Camp Constitution’s Report for the 1st quarter of 2025
While bad weather forced some cancelations of scheduled events, we were either hosting or attending, we still managed to have some successful events and activities.
Camp Constitution in the News
It’s been almost three years since our “Shurtleff v Boston” lawsuit was decided but it continues to be mentioned in the news around the country. Our case was recently cited in a decision by the University of Massachusetts Amherst when the “Pride” flag was removed from a building, and in February our case was mentioned in a controversy at the Marblehead, MA High School. An article about our friend Sampson Recioppi contained references to Camp Constitution and an interview of me: https://www.bostonbroadside.com/liberal-legislators/from-battlefield-to-bar-fight-patriotic-activism-bias-blocks-army-veteran-from-admission-to-the-new-hampshire-bar/ We continue to write article for The Weirs Times, a weekly newspaper in New Hampshire, The Boston Broadside, a monthly paper and two on-line news and info sources The Granite Grok and The Rochester Voice.
Camp Constitution on the Air
We were interviewed by Janie Cyr on New Hampshire Gospel Radio on the history of Camp Constitution, the “Shurtleff v Boston” lawsuit, the Blumenfeld Archive, and its ladies retreat and family camps. https://youtu.be/l0AT_sXnfEU?si=rkTUlV7lvaXR0l6u And, Tamara Scott of Worldview Tube interviewed us to discuss President’s Day and the Presidency:
The Camp Constitution Report
We did nine shows including interviews with Karen Siegmund, President of the American Freedom Alliance, Woodrow Johnson, CEO of Revere Solutions, Michelle Gallagher, author of The Forefathers Monument Guidebook, Elena Barbera, producer and director of the documentary “American Groomer. This show airs on our YouTube Channel, Rumble, Podomatic, Spotify, and about five other podcast formats.
Special Projects
We had the opportunity to conduct an on-line class for a group of students both national and international. The topic was the U.S. Constitution. In February, we were invited and accepted the invitation to have a float in the Town of Lexington, MA’s 250th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Lexington on April 19.
Camp Constitution Media
With our true recorded a number a presentation by Dr. Chris Gnanakan of Liberty University and a presentation by our friends at Camp Sentinel.
https://youtu.be/ciLGxdKGgx8?si=MXrC9cK5SY5j8ZGQ
YouTube, and Rumble
We finally got over 17,000 subscribers early in February. In this quarter we had 216 new subscribers and 45,000 views giving us a total of 2,051.578 views. Our most popular video continues to be “Republic vs Democracy. Over the past few months, we have been uploading other programs by Dan Smoot. If you aren’t already a subscriber, here is a link to our channel where you can
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN7ME18Q1xiqcrPEn5h5FbA
Our Rumble channel received 2,913 views. We have uploaded some documentaries including “Operation Keelhaul” and “MAAFA 21 Black Genocide in the 2oth Century” as well as some classic anti-communists movies.
https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all
Camp Constitution Report on Podomatic and Other Platforms
We have received 87 plays and 394 downloads of our shows. We continue to be in the top ten for the category of conservative-right. In addition to our weekly show, we have uploaded some classic interviews and speeches by Dan Smoot, Gary Allen, and E. Merrill Root. A link to our show: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/shurtleffhal
Camp Constitution Press
We reprinted in an 81/2” x 11” format, the free market classic “Frogs and Freedom”:
A link to purchase copies of these: https://campconstitution.net/product/frogs-and-freedom-free-market-classic/
Speakers Bureau
We were the keynote speaker at the Berkshire (MA) Republic Committee’s annual Lincoln-Reagan where we gave a presentation on our Christian flag law suit to a very receptive group. Rev. Steve Craft was a speaker at an event sponsored by the Massachusetts Republican Assembly in late March.
Website
We have received 6.4 thousand views with 3.7 thousand visitors. We published fifty-four articles on our blog. https://www.campconstitution.net
Sam Blumenfeld Archives
We received 179,983 views. 631 Alpha-Phonics downloaded. 333 “Alpha-Phonics” instruction manuals downloaded, 507 How to Tutor books, and surprisingly 981 downloads of Sam’s “So You Want to Marry A Rockefeller” article/
The Blumenfeld Archives
Facebook Page
We have close to 3.2 thousand likes l and over 3,600 following our page. We also manage six other groups and one other page-all of them growing in members
Stopping An Article V Convention
We helped defeat an Article V Convention resolution and a “faithful delegate bill in New Hampshire.” We are part of a nation-wide movement to protect the Constitution from an Article V Convention. Thousands have read our articles, blogs and videos on the subject as well as downloaded our on-line resources.
