Sunday, May 27, 2012
ARE WE THREATENED BY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
For those readers who missed or have forgotten last week’s column, “Freedom of thought too precious to be ignored,” go to your newspaper recycling pile and dig out last Friday’s paper. It will help you gain some insight on the freedom of religion that is little recognized today.
The life and times of Roger Williams (1603-1683) and his contributions to the American ideals of the freedom of thought and faith needs to be told for every American generation. Freedom of thought and religion did not originate with him, but he gave the idea a great kick-start. History is littered with the sacrifice of many who envisioned the basic importance of individual freedom of thought and freedom of religious or non-religious practice.
Roger Williams was anything but a nobody. He was born in England, graduate of Cambridge, and mentored by the famous jurist Sir Edward Coke. Later he gave the poet John Milton lessons in Dutch in exchange for refresher lessons in Hebrew. Williams knew Oliver Cromwell, the military and political leader whose revolt lead to the English Civil War (1642-1651).
Williams was becoming a Separatist even before he left England for the Massachusetts colony in 1631. He wrote that the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal) was irredeemably corrupt. He also found Congregationalists and later the Baptists short of his ideals of freedom of thought and practice. Such a stand was beyond comprehension to his generation.
In October, 1635, Williams was tried by the Massachusetts General Court and convicted of sedition and heresy. The Court declared that he was spreading diverse, new, and dangerous opinions. The court ordered that he be banished.
Williams was convinced nothing to be more precious than soul liberty and freedom of conscience. Foe him true religious freedom demanded that church and state be separated; everyone had the natural right to freedom of religion. He did not attempt to change the civil government to suit his whims. He did not necessarily agree with other’s theology or church practices, but he was not in a holy war with secularists.
What we have today, over 350 years later, is the essence of freedom of religion, but not a lot of actual adherents. Take the example of the Amish faith. While society changes (some would say advances) the Amish stay with their horses and carriages, lack of many modern necessities, and simple faith. They are not threatened by the world around them.
The Amish may not agree with President Barack Obama’s tolerance of same-sex marriage but it does not affect their daily chores or worship. They see Christians as living in an unfriendly world but are not shocked nor threatened by it. The rest of us are “fighting the good fight of faith” against a sinful and secular world that threatens our faith. “If we could only get God back in government,” say some insecure Christians.
Those wanting to revamp the world to their interpretation of religion would make poor Amish believers. The Amish would go along with Roger Williams much more than many American Christians. Making America “Christian” is not the Eleventh Commandment. Living in this world does not mean we become a part of it. It would help if Christians learned to enjoy their faith more and spend less time trying to tear down the wall between church and state.
--30--
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT TOO PRECIOUS TO IGNORE
Freedom of Thought too precious to ignore
Providence, Rhode Island, had a unique beginning. Roger Williams’ 1630s “colony” was the first organized community that did not base its formation on a call from God. In addition, Providence Town was under no command from European kings or popes to bring the original inhabitants to Christianity.
It was a time when the vast majority of Protestant and Catholic clergy were paid by governments for their services to God and country. The old saying, “He who calls the tune pays the piper,” was true in this case and still is.
In New England, there were unnecessary burdens foisted on the believers by the clergy. For example: those who missed religious services were fined by the combined church-state system. Ministers were told where to preach in the early Puritan days. If a follower was excommunicated he or she could not even have conversation with town folks. Black-balled in the extreme.
Roger Williams’ practical opinions on freedom of thought and speech caused him to be forced from his Salem church. The Puritans’ law was a combined church-state authority. The church elders kicked Williams out of church and the legal authorities banished him from living in Massachusetts. He was forced in the dead of winter to flee his home and family. He had learned the Indian’s language and was their friend. They saved him and he lived with the tribe before finally founding what is now Providence, Rhode Island.
His colony in Providence (on land he purchased from the local Indians) provided not mere toleration, but an individual’s freedom from religious/state control and freedom of thought and speech. (For more, see the new book “Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul” by John M. Barry.)
Williams’ freedom of thought, speech and religion was a long-time in coming. He knew that such ideas had often led to torture and even death. Few clergy agreed with him, and certainly not Devine Rights kings. The Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut Christian leaders saw Williams’ ideas far too radical and definitely unscriptural; at odds with the Bible.
The Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors resembled a tenth century Christian crusade to save Jerusalem and the Holy Land. European Catholic missionaries were in the front lines in the conquistadors campaigns. They were not like today’ military chaplains; often ranked with commanding officers as they claimed innocent tribes for their faith and king.
Popes even had the nerve to divide the South American peoples between Portugal and Spain. It was like a religious Olympics as Jesuits and Franciscans and lesser Catholic orders fought for the souls of the savages. (The 1986 movie, “The Mission,” with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons is about 18th century Spanish Jesuits protecting a South American Indian tribe from falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.)
In 1644 Roger Williams wrote on the seriousness of freedom of the church from man-made government: “When they have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world, God hath ever broken down the wall itself …” (“The Complete Writings of Roger Williams,” New York: Russell and Russell, 1963.)
The third president of the United States, and his contemporaries evidently had read Roger Williams’ books. Here is a quote from Thomas Jefferson’s “Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia:”
“We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities ...”
The freedom of thought, speech and religion was won for us by scores of men with convictions like Roger Williams. It is too precious to ignore. These freedoms are threatened today, not by politicians, atheists, or Muslims, but by those seeking to revive the old Puritan spirit.
Britt Towery writes a weekly column every Friday. His e-mail: bet@suddenlink.net. His latest book “Strangers in a Strange Land” is about Texans in China, 1912-1950
Monday, April 16, 2012
Political-Religious Radio's King
BRYAN FISCHER: The preacher who desires to be king of politicaly-loaded Ultra Conservative Christian radio rides again.
In January 2011, Newsweek Magazine called Bryan Fischer "the media's new poster boy for right-wing extremism." On his radio talk show he has had a stream of notable conservative guests: Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Haley Barbour and Newt Gingrich.
The Stanford University and Dallas Seminary graduate began to gain fame finding ways to denigrate the lesbian-gay-bi-sexual-transvestite (LGBT) community. He admired the Holocaust revisionist writings of Scott Lively. Lively’s infamous claim to fame is that Hitler and his whole Nazi Party were gay.
Because of the “savage nature” of gay men, Lively says the Nazis were able to carry out the Holocaust. (It should be noted: Lively's work has been roundly and fully discredited by reputable historians, but facts never seem to bother Fischer.)
Just a tad of research reveals how utterly out of touch with the real world preacher Fischer really is. An example of his absurd thinking: In a November 2010 blog post at the American Family Association site, Fischer groused that the Medal of Honor, like American culture in general, was being "feminized" because it was awarded to soldiers who saved their comrades rather than soldiers who "killed people." Fischer demanded to know when it would be awarded again to "soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night."
If that does not make you want to throw-up Rick Santorium-style read on. Fischer called for "open season" on grizzly bears because two people were killed by bears in 2010 and "God makes it clear in Scripture that deaths of people and livestock at the hands of savage beasts is a sign that the land is under a curse." (Fischer has a neat sense of humor or he was absent from seminary on biblical interpretation day.)
At the end of Fischer’s two-hour call-in show on American Family Radio there is always a disclaimer that “the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio." The disclaimer now follows all AFR programs. Cuts down on possibility of being sued.
He argues that Muslims should be banned from serving in the U.S. military. He is actively waging a culture war and any publicity is good for his cause. There has been plenty of it from mainline media.
He claims he is spreading a muscular Christianity and being criticized makes him a hero to his followers. He calls his work “that of enriching social conservatives,” and bringing America back to it’s pilgrim glory.
Over 30 years ago AFA started out with a focus on the family values of abortion, same-sex marriage, and pornography. Now the main theme is if Barack Obama wins re-election, it will be the end of America for sure.
Bryan Fischer is asking us to boycott the national chain Home Depot for donating to gay-pride parades; he is sure the Tea Party ended slavery in America; Bill Clinton was responsible for the rise in oral cancer. The man is utterly clueless.
Repeatedly Fischer says "people on the Left never check their facts and simply repeat false information ...” which is something he would never do.
