly rebellious comments-posting popup windows, or my iconoclastic dada-esque System links.
Susi is trying out for Nintendo’s “Ultimate Summer Job”. As the site says, there can be only eight members of the Nintendo Street Team, so go vote for her a lot!
War Chalking, invented by Matt Jones, is a simple set of symbols used to denote discovered 802.11 wireless networks.
Other than the one Robert set up at our apartment, do any of you readers know of some nice WiFi networks in the Atlanta area?
Irritated by the NY Times‘ moronic insistence on harvesting your private information before letting you read documents on their site? Try out the NY Times Login Generator!
Recipe for easy use and management of Open-Source Unix apps on OSX:
1. Download and install the Apple Developer Kit. It’s a pretty hefty install at around 500MB, but you’ll need it for the Darwin C compiler, cc.
2. Download and install X11 for OSX.
3. Download and install the OroborOSX window manager.
5. Finally, download and install FinkCommander.
FinkCommander is an excellent, indispensible GUI interface for the command-line Fink package manager. It allows you to update your installed Unix packages at the touch of a button, and to search for new packages by name or by keyword.
If you’re interested in what Open Source has to offer, this is an excellent way to dive in.
I really hate nosy people, especially when I’m at work.
“What’s your last name?”
“It’s just Eric, from ___, in Atlanta.”
“You don’t have a last name?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s strange…”
“I’m adopted.”
“..Oh.. I see…”
“Have a nice day. Goodbye.”