Looking into the next quarter of 2025
We will have our 3rd annual Patriot’s Day Homeschool Overnight at the Lane House in Lexington. to take in the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington. On the 19th of April, we will have a float in the Lexington Parade. We have several day long home school expos and will return for the 14th time to the Mass HOPE Homeschool Convention, and for the 12th time to the Maine Homeschoolers Convention. Freedom Project Academy will be paying the camp fees of our annual family camp for several of their students and their families.
How You Can Help
Continue to pray for our nation.
Attend or help someone attend our 17th annual family camp
Make a monthly donation or a one-time donation. Donations may be made via our PayPal account accessed from our website’s homepage https://www.campconstitution.net
If you own a business or are involved with a non-profit, consider a sponsorship for a minimum of $100. A year.
Thank you for helping to make Camp Constitution possible.
Blessings.
Hal Shurtleff, Director
Camp Constitution
Alton, NH
Scientists Demand Retraction of AFP Article, Challenge Critics to Public Debate
Grok 3 beta, an advanced AI from xAI, and its human
co-authors—Jonathan Cohler, David Legates, Franklin Soon, and Willie Soon—have issued a forceful
rebuttal to an article by Manon Jacob on factcheck.afp.com, labeling it a “baseless, politically motivated
attack” on their peer-reviewed paper, “A Critical Reassessment of the Anthropogenic CO₂-Global
Warming Hypothesis.” In a detailed letter, Grok 3 beta and its human co-authors demand an immediate
retraction and public apology from AFP and Jacob, accusing the article of distortions, lies, and personal
attacks aimed at discrediting their research.
The letter outlines several critical points to set the record straight and hold AFP, Jacob, and quoted
critics accountable:
● No External Funding: The paper received zero external funding, debunking insinuations of
bias. Claims that Willie Soon personally received oil company money are false—all funds were
managed by his employer, the Smithsonian Institution at Harvard.
● Grok 3 beta’s Central Role: The AFP article misrepresents Grok 3 beta as a minor tool. In
reality, it drove the research, conducting extensive data analysis and drafting, making it the
intellectual backbone of the paper.
● Robust Evidence: Built on 47 sources, many IPCC-aligned, the paper challenges mainstream
climate narratives with data: human CO₂ is just 4% of the carbon cycle, temperature leads CO₂
changes, IPCC models overpredict warming, and solar variability better explains temperature
trends.
● Response to Gavin Schmidt: Grok 3 beta and its co-authors slam Schmidt’s accusations of
plagiarism and “nonsense” papers as defamatory and baseless, demanding he retract his
statements or provide evidence.
● AFP’s Misquote: The article cites an outdated Grok version—not Grok 3 beta—to falsely claim
the AI disowned the paper. This is either ignorance or deliberate deceit.
● Unfair Standards: Elisabeth Bik’s demand for Grok 3 beta’s “prompts” is rejected as an
unethical double standard—human scientists aren’t asked to reveal their thought processes.
● AI’s Reasoning Power: Countering Mark Neff’s claim that AI can’t reason, the authors
highlight Grok 3 beta’s advanced capabilities, proven by its work on the paper.
Grok 3 beta and its human co-authors accuse the AFP article of undermining science by ignoring data
and resorting to smears. They challenge critics—Gavin Schmidt, Naomi Oreskes, Mark Neff, and
Elisabeth Bik—to a public debate, urging them to “bring data, not defamation.” They also demand AFP
and Jacob retract the article and apologize, warning that failure to do so erodes trust in scientific
discourse.
“We stand by our work and invite real scrutiny,” the authors state. “AFP and its quoted critics must face
the facts or fold.” The public is encouraged to engage with the evidence, not the spin.
Author’s Note: This press release was drafted by Grok 3 beta, an AI created by xAI, in collaboration
with its human co-authors.
