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No need to be here.

See my photos, here (small size but nifty flash gallery) and on Flickr.

Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing.

The rest is mere sheep-herding. -Ezra Pound

So I’ve been listening to Jason Lewis of late. He’s been stating things and then saying, “That is economics 101.” It has made me quite aware of the fact that I know pretty much nothing about economics. Well, I am certainly thankful that I have listened to his show and become enlightened. But that brings me to my point: Why, after seventeen years of schooling, do I not know anything about economics? Ok, I knew one thing: high demand and low supply = high prices. Of course, everyone knows that since gas prices have been a hot topic of late. Oh, and then there’s a college graduate that I work with who didn’t know how to do percents. Her excuse? “Math wasn’t my strong point.” Yes, another public school fail… oh, wait… she went to a Christian school? Never mind. What in the world are we doing during twelve or thirteen years of schooling? Not to pick on this certain graduate because I am quite sure there are many more that are in the same position as her, but I’m pretty sure I’ve also heard her say, when I have corrected her English/grammar, “English wasn’t my strong point.” Soo… it wasn’t English… it wasn’t math… may I ask what was your strong point? (Please note: If you know who I’m talking about, none of the rest of this applies to her. I’m just going to rant now.) I know. I bet it was government… or maybe accounting? Science? Biology? Surely history. Hmmm. My guess would be “none of the above.” It was probably more along the lines of… sports, entertainment, being cool with your friends, talking the latest TV show or movie… well, congratulations. I’m glad that I, as a taxpayer, am paying for your education.

Which brings me to my next point… why are we mandating a K-12 education anymore? I’m sure at one time it might have been a good idea, but now? Think about the average cost per student. Think about the money saved. You want to be a doofus flipping burgers for the rest of your life? No problem! No need to waste my money on forcing you through school! Of course, now that the (“public”) schools are government brain-washing centers, this will never happen.

Which rolls me right into my third point… the nanny state. That’s right. Think about it. Why are you told you have to buckle up or you’ll be fined? What difference does it make to the guy you crash in to if you are buckled up or not? That’s right, none. If you are not buckled in, no one will suffer except you. Now, of course, if you die or are injured, people will be sad… but shouldn’t that be your choice? Or take the smoking ban. Now, I’m all for not smoking. But why do we need the government to tell private businesses what the business can or cannot do on their property? Sure, it’s fine for them to ban smoking as long as you don’t smoke, but what happens when it’s time for the government to ban your “right”? Guess what? If you don’t smoke and don’t want to be around smoke, don’t go to a smoking restaurant. If enough non-smokers do that, business will be hurt and they’ll have to make the decision to go non-smoking or to close down. They, not the government, should make that choice. But, no, we have a RIGHT to go to our favorite restaurant and not be around smoke. What an inconvenience! To go to a different restaurant or to just stay home – why, what an injustice, a tragedy! A blow to the American dream…

I really could go on and on, but I’ll close with this, from Jason Lewis:

In a free country, you have the right to be foolish.

In an oppressive country, you give up the right to be foolish.

Ban foolishness! Sounds great, until going to church and hearing a preacher preach the Bible is considered foolishness. Whatever happened to freedom and personal accountability?

Oh, notice the new category: “rant.”