Finally, he is proclaiming that President Obama does not believe that the Constitution has any "moral authority and therefore it does not need to be obeyed." For his belief the cultural war is “a winnable war,” I nominate Bro. Fischer for the PRRA (Polito-Religo-Radio Award) for 2012. while making American Christian again. Just note the small print: be sure it’s his brand of Christianity.
In January 2011, Newsweek Magazine called Bryan Fischer "the media's new poster boy for right-wing extremism." On his radio talk show he has had a stream of notable conservative guests: Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Haley Barbour and Newt Gingrich.
The Stanford University and Dallas Seminary graduate began to gain fame finding ways to denigrate the lesbian-gay-bi-sexual-transvestite (LGBT) community. He admired the Holocaust revisionist writings of Scott Lively. Lively’s infamous claim to fame is that Hitler and his whole Nazi Party were gay.
Because of the “savage nature” of gay men, Lively says the Nazis were able to carry out the Holocaust. (It should be noted: Lively's work has been roundly and fully discredited by reputable historians, but facts never seem to bother Fischer.)
Just a tad of research reveals how utterly out of touch with the real world preacher Fischer really is. An example of his absurd thinking: In a November 2010 blog post at the American Family Association site, Fischer groused that the Medal of Honor, like American culture in general, was being "feminized" because it was awarded to soldiers who saved their comrades rather than soldiers who "killed people." Fischer demanded to know when it would be awarded again to "soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night."
If that does not make you want to throw-up Rick Santorium-style read on. Fischer called for "open season" on grizzly bears because two people were killed by bears in 2010 and "God makes it clear in Scripture that deaths of people and livestock at the hands of savage beasts is a sign that the land is under a curse." (Fischer has a neat sense of humor or he was absent from seminary on biblical interpretation day.)
At the end of Fischer’s two-hour call-in show on American Family Radio there is always a disclaimer that “the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio." The disclaimer now follows all AFR programs. Cuts down on possibility of being sued.
He argues that Muslims should be banned from serving in the U.S. military. He is actively waging a culture war and any publicity is good for his cause. There has been plenty of it from mainline media.
He claims he is spreading a muscular Christianity and being criticized makes him a hero to his followers. He calls his work “that of enriching social conservatives,” and bringing America back to it’s pilgrim glory.
Over 30 years ago AFA started out with a focus on the family values of abortion, same-sex marriage, and pornography. Now the main theme is if Barack Obama wins re-election, it will be the end of America for sure.
Bryan Fischer is asking us to boycott the national chain Home Depot for donating to gay-pride parades; he is sure the Tea Party ended slavery in America; Bill Clinton was responsible for the rise in oral cancer. The man is utterly clueless.
Repeatedly Fischer says "people on the Left never check their facts and simply repeat false information ...” which is something he would never do.
Finally, he is proclaiming that President Obama does not believe that the Constitution has any "moral authority and therefore it does not need to be obeyed." For his belief the cultural war is “a winnable war,” I nominate Bro. Fischer for the PRRA (Polito-Religo-Radio Award) for 2012. while making American Christian again. Just note the small print: be sure it’s his brand of Christianity.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Making Movies in 1945
The Making of “Don’t Try Anything”
The making of the 8mm TSG film on the tank-training grounds of old Camp Bowie, Brown County, Texas, in 1945 was an event that went unnoticed by the public. It was not not expected to have a wide release. Using black and white film was a major decision. Who with TSG could afford color? TSG name comes from the major share-holders, actors and writers: Towery, Swan and Graves.
Work on the picture could only be done when school was out and some sunshine left. The three of us (Britt Towery’s comparades Joe Swan and Bob Graves have since passed away) created the story idea from our second floor office in the old Southern Building on Center Ave., in downtown Brownwood, county seat of Brown County, Central Texas.
Before the Southern Building was made into an office building it was the Southern Hotel. The three of us were employed now and again by the Lyric Theater, catty-cornered from the Southern Building. The Lyric, revived at the close of the last century, is now a community theater with all sorts of good entertainment. But no films, not ever the kind TSG once produced.
It was a very different world back in the first half of the 20th century. Not so many people and families owned most of the farms and neighborhood grocery stores. The county was dry, meaning that spirits could not be bought or sold. Unless you went into a frowned upon profession something like what Al Capone involved himself much earlier.