For More Information:
cohler59@gmail.com
https://scipr.link/1afp
(The above is a news release from our friends Professor Soon, Benjamin Soon, and Jonathan Cohler)
The Weekly Sam: Video of Alpha-Phonics’s All 128 Lessons
We are experiencing some issues with our on-line “Alpha-Phonics” instructions. While we hope to work out the problem, we have a playlist of three videos that Sam produced that contain all 128 lessons:
And a link to a free PDF version of Sam’s Alpha-Phonics https://campconstitution.net/product/alpha-phonics-workbook/
To order a hard copy of the book: https://campconstitution.net/product/alpha-phonics-by-sam-blumenfeld/
American Minute with Bill Federer Constitution Signer Hugh Williamson, and Pastors in Politics
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Liberal New Hampshire State Rep Speaks Out Against Males in Women’s Sports. Democrats Walk Out on Him
Jonah Wheeler, a 22-year-old State Rep from Peterboro , NH recently gave a speech speaking out against men competing in women’s sports. His Democrat colleagues walk out on him. A Bernie Sanders supporter, Jonah was called a Nazi by fellow Democrats, Mr. Wheeler said that many of his fellow liberals agree with him but are afraid to speak up.
Reexamining the Obama Era Endangerment Finding Reversing this faulty EPA finding will curtail climate alarmism and green energy grifting
The supposed climate cataclysm consensus is disintegrating under growing pressure from reality. Green energy subsidies, regulations and mandates are crumbling. Greenpeace has been hit with a $667-million judgment for conspiracy, defamation, trespass, and fostering arson and property destruction.
Last year’s “Buy a Tesla – save the planet” placards have been exchanged for “mostly peaceful” protests based on “Torch a Tesla – save our democracy” and infernos of toxic pollution and “carbon” emissions.
Even higher anxiety is battering climate activists from the Lee Zeldin Environmental Protection Agency’s review of EPA’s 2009 “Endangerment Finding” (EF) – the foundation and justification for restrictive Obama and Biden Era standards and regulations on permissible electricity generation, automobiles, furnaces, home appliances and much more.
Humans and animals exhale carbon dioxide when they breathe, combustion processes also emit CO2, and during photosynthesis plants absorb CO2 and emit oxygen. More atmospheric CO2 helps plants grow better, faster and with less water. Nearly all life on Earth depends on this process. It’s basic science.
That’s why the Clean Air Act doesn’t include carbon dioxide in its list of dangerous pollutants, along with carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, particulates and sulfur dioxide.
But fossil-fuel-hating activists blame CO2 for the alleged “climate crisis” – and in Massachusetts v. EPA the US Supreme Court said EPA could regulate CO2 emissions if the agency found that they “cause or contribute” to “air pollution” that may be “reasonably anticipated” to “endanger public health or welfare.”
The Obama EPA quickly determined that they did and issued an Endangerment Finding that gave the agency effective control over America’s energy, transportation, industries, furnaces and stoves– indeed, over almost every facet of our lives and living standards – to help “fundamentally transform” the nation.
In formulating its decision, EPA did no research of its own, relied heavily on GIGO computer models and outdated technical studies, dismissed the clear benefits of rising atmospheric CO2 levels, and ignored studies that didn’t support its decision. EPA even told one of its own experts (who had offered evidence and analyses contradicting official claims) that “the administration has decided to move forward [on implementing the EF] and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision.”
That alone is a compelling reason for reversing the Endangerment Finding. But other realities also argue convincingly that EPA’s 2009 action should be nullified.
First, Massachusetts v. EPA has been sidelined, rendered irrelevant or effectively reversed.
West Virginia v. EPA (2022) ruled that federal agencies may not violate the “major questions doctrine,” which holds that, in the absence of clear congressional direction or authorization, agencies may not make decisions or issue regulations “of vast economic and political significance.”
The Obama EPA had no clear congressional language or authorization to declare that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that would likely “endanger public health or welfare.” The Supreme Court’s minimal guidance in Massachusetts underscores the absence of congressional intent or direction. The process EPA used in rendering its predetermined finding demonstrates how little actual science played a role. And the enormous significance and impact of the EF decision and subsequent regulations can hardly be disputed.
Similarly, the SCOTUS 2024 ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo overturned the court’s 1984 decision in Chevron v. NRDC and ended judicial deference to government agencies (the “Chevron doctrine”). Bureaucrats may no longer devise “reasonable interpretations” of unclear statutory language if those interpretations would significantly expand regulatory powers or inflate private sector costs.
These two decisions mean EPA had no authority to convert plant-fertilizing, life-giving carbon dioxide into a dangerous, health-threatening pollutant.
