I believe the time has come. Scratch that. I believe it has been long overdue. America’s experiment of all experiments, public education, needs to come to an end. From start to finish, it has been an utter failure. Don’t believe me? Witness the result. Our children consistently fall far behind their worldwide peers in math, science, and reading. Parents are charged a menu of exorbitant fees over and above the massive taxes they and others pay. Across the nation, inequality and segregation are rampant. Dropout rates are staggering. Class sizes are of epic proportions. I could go on and on. Quite honestly, if we can’t compete with the Czech Republic, we’ve got issues. And, it isn’t because our children are stupid.
End the Experiment
2 September 2010 by John Swanagon
Election ’10
25 August 2010 by John Swanagon
The mid-term elections are nearly upon us. I’m not excited, nor am I hopeful. Why? Because nothing will change. It is guaranteed that there will be more Republicans in the next Congress. I could care less. I can’t stand the Democrats, nor can I stand the Republicans. Both parties are all about big — no, gigantic — government. One wants to create a myriad of government entitlements and regulations while the other wants to do away with the U.S. Constitution (except for the second amendment), feed greed, turn corporations into full-fledged citizens, and pass tax cuts until the cows come home (which will be never, by the way). So it doesn’t matter who wins. Spending will go up, taxes will go down (only for the wealthiest of Americans), deficits will increase, and our country will go bankrupt. That is why I am not excited, nor am I hopeful. In my eyes, “R or D — whatevah!”
Regret
19 August 2010 by Vernetta Swanagon
Regret is a hard word.
Living a Nightmare
15 August 2010 by John Swanagon
Are there days where you feel like you are living a nightmare? I feel this way often. Honestly, who’d have ever thought — a decade ago — that our country would be deep in debt, in the beginnings of a second Great Depression, engaged in two unnecessary wars, and well on the way toward imploding? Who’d have thought it? After all, we were at peace, we had a balanced budget, jobs were available to those that wanted them, and America was leading the world in a high-tech revolution. Now look at us.
Reviewed: Precision M6500
12 August 2010 by John Swanagon
On Wednesday, my new baby arrived; the Dell Precision M6500. After just two days with it, I can only describe it as “superb”. This new system replaces my three year old unit, the Dell Precision M6300. Dell’s Precision Mobile Workstations are designed for professionals who need the power of a high-end workstation in a mobile package. Since its inception, Precision Mobile Workstations have enabled architects, designers, artists, and developers to accomplish, on-the-go, what they used to have to do in a single place. As a Software Architect, it gives me the ability to be anywhere, anytime.
Christians Abandoning God
7 August 2010 by John Swanagon
I don’t know when it started. The cynic in me likes to think it started with George W. Bush’s Coup d’état in 2000. However, I know it started well before then. What I am referring to, of course, is the slow and steady abandonment of God, by a growing number of Christians. As an individual who loves God and his Son, Jesus Christ, I am dismayed.
What Would You Do?
2 August 2010 by John Swanagon
Suppose someone, someone you really care about, comes to you with a problem. They confide in you and, at some point, ask you to help them with it. On the surface, their request is simple enough. However, as with most things in life, it is complicated. On one hand, you really care about this person and want to help them while on the other, what they want you to do comes with a hefty price tag. And, to be clear, it is not the kind of price tag that involves money. Instead, it is one of significant personal sacrifice and risk. What would you do? Would you say no or would you say yes?
Hate, Exclusionism in Faith
19 July 2010 by John Swanagon
In recent weeks, I have been contemplating how hate and exclusionism exist in and around faith. I don’t understand how people, who claim to love God and walk with Jesus, can say God “hates” someone they don’t know while pointing a Bible at them. Furthermore, I refuse to understand how anyone could ever say a family isn’t a ‘good fit’ to hear God’s message at their church. (True story. I overheard it at a Christian Bookstore no less.) That deeply disturbs me. At best, it is ignorant; at worst, it is an explicit distortion of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Where are the Statesmen?!
16 July 2010 by John Swanagon
Where have the Statesmen gone? What happened to leaders such as Truman and Churchill who put country above all else? Why have we become a country where our leaders consistently put country last, if at all? And, when did we become one nation under greed instead of one nation under God?
Malone Out to Lunch
10 July 2010 by John Swanagon
In today’s edition of the Denver Post, it was reported that John Malone, Chairman of Liberty Media, is considering a “move out of Colorado” because “the U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate in the world”. To be frank, I am livid. First and foremost, Mr. Malone is grossly incorrect if not borderline naive. U.S. Corporations rarely, if ever, pay anything close to the tax rate he is referring to. Second, is this what we have become? Have we become nothing more than a country that says it is okay for companies to move overseas so they can avoid our taxes and avoid hiring our people while continuing to sell their products and services to us?! Is that what we fight — and sacrifice — for? Furthermore, it begs the question; how can Mr. Malone’s company legitimately call itself “Liberty Media” if it were to be based out of China?! Answer me that.