Bootlegging took talent, but our firm did not feel it wise to do a film or stories on them because it was just too risky.
Getting back to the film and major point of all this historic era of Texas westerns review there is not much to tell. It was not long until 8mm film was moving into Super-8 and with that an increase in film-making.
As far as known, the photo still from the movie is all that has survived. Audio was being put on a wire recorder which today’s media and public probably do not recall. It was a great invention that was later replaced by the reel to reel tape invention. No wire remains. If it did what could you play it on?
The film would without doubt been a trail-blazing success had it not been misplaced once our years as ushers and popcorn poppers at the Lyric ended and we all had to go to work for real
Bob Graves, whose sister-in-law Harrette Graves of New York City wrote for the Brownwood Bulletin forever, lived and died in John Steinbeck country. Wrote one magazine story that sold, had lot of wonderful kids and lovely wife.
Joe Swan was professor Photo-Journalism at San Jose State University, a little north of Steinbeck country, nearer home area of writer of “Call of the North.” He too had fine kids and wife. Laura was from Dallas and they met at Howard Payne College (now a university).
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Benefits of Early Language Study
Texans best hurry and learn Spanish.
The Chinese People’s Consultative Conference closed in Beijing with a proposal that surprised both the locals and foreigners.
It was proposed that lessons in the study of English should no longer be give in Chinese kindergartens.
Ling Zi, a respected deputy chair of the Chinese Confucius Academy, believes that English and other foreign languages should only be studied beginning in high school. The idea is to make sure students are given enough time to develop their Chinese skills.
The Confucius Institute offers cultural and Chinese language courses in 105 countries and regions, covering 86 percent of the world’s population. And 160 universities in 62 countries are working with the Institute to advance the language study. (Sweden plans to offer Mandarin in all primary schools and Pakistani education authorities are making Mandarin compulsory for primary schools.)
China’s culture needs to be known and understood by the Han (94 percent of the population) and the other 50-plus ethnic groups. The traditional forms need bolstering, in historic buildings, language and ancient skills.
It is important to retain the old and traditional. But it is also a proven fact that the earlier a child studies a foreign language the greater will be the success.
By delaying foreign language study until their teens is not the road to take. Next to adults starting a second language the teenage years are the most difficult.
It is also unfortunate there are those who think learning a second language early is harmful to the child. Studies in all cultures have shown that learning a second language speeds up learning in other subjects, especially critical thinking and history-cultural studies.
China’s continued economic development benefits as more of the people learn English. In the tourist industry China needs thousands of interpreters in many languages.
In learning a foreign language the individual also learns about foreign culture; understanding more clearly why foreigners act the way they do.
There would be fewer wars if we got to know each other better.
The most effective way to teach children a second language is like the idiom “thrown them in at the shallow end” like a youngster learning to swim.
I did not learn to swim until I was in my late 20s. By then my fear of water was greater than when I was a child. So it is with language study. Start learning before the fear of the study gains the upper hand.
It is in the majority of American high schools that the student first encounters foreign languages. This is more than unfortunate, it is tragic. It is a lost cause to begin so late.
According to the Confucius Institute in Beijing the United Kingdom offers Mandarin language study in 5,200 schools.
All this about what others are doing should wake up Texians to study their neighbor’s language. San Angelo schools should begin the study of Spanish in kindergarten and carry it through all 12 grades of study. To do less is not fair to the student and certainly not good for the future of our city, state or nation.
China schools have made great strides in teaching English. But beginning a foreign language in the teen years is not a good decision and may yet be reversed.
Our schools have done and are doing a terrible job teaching foreign languages. With Texas soon to have a Hispanic majority, it is unwise to continue to ignore the study of Spanish.
--30--
The Chinese People’s Consultative Conference closed in Beijing with a proposal that surprised both the locals and foreigners.
It was proposed that lessons in the study of English should no longer be give in Chinese kindergartens.
Ling Zi, a respected deputy chair of the Chinese Confucius Academy, believes that English and other foreign languages should only be studied beginning in high school. The idea is to make sure students are given enough time to develop their Chinese skills.