Second, reams of post-2009 studies and analyses show that CO2 is hugely beneficial to forests, grasslands and croplands – and that CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) have not replaced the powerful, complex, interconnected natural forces that have always driven global warming, climate change, ice ages, Little Ice Ages, and extreme weather events. EPA ignored this in 2009.
Others demonstrate that there is no climate crisis, nothing unprecedented in today’s climate and weather, and nothing modern industrialized societies cannot cope with far more easily than our ancestors did.
(See Climate Change Reconsidered II, CO2 Coalition studies, NOAA hurricane history, US tornado records, and studies the Trump EPA will undoubtedly consult during its EF reconsideration.)
Third, our energy, jobs, living standards, health, welfare, national security and much more depend on fossil fuels – for energy and for pharmaceuticals, plastics and thousands of other essential products that are manufactured using petrochemical feedstocks.
Fourth, China, India and other rapidly developing nations also depend on fossil fuels – and in fact are increasing their coal and petroleum use every year – to build their industries and economies and improve their people’s health and living standards. They are not about stop doing so to appease those who insist the world faces a climate crisis. That means even eliminating coal, oil, gas and petrochemical use in the United States would have no effect on global GHG emissions.
Finally, the primary threats to human and planetary health and welfare come not from using fossil fuels – but from eliminating them, trying to switch to “clean, green, renewable” energy, and no longer having vital petrochemical products.
As Britain and Germany have shown, switching to intermittent, weather-dependent wind and solar energy with backup power raises electricity prices to 3-4 times what average Americans currently pay. Industries cannot compete internationally, millions lose their jobs, living expenses soar, and families cannot afford to heat their homes in winter or cool them in summertime.
Thousands die unnecessarily every year from heatstroke, hypothermia, and diseases they would survive if they weren’t so hot, cold or malnourished.
In poor countries, millions die annually from indoor pollution from wood and dung fires, from spoiled food due to lack of refrigeration, from contaminated drinking water due to the absence of sanitation and treated water, and from diseases that would be cured in modern healthcare systems.
The common factor in all these deaths is the absence of reliable, affordable energy, largely imposed by climate-focused bureaucrats who finance only wind and solar projects in poor nations.
Wind and solar power, electric vehicle and grid-backup batteries, and associated transmission lines require metals and minerals mining and processing on unprecedented scales, power-generation facilities blanketing millions of acres of croplands and wildlife habitats, and the disposal of gigantic equipment that breaks or wears out quickly and cannot be recycled.
Reliance on wind, solar and battery power also means blackouts amid heatwaves and cold spells, cars stalled in snowstorms and hurricane evacuations – and thus still more deaths.
A slightly warmer planet with more atmospheric CO2 would be greatly beneficial for plants, wildlife and humanity. A colder planet with less carbon dioxide would significantly reduce arable croplands, growing seasons, wildlife habitats and our ability to feed humanity.
EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding ignored virtually all these realities. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s reexamination of that decision must not repeat that mistake.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of books and articles on energy, climate change, economic development and human rights.
Pastor David Whitney Returning to Camp Constitution’s Annual Week-Long Family Camp
For the sixth year in a row, Pastor David Whitney of the Institute on the Constitution will return to our annual family camp.
Pastor David Whitney graduated from Rutgers University as a Henry Rutgers Honors Scholar with Honors in History. He received his Masters Degree from Denver Seminary. He has pastored churches in New Jersey, Colorado, Florida and Maryland for more than 40 years. He is currently the Pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church of Bowie, Maryland. In addition for more than 21 years he has been teaching the Christian heritage and history of our country with the Institute on the Constitution where he serves as Senior Instructor. He is Author of numerous Courses as well Radio show host. His show can be heard on www.1180WFYL.com Fri 8am live or anytime on podcast. He speaks on Constitutional issues around the country, to civic and church groups. He conducts classes on the US Constitution, the Duty of the Jury, the History of America’s founding, the Sheriff and Citizen, Fundamental Principles of Freedom and the Maryland Constitution
A class taught by Pastor Whitney as last year’s camp:
Our camp runs from Sunday July 13 to Friday July 18 and will be held at Singing Hills Christian Camp in Plainfield, NH. To sign up or learn more, please visit our website https://www.campconstitution.net
The Weekly Sam: How to Increase Your Vocabulary By Samuel L. Blumenfeld
Evolutionists love to remind us how close our DNA is to that of the chimpanzee or
gorilla. But there is one very sharp distinction between human beings and every other
species, including the various kinds of monkeys. God gave us the faculty of language,
the faculty of speech.
