Caffeinated Thoughts |
- Mike Huckabee: Five Books He Recommends.
- The Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee Love Fest
- Iowa Senate to Consider Independent Private Instruction Today (Update: Senators to Focus On)
| Mike Huckabee: Five Books He Recommends. Posted: 30 Mar 2011 01:04 AM PDT
"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden) The Browser asks people in the news to recommend five books on given topics. Three prominent Republicans have been interviewed for the site, including[1] Mitch Daniels on Libertarianism and Karl Rove on Compassionate Conservatism. Because Mike Huckabee recently wrote a book called Simple Government, he was asked to recommend books on the topic of Simple Governance. Three the former pastor and governor selected were by Christian philosophers: C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Schaeffer's book Whatever Happened to the Human Race?[2] (and film of the same name) helped substantiate Governor Huckabee's principled and unwavering opposition to abortion. I am convinced that Governor Huckabee would rather lose an election than to budge one inch on the murder of unborn children. You cannot compromise on life and expect that the other two foundational rights of our republic will be upheld, for once a government or its citizens can deny you the former right, the other two (liberty and the pursuit of happiness, i.e., property rights) become meaningless. Huckabee said the book solidified his view that "the uniqueness of the United States and its Declaration of Independence was that all of us were created equal, the concept that one's last name or personal wealth or occupation or ancestry did not make one person more valuable than another person.…That the child with Down's syndrome had worth and value and we should not discount the worth of that child and say, well, this kid plays baseball really well, he's worth more than the kid who can't swing the bat. The C. S Lewis book Huckabee chose (The Problem of Pain) helps us understand the balanced view Huckabee on the health care debate, and Social Security. Lewis said that Pain is not in itself evil, but a part of life. There is no perfection in this life, no life without pain. It is what we learn from our pain that is most important, including patience and compassion for the pain of others. Huckabee adds "The point being that you have to remember there is a human being behind every decision you make." Bonhoeffer (in The Cost of Discipleship) wrote about the call of sacrifice of self[3], comfort, and life, for the truth of God's Word, and love of Christ. He famously wrote "when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Pastor Huckabee recalls the day he announced to his previously segregated Baptist church that a young black man was seeking to have fellowship with them and that if the young man was not made to feel welcome in the church, that Huckabee would himself would find another place to pastor. These three books by Christian philosophers indicate Huckabee's preference for theology which encourages more than private devotion, rather a daily life lived for Christ in the world. The other two books recommended by Governor Huckabee were the best-selling self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and a more recent book entitled How Democracies Perish by Jean-François Revel. Carnegie's book helped Huckabee to understand the importance of reaching out to help the governed rather than the governing while not showing preference to Wall Street over Main Street. The Revel book probably typifies Huckabee's view of welfare[4], personal responsibility and the role of the federal government: Revel's "whole point was that democracies perish when people recognise (sic) their ability to get something at others' expense, and when they continue to accelerate in that direction, there comes a point at which that society collapses." [1] Rove promoted historical books on Democracy and economics including the Federalist Papers, and Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Daniels's books were on the topic of libertarianism. Among them were Hayek's Road to Serfdom, and books by Milton Friedman and Charles Murray. [2] Co-authored by C. Everett Koop. [3] Sacrifice of self is different than self-sacrifice. The latter means denying yourself some benefit in order to help others, the former means totally giving up claim to owning one’s own life. It belongs to God. [4] Governor Huckabee was able to reduce the rolls of welfare recipients by almost 50% while Governor of Arkansas.
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| The Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee Love Fest Posted: 29 Mar 2011 08:15 PM PDT
Ok, this is Jonathan Martin so we have to take the story somewhat with a grain of salt since again none of the "aides" interviewed had names…. classic Martin fare. He does quote some of their recent remarks that make me wonder if Governor Huckabee is considering backing Barbour (or at least is being courted for an endorsement).
Ok he'd rather have no one on his side? Governor Haley "Let the main thing be the main thing" Barbour who seems to believe we need to neglect social issues? That guy? I understand he's a friend, but his strategy thus far I believe will be counterproductive. Haley has been gushing on Huckabee as well…
Martin seems to think that Huckabee's endorsement of Barbour would be political gold. It would not hurt, but don't believe that people will flock to him while Iowans are leery about where he stands on social issues. Barbour will have to earn social conservatives' trust. This back and forth between Barbour and Huckabee could indicate Huckabee's not running, or it could be two old friends talking. We'll see. Update: Fox News reports that a Huckabee Insider says Barbour isn't seeking an endorsement. If the POLITICO article is inaccurate, just add it to Jonathan Martin's collection. Share and Enjoy: |
| Iowa Senate to Consider Independent Private Instruction Today (Update: Senators to Focus On) Posted: 29 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PDT Iowa State Senator Bill Dix (R-Shell Rock) is moving to amend a homeschool friendly bill (as amended in its current form), SF 423, to also include independent private instruction language from HF 588. Bill Gustoff, the legislative liaison for NICHE (Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators) and Scott Woodruff from HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) explain what the key elements for this law include:
Iowa's current competent private instruction law passed in 1991 while moderate with its regulations (states like California, Pennsylvania, and New York have more rigorous homeschooling regulations) it is complex in its application. There are currently three levels of control in Iowa which statues, administrative rules and the Iowa Department of Education's "Competent Private Instruction Handbook." Sometimes these layers conflict with one another. The complexity doesn't help student performance, and in many cases makes it worse, and then there is the cost of all of this regulation to consider, Gustoff and Woodruff note that there are administrative costs (somebody is paid to keep track of all the regulation), family costs (paying supervisory teachers or paying assessment fees) and it may even keep people from moving to Iowa as homeschooling families take into consideration homeschooling laws before making a move. I can personally attest to that. When we have ever looked at an employment opportunity out-of-state, we have ruled some positions out because of that state's restrictive homeschooling laws. Like I said before, Iowa's are not great, but there are states that are worse. There are also neighboring states which have better laws. The Independent Private Instruction law would mirror those states like Missouri, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Kansas and Illinois also have some of the simplest laws in the country. If a homeschooling family moves to the Quad Cities – which side of the Mississippi River do you think they'd prefer to live as our homeschooling law stands today? Senator Dix's amendment would help make homeschooling laws simpler. Gustoff and Woodruff explain, "Since complex laws don't help children, cause significant administrative expense, and drive families away from Iowa, it is in Iowa's best interest to legislate a dramatically simpler method of complying with the homeschool laws." The Independent Private Instruction statute meets these requirements, so I encourage you to contact your Senator today and tell them to vote yes on Senator Dix's amendment to HF 423. Update: A little birdie up at the Statehouse told me that focusing on these particular Senators may bear fruit as they have been the most apt to go along with homeschool/school choice measures and/or they serve a district where the constituents are more supportive of measures such as these. They are…
Home School Legal Defense Association also included…
Also let's melt the Senate switchboard at (515) 281-3371. 2nd Update: Senator Dix's clerk just emailed me with the amendment number – S 3182 be sure to include that with any email or phone correspondence. Share and Enjoy: |
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