The Confucius Institute offers cultural and Chinese language courses in 105 countries and regions, covering 86 percent of the world’s population. And 160 universities in 62 countries are working with the Institute to advance the language study. (Sweden plans to offer Mandarin in all primary schools and Pakistani education authorities are making Mandarin compulsory for primary schools.)
China’s culture needs to be known and understood by the Han (94 percent of the population) and the other 50-plus ethnic groups. The traditional forms need bolstering, in historic buildings, language and ancient skills.
It is important to retain the old and traditional. But it is also a proven fact that the earlier a child studies a foreign language the greater will be the success.
By delaying foreign language study until their teens is not the road to take. Next to adults starting a second language the teenage years are the most difficult.
It is also unfortunate there are those who think learning a second language early is harmful to the child. Studies in all cultures have shown that learning a second language speeds up learning in other subjects, especially critical thinking and history-cultural studies.
China’s continued economic development benefits as more of the people learn English. In the tourist industry China needs thousands of interpreters in many languages.
In learning a foreign language the individual also learns about foreign culture; understanding more clearly why foreigners act the way they do.
There would be fewer wars if we got to know each other better.
The most effective way to teach children a second language is like the idiom “thrown them in at the shallow end” like a youngster learning to swim.
I did not learn to swim until I was in my late 20s. By then my fear of water was greater than when I was a child. So it is with language study. Start learning before the fear of the study gains the upper hand.
It is in the majority of American high schools that the student first encounters foreign languages. This is more than unfortunate, it is tragic. It is a lost cause to begin so late.
According to the Confucius Institute in Beijing the United Kingdom offers Mandarin language study in 5,200 schools.
All this about what others are doing should wake up Texians to study their neighbor’s language. San Angelo schools should begin the study of Spanish in kindergarten and carry it through all 12 grades of study. To do less is not fair to the student and certainly not good for the future of our city, state or nation.
China schools have made great strides in teaching English. But beginning a foreign language in the teen years is not a good decision and may yet be reversed.
Our schools have done and are doing a terrible job teaching foreign languages. With Texas soon to have a Hispanic majority, it is unwise to continue to ignore the study of Spanish.
--30--
Credit Cards: America's Tragic End
A Major Reason For America’s Economic Dilemma
To those who say America is in the dump, I ask who then is at fault? Who or what has caused there to be so many homeless; so many people out of work; so much national debt; so many empty houses; sky-high food bill; record gasoline prices and the no-longer-stretchable dollar bill?
Some are blaming it on the out-of-touch Washington crowd we voted to serve our country. Blame it on the millions who could vote but don’t.
President Barack Obama has yet to close, as he promised, the U.S. prison on Guantanamo Bay – where torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners continues. He also said he would not be hiring lobbyists -- he did that and brought into his administration many who had caused the Wall Street and bankers crimes.
But don’t lay all the blame on the White House resident. The incredibly stubborn and uncooperative, can’t-care-less congress refuses to work for what is good for the country. When was last time our obscenely wealthy congress West Texas representative did something for the good of the people he swore to represent?
There is lots of blame for America’s mess. Being lied into one war (Iraq) and going after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan turned into an even longer war. Now Senator John McCain and some of his comrades want to begin a war against Iran.
We are in a fix not because of the war mentality or all the s0-called “patriots” of the Pentagon and the Halliburton-types.
One major reason for America’s disarray is not a secret, but a seldom acknowledged one. It all began with a small piece of cardboard that soon became plastic money.
It is easy to trace most of our people’s quandary to the once well-meaning and now toxic innovation: the development and promotion of THE CREDIT CARD.
About sixty years ago the curse of plastic charge plates began eating its way through the life and blood of this country.
In 1946 John Biggins, a Brooklyn banker, introduced a “Charg-it” card. Then Frank McNamara and Ralph Schneider came along in 1950 with the Diners Club Card.
The American Express (formed in 1850) saw the success of the Diners Club Card and in 1958 issued its first “never leave home without it” purple charge card. Theirs was the first card to be made of plastic.
Then Visa, MasterCard and a few others turned a very good thing into a monster. It has become a plague for people who cannot or will not pay off their balance each month.
It is a proven psychological fact that when using a credit card the buyer purchases more than when using cash. These companies know this fundamental shortcoming of our human nature, and use it with all their ads.