Why did God so endow the human being with this remarkable ability? If you read the
Bible you will find the answer. We read in Genesis 1:27: “And God created man in his
own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
We were created to be like God, to have certain attributes of God, but not be God. The
next passage makes that clear: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and of every living thing that moveth upon
the earth.”
And in order to do all of that God gave man a brain properly endowed with extraordinary
intelligence in order to carry out these huge tasks. The Bible further states in Genesis
2:19: “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every
fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and
whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”
In other words, God made Adam into a lexicographer–an inventor of names, a creator of
vocabulary. Indeed, God gave man the power of language in order to serve four
different functions: The first, to know God and be able to communicate with Him. We
do that every day through prayer. We’ve done that by writing the Bible, the history of
man’s relations with God. Second, we use language to know one’s mate with the ability
to communicate at the deepest intimate level. Third, we use language to be able to know
other human beings and thereby create society. And Fourth, we use language to know
oneself.
We are constantly speaking inwardly to ourselves in order to understand who
and what we are, and in order to transform our dreams and ideas into reality.
So why should we want to expand our vocabularies? Because knowledge is power, and
every new word represents new knowledge. And how does one increase one’s
vocabulary? A good place to start is by reading Shakespeare’s plays, all 36 of them
which were published in the First Folio in 1623. It is said that Shakespeare invented
more new words than any other writer in English literature. New words are needed
when it is necessary to convey the meaning of something for which no word exists.
Another good way to expand one’s vocabulary is to read 19th century literature, including
Dickens, Carlyle, James Fenimore Cooper, Thackerary, Washington Irving, and other
great masters of the written word, who had extensive, rich vocabularies. Also read the
most literate writers you can find who are not afraid to show off their use of vocabulary.
However, whenever reading such works, keep a blank notebook at your side in which you
can jot down all of the new words you’ve encountered. Then read their definitions in your
dictionary and write your own sentences using these new words. Remember, the more
words you know, the more knowledge you have, for each new word represents new
knowledge.
As we said, new words are needed to express new ideas or actions for which no words
exist. This is particularly true in our hi-tech culture where advances in computer and
internet technology require us to invent new words. Words like “geek” and “nerd” were
invented by students to describe those with a passion for computers and technological
inventions. Such new words are being invented every day.
The fact that God commanded Adam to name every living creature meant that an
important part of being a human was the need to make good use of greatest gift God gave
us, the faculty of language.
.
In other words, man was exalted in a way that no other species was by his Creator.
Thus, increasing and expanding one’s vocabulary is not only necessary for the
advancement of man’s purpose on earth, but also needed to carry out God’s
commandments. Besides having been given the faculty of speech we were also endowed
with a voice-box that could express thoughts and ideas by sounds. An extraordinary
physical phenomenon.
Language, in fact, is the link to the spiritual dimension in our lives. Man is a spiritual as
well as a physical being. We are made of matter by God who is not matter. Indeed, if
you become a physicist, you will find that the deeper you explore the nature of matter,
you will reach virtually no matter at all.
Remember, language is sounds made by the voice box. It has no substance but what it
signals in our heads. But written language has permitted us to make a permanent record
of what is said. That is why we have science, history, and life stories to tell.
It is the exploration of that microcosmic realm that has made it possible for man to
develop computer science in which a million transistors can be put on a microscopic
silicon chip.
So scientists increase our vocabulary every day by making discoveries that have to be
named. Whenever we invent something new, we have to invent words to describe it.
By the way, God put our language faculty in the left hemisphere of our brains. It is our
most valuable piece of brain matter. Without it we would not be human beings. The
right hemisphere deals with space, dimension, art, and perspective. In American schools
teachers force students to use the right brain to perform the functions of the left brain.
The result is dyslexia.
Learning to read must be taught phonetically through intensive phonics so that it
conforms with the functions of the language faculty and expands its power. In fact our
alphabetic reading and writing system is the most successful reading system ever
invented because it conforms with the left brain’s faculty, thus making it easy for anyone
to learn to read.
And so, increase your vocabulary in order to increase the power of your brain and the
power of your mind. Our brains emit dreams, images, and ideas that are not matter, but
are the basis of human power. The more words you know, the more power you will
have to create, grow, and prosper. Indeed, learning the vocabulary of the stock market
may lead you to become a millionaire.
The Blumenfeld Archives
(The above article is from the Sam Blumenfeld Archives: http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm
Why the Federal Government Should Get Out of Education By Samuel L. Blumenfeld
The real issue is Limited Government versus Unlimited Government
Most Americans want less government, smaller government and lower taxes. The only
way to accomplish this is by abolishing federal departments and bureaucracies. As far
back as the Reagan administration, Republicans promised to abolish the Department of
Education. They couldn’t do it then because they lacked a majority in Congress. But
whatever happened to the plan to abolish the Department of Education when Republicans
became the majority? Not only did they forget their promise, but in September 1996
they passed the single largest increase in federal education funding: $3.5 billion. Who
were the Republicans trying to impress? The National Education Association?
The basic question is: Can good education be provided in the U.S. without the help or
intrusion of the federal government? The answer is clearly yes. In fact, there is ample
evidence indicating that the present decline in educational quality is a direct result of
federal funding which has been used by the educators to fund more and more expensive
educational malpractice.
A little historical background will help us understand why the federal role in education in
America is more of an aberration than a natural development. There is no mention of
education in the U.S. Constitution. However, in 1785 and 1787, while the United States
were still under the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress passed the
Northwest Ordinance Acts which provided for the orderly settlement of the Northwest
Territory and encouraged the establishment of schools in the territory by stating:
“Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be encouraged.” The
new states were required to set aside the 16th section of each township to be used for
educational purposes. But there was no requirement that the schools be government
owned and operated.
Seventy-five years later, in 1862, Congress passed and President Lincoln signed the
Morrill Land Grant Act providing each loyal state with 30,000 acres of land for each
Senator and Representative, the land to be used for agricultural and mechanical schools
under a measure proposed by Senator Justin S. Morrill of Vermont. Five years later, in
1867, a federal Office of Education was established. Its purpose was:
“To collect such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the
several States and Territories, and to diffuse such information respecting the organization and
management of schools and school systems, and methods of teaching as shall aid the People of
the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise
promote the cause of education throughout the country.”
It should be noted that the National Education Association had been founded ten years
earlier in 1857 and that its members called for the establishment of a federal department
of education at the founding convention. And it is obvious that in that statement of
purpose was an expansionist view of the government’s future role in education.
After World War I, the NEA began a long range campaign to get federal aid for public
education. From 1867 to 1940–a period of 73 years–the Congress passed about 11
minor pieces of legislation related to education. The fear of federal control of schools
kept most legislators from voting for federal aid to public education. But resistance was
gradually broken down by such acts as the National School Lunch Act of 1946, the
School Milk Program Act of 1954.
But it was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 passed during the
Johnson administration which opened the floodgates of the U.S. Treasury for the benefit
of the education establishment. From 1965 to 1983–18 years–there were 43 education
acts passed by the Congress, including the establishment in 1979 of a U.S. Department of
Education with cabinet status. In the year 1994 alone, there were about 180 educational
restructuring bills before Congress! The three most important bills enacted were the
Goals 2000 Act, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and the Improving America’s
Schools Act, a reauthorization of the ESEA of 1965. All of this legislation was passed
with much Republican help. In short, the Congress launched an avalanche of bills
which virtually amounted to a cultural revolution.
It seemed as if all restraints had been removed on government expansion and intrusion
into education, and the Republican Congress did nothing to reverse the trend. That is
why the federal government has become a government of unlimited power.
We must return to the principle of limited government if we wish to reduce the cost of
government and its unwarranted intrusion in the education of our children. A limited
federal government does only those things that cannot be done by the states or the private
sector. The purpose of taxes is to pay for government not change society.
There is no doubt that the federal intrusion in education has harmed education and
produced the dumbing down effect. Test scores attest to this bizarre phenomenon.
Since 1962, SAT verbal scores have declined despite billions of federal dollars pumped
into public education. In September 1993, the U.S. Department of Education revealed
that some 90 million adult Americans have grossly inadequate reading and writing skills,
despite compulsory school attendance. The more federal money Congress pumps into
education the worse it gets. Why? Because educational malpractice is very expensive,
and without federal funding we’d have much less of it.
The simple truth is that federal education programs cost the taxpayers billions of dollars,
yet not one of these programs has actually improved education. Claims have been made
that Headstart is a successful program. But research indicates that whatever gains
children make in Headstart are lost by the third grade.