Credit card companies go beyond simple interest on their use. Ever tired to make sense of the requirements for payment on one of the demonic plastic plates? Usury is the word that comes most to mind. Usury is the archaic word for lending money at exorbitant interest rates.
No longer is a simple profit for credit card companies (and others in the retail business) but profit that that becomes greed: compound usury.
Before you think I have gone completely bonkers, remember that we ordinary folks are the laughing stock of these corporations. Every week one of these big banks or slimy plastic perverts sends me a letter “to solve all problems” with their card.
They provide plastic guaranteed to make us all paupers. American people average $10,000 worth of plastic debt. This is a greater danger than the National Debt.
"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" -- Proverbs 22:7. (Bible verses are common in a column about avarice.)
Benjamin Franklin is always good for a closing word. Here is one of his typical remarks: "Who goeth a borrowing goeth a sorrowing.”
--30--
To those who say America is in the dump, I ask who then is at fault? Who or what has caused there to be so many homeless; so many people out of work; so much national debt; so many empty houses; sky-high food bill; record gasoline prices and the no-longer-stretchable dollar bill?
Some are blaming it on the out-of-touch Washington crowd we voted to serve our country. Blame it on the millions who could vote but don’t.
President Barack Obama has yet to close, as he promised, the U.S. prison on Guantanamo Bay – where torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners continues. He also said he would not be hiring lobbyists -- he did that and brought into his administration many who had caused the Wall Street and bankers crimes.
But don’t lay all the blame on the White House resident. The incredibly stubborn and uncooperative, can’t-care-less congress refuses to work for what is good for the country. When was last time our obscenely wealthy congress West Texas representative did something for the good of the people he swore to represent?
There is lots of blame for America’s mess. Being lied into one war (Iraq) and going after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan turned into an even longer war. Now Senator John McCain and some of his comrades want to begin a war against Iran.
We are in a fix not because of the war mentality or all the s0-called “patriots” of the Pentagon and the Halliburton-types.
One major reason for America’s disarray is not a secret, but a seldom acknowledged one. It all began with a small piece of cardboard that soon became plastic money.
It is easy to trace most of our people’s quandary to the once well-meaning and now toxic innovation: the development and promotion of THE CREDIT CARD.
About sixty years ago the curse of plastic charge plates began eating its way through the life and blood of this country.
In 1946 John Biggins, a Brooklyn banker, introduced a “Charg-it” card. Then Frank McNamara and Ralph Schneider came along in 1950 with the Diners Club Card.
The American Express (formed in 1850) saw the success of the Diners Club Card and in 1958 issued its first “never leave home without it” purple charge card. Theirs was the first card to be made of plastic.
Then Visa, MasterCard and a few others turned a very good thing into a monster. It has become a plague for people who cannot or will not pay off their balance each month.
It is a proven psychological fact that when using a credit card the buyer purchases more than when using cash. These companies know this fundamental shortcoming of our human nature, and use it with all their ads.
Credit card companies go beyond simple interest on their use. Ever tired to make sense of the requirements for payment on one of the demonic plastic plates? Usury is the word that comes most to mind. Usury is the archaic word for lending money at exorbitant interest rates.
No longer is a simple profit for credit card companies (and others in the retail business) but profit that that becomes greed: compound usury.
Before you think I have gone completely bonkers, remember that we ordinary folks are the laughing stock of these corporations. Every week one of these big banks or slimy plastic perverts sends me a letter “to solve all problems” with their card.
They provide plastic guaranteed to make us all paupers. American people average $10,000 worth of plastic debt. This is a greater danger than the National Debt.
"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" -- Proverbs 22:7. (Bible verses are common in a column about avarice.)
Benjamin Franklin is always good for a closing word. Here is one of his typical remarks: "Who goeth a borrowing goeth a sorrowing.”
--30--
The Khan Academy
The Kahn Academy is the future!
The CBS 60 Minutes television program recently had a segment that blew me away. It was about a teaching program with videos in digestible chunks, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on a computer.
Sal Khan (MIT and Harvard) is the creator of this education tool. Khan is a math, science, and history teacher to millions of students around the world. Now that the program is backed by Bill Gates, Google and others. Sal Khan wants to make learning more accessible while putting fun and intellect on a higher level.