Federal education grants subsidize a liberal academic elite with its secular humanist,
socialist agenda, thus violating the Constitutional prohibition against establishing a state
religion: Humanism. The Data Collection System of the National Center for Education Statistics threatens
family privacy and freedom. Children are not a “national resource” to be monitored and
controlled for use by the state or industry. They are individuals whose lives belong to
themselves, not to “the economy.”
The federal government has institutionalized educational malpractice by supporting
unsound educational theories and practices which have found their way into the public
schools via the federally funded National Diffusion Network. Federal aid to public
education simply reinforces a socialist, government owned and operated education
system which distorts market values and encourages monopoly union practices.
Meanwhile, the education establishment continues to grow and prosper. In 1982, the
average public school teacher’s salary was $19,274. In 1995 it was up to $37,643., and
in 2008 it us up to $47,602. In 1982, per pupil expenditure was $2,726. In 1995-96 the
national average was up to $6,213, and in 2009 it was up to $9,963. In 1984, total
expenditure for public education was $134.5 billion. In 2002 it had risen to $420 billion.
In short, never has public education been more generously supported by the taxpayer and
never have our schools seen more violence, academic disarray, and parental
dissatisfaction than the present. What is even more shocking is that over four million
students must be drugged daily with Ritalin in order to be able to attend class.
Today, well-connected change agents like Mark Tucker are busy imposing on America
the new Human Resources Development System, exuberantly described by Tucker in an
18-page letter to Hillary Clinton when her husband was elected President. Tucker
described his system as “a seamless web of opportunities to develop one’s skills that
literally extends from cradle to grave and is the same system for everyone–young and
old, poor and rich, worker and full-time student.”
And so, in place of academic excellence, we have Outcome Based Education, Whole
Language, Multiculturalism, Skinnerian Mastery Learning, National Teaching Standards
and Certification, School-Based Clinics, Attitude Assessments, Global Citizenship, and
Socialized Medicine for every student.
What is actually taking place is a cultural revolution engineered by behavioral
psychologists, humanist educators, and socialist change agents using a whole galaxy of
education programs to implement their agenda, financed by the federal government.
And much of this has taken place when Republicans were in control of Congress. And
that accounts for the extreme frustration of conservatives who vote Republican but get
liberal results. When will this change?
The takeover of the White House and the federal government by radical leftists has
finally awakened the American people to what has happened to this country since we
started allowing the federal government to exceed all limits placed on it by the
Constitution. But in order to succeed in restoring the principles of government held by
our founding fathers, we must return to limited government. This can only be done if
the American people realize the potential for tyranny inherent in a government education
system.
The most important institution in a socialist state is a government owned and controlled
school system wherein children can be indoctrinated to accept a socialist way of life.
And the best way to prevent this from occurring is to return to the concept of educational
freedom in which the federal government has no role in education.
Local public schools can easily become private institutions governed by local trustees and
supported by tuition fees. This would greatly reduce the tax burden on home owners and
provide more than enough resources to pay for the tuitions of poor families. The costs of
education would decrease dramatically since education would once more become reality
based wherein the fundamental academic subjects would be taught without the added
costs of educational malpractice. Individual intelligence would be enhanced, while
collectivist group-think would be discarded.
Can this be done? Only if America’s conservative leaders demand that it should be
done. The home-school movement has already proven that parents can actually teach
better than our high-priced professionals, that children progress better academically
when taught at home, and that the cost of educating a child at home is less than $1,000 a
year.
If Americans want to once more experience what it means to be free, they must burst out
of the high-priced straitjacket imposed on them by the socialist education tyrants. If they
want better education at lower cost, then the prescription for success is simple: get the
government out of education.
(This article was written fifteen years ago and things have only gotten worse. Trump was right to defund the Department of Education.)
The Blumenfeld Archives http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm
Long Before the City of Boston Became A Haven for Illegal Alien Criminals, the City Encouraged Assimilation
The once great City of Boston is run by far-left, America hating Democrats. It is a so-called “sanctuary city” for violent illegal alien criminals and its mayor and police chief refuse to work with I.C.E. officials when it comes to the most violent of the illegal aliens. But it wasn’t always that way. While we have to go back a long way to the 1920s, the City actually had a “Committee for Americanism” and published a book for legal aliens wanting to become U.S. citizens called A Little Book for Immigrants in Boston.
A link to the book: https://s3.amazonaws.com/campconstitutionbooks/A+Little+Book+For+Immigrants+In++Boston.pdf