Sal Khan writes on the web site Khan Academy "I teach the way that I wish I was taught. The lectures are coming from me, an actual human being who is fascinated by the world around him."
It is a free world-class education for anyone. As soon as the 60 Minutes segment ended I looked up the web site. I fell in love with it immediately. I even scrolled down the thousands of videos and spent seven minutes of the history of algebra, with maps, markers and explanation of the earliest stuff on the subject.
Had I had such a learning opportunity in the 1940s I may have gotten interested in all kinds of math and science. I might have even made a passing grade.
The not-for-profit Academy is apparently an organization on a mission. Their goal of changing education for the better via a free world-class education for anyone anywhere is off to a good start.
The videos on world history caught my eye also. I enjoyed the short lesson and unique way it was presented. I wanted to stay at the computer all night. You might say I was impressed.
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
Students can make use of the 3,000 –plus video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.
There is more, like helping coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.
In the 60 Minutes piece Sanjay Gupta, the interviewer, watching Khan record a 10-minute economics lesson. “It's so simple - all you hear is his voice and all you see is his colorful sketches on a digital blackboard,” say Gupta.
“When Khan finishes the lecture, he uploads it to his website - where it joins the more than 3,000 other lessons he's done. In just a couple of years he's gone from having a few hundred pupils to more than four million every month,” continues the interviewer.Khan and his now expanded team has amassed a library of math lectures that starts with basic addition and builds all the way through advanced calculus. The courses are from kindergarten to college and beyond. I may get an education yet!
Sal Khan has tackled so many subjects that if you watched just one of his lectures a day it would take over eight years to cover it all. No excuse for the world’s peoples (who have the Internet) to reap the tremendous blessings of an education.
The Khan Academy office has the intense vibe of a Silicon Valley startup. The team is working to create software they hope will transform how math is taught in American classrooms. It is not the final answer to educating folks, but it is going in the right direction.
--30--
The CBS 60 Minutes television program recently had a segment that blew me away. It was about a teaching program with videos in digestible chunks, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on a computer.
Sal Khan (MIT and Harvard) is the creator of this education tool. Khan is a math, science, and history teacher to millions of students around the world. Now that the program is backed by Bill Gates, Google and others. Sal Khan wants to make learning more accessible while putting fun and intellect on a higher level.
Sal Khan writes on the web site Khan Academy "I teach the way that I wish I was taught. The lectures are coming from me, an actual human being who is fascinated by the world around him."
It is a free world-class education for anyone. As soon as the 60 Minutes segment ended I looked up the web site. I fell in love with it immediately. I even scrolled down the thousands of videos and spent seven minutes of the history of algebra, with maps, markers and explanation of the earliest stuff on the subject.
Had I had such a learning opportunity in the 1940s I may have gotten interested in all kinds of math and science. I might have even made a passing grade.
The not-for-profit Academy is apparently an organization on a mission. Their goal of changing education for the better via a free world-class education for anyone anywhere is off to a good start.
The videos on world history caught my eye also. I enjoyed the short lesson and unique way it was presented. I wanted to stay at the computer all night. You might say I was impressed.
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
Students can make use of the 3,000 –plus video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.
There is more, like helping coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.
In the 60 Minutes piece Sanjay Gupta, the interviewer, watching Khan record a 10-minute economics lesson. “It's so simple - all you hear is his voice and all you see is his colorful sketches on a digital blackboard,” say Gupta.
“When Khan finishes the lecture, he uploads it to his website - where it joins the more than 3,000 other lessons he's done. In just a couple of years he's gone from having a few hundred pupils to more than four million every month,” continues the interviewer.Khan and his now expanded team has amassed a library of math lectures that starts with basic addition and builds all the way through advanced calculus. The courses are from kindergarten to college and beyond. I may get an education yet!
Sal Khan has tackled so many subjects that if you watched just one of his lectures a day it would take over eight years to cover it all. No excuse for the world’s peoples (who have the Internet) to reap the tremendous blessings of an education.
The Khan Academy office has the intense vibe of a Silicon Valley startup. The team is working to create software they hope will transform how math is taught in American classrooms. It is not the final answer to educating folks, but it is going in the right direction.
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