A Report on Camp Constitution’s 3rd Annual Weekend Retreat by Megan Schmitt
Camp Constitution held their 3rd annual family retreat up at Camp Sentinel in Tuftonboro, NH this past weekend and it was chock full of information, encouragement, and activities!
Friday evening, Reverend Steven Craft gave a presentation on Race Worship. He likened the race debate to the “Golden Calf of the 21st Century”, encouraging attendees to be modern day Davids up against a Goliath of racialized ideology. While some have weaponized race, we must remember that Jesus shed his blood for ALL of us, which makes us equal in the eyes of God. Kin folk, not “skin” folk!
We also had a Constitution 101 presentation by Camp Constitution Co-Founder, Hal Shurtleff! He recommended watching “A More Perfect Union” and reading “Christianity and the Constitution” by John Eidsmoe as well as The Federalist Papers. He reminded us that the amendments in the Bill of Rights PROTECT our rights – not grant them.
Saturday was a full day of activities and crafts for the kids, and speeches for the adults in the morning, starting with Michael King of Massachusetts Family Institution. He shared some concerning slides and papers put out in schools, like the ‘Genderbread Person’ for elementary/middle schoolers, ‘Gender Unicorn’ for kids as young as 4, and the Trever Project for teens; since they have begun making things like this widely known, they have managed to make Sex Ed an opt-in program and more than 7000 children have chosen to skip those classes, making it a home education topic instead. They have in fact had many victories regarding this topic and others in schools, have several National partners, and are paving the way in church-based education alternatives in MA!
A link to Mr. King’s presentation: https://youtu.be/GsP843c_6zc?si=-j3BDfEIzdwNMA73
Michael King of the Mass Family Institute Junior Campers taught by Mrs. Jessica Whitworth
We also got to hear some information and watch some videos from the Chandler family about the Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls programs. They operate for boys and girls, respectively, from ages 5 to 18+ and are a Christ-based alternative to Scouts. They are both Nationwide programs that can be joined here in New England, or parents can sign up to lead a new chapter if there isn’t one nearby.
After lunch there was a break with options to do recreational activities, go apple picking or shopping, or even visit the WW2 Museum in Wolfeboro. Our family opted into the WW2 Museum which had a few interactive exhibits for the kids, a huge number of artifacts, and a great hall of ages where you got an in-depth look at the years from 1939 to 1945. It ended with an up-close look at tanks and other military vehicles from the time. Though the word “democracy” was thrown around a little too often for my taste, it was definitely a worthwhile visit – make sure to check out their used book rack in the gift shop for some hidden treasures!
The film “Monumental” was being shown when we returned to camp – a great watch for the whole family! Camp Sentinel, where this retreat was held, was very accommodating with a warm fire all day, comfortable couches, and plenty of drinks and snacks!
The evening rounded off with Representative Paul Terry sharing how to Influence Elected Officials. He provided a packet of information to each attendee full of great information, tips, and action item checklists! One of the main points made was how blessed we are to live in NH where we have the largest number of representatives in the Nation! Each member of the House only has about 2,200 citizens they represent, which makes them incredibly accessible. Those of us who wish to see change need to take advantage of this fact – not just when we want something, but also to thank them or even just get to know them. A link to Rev. Terry’s presentation: https://youtu.be/rPXu954Q9So?si=sPY6Lc-qi7TOx8DA
NH State Rep Rev. Paul Terry
Rounding off the evening, Jack McCarthy, a representative for Tactical Civics spoke about the organization. They believe that the solution to the problems we are facing today include establishing County Grand Juries and Constitutional Militias. He also noted that learning your state constitution is just as (if not more) important as learning your US constitution.
Each morning of the retreat started with a flag raising ceremony overlooking the mountains, and every evening ended with a campfire accompanied by singing, poetry, readings, skits, and music. There were also a few tables available all weekend full of the different organizations’ information, sign-ups, books, and more.
Sunday consisted of worship led by Rev. Craft. After some singing, the children were led out for more crafts as the sermon began. This all centered somewhat around the race debate, but also dove into the division we bring on ourselves in politics and religion. Why do we focus on denominations, when we are all brothers and sisters of Christ, seeking Him in all things? We need to unify and strengthen ourselves in this fight between good and evil – because that is truly what we are facing now.
Finally, Hal spoke about his most recent book, “The Racists Roots of Planned Parenthood And Its Legacy of Death”. Did YOU know that over $500 Million in federal funds goes to Planned Parenthood? Or that Martin Luther King Junior was the first recipient of the Margaret Sanger award? Have you ever heard Sanger’s quote that seeing shrieking children in schoolyards made her feel her mission had failed? Did you know that one of Margaret Sangers collaborators was none other than Ernst Rudin, president of the International Federation of Eugenics organizations and later, Nazi director of sterilization and founder of the Nazi Society for Racial Hygiene? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, I highly suggest you purchase his book ASAP.
It was a wonderful weekend full of education, building connections, sharing God’s word, and having new experiences as a family. It’s also a great opportunity to support a good cause and check out the awesome library available through Camp Constitution. Check out their website (campconstitution.net) for more resources, and to learn how to sign up for the next Camp Constitution event!
The Weekly Sam: Please Sign Up For This Free On-Line Recourse
The late Sam Blumenfeld was one of the first in the country to recognize that America’s children were being deliberately dumbed down through government schools. It wasn’t something most parents wanted to hear in the mid-1960s. Through his writing, speaking engagements, and the hard evidence, some parents took action. Initially, Sam worked with local groups of parents to start private schools around the country. He even helped to start Hyde Park Academy in the mid 1970s-one street over from us where we used to live in Boston although I didn’t formally meet Sam until 1988.
Sam started to promote homeschooling long before it became as widely accepted as it is today. He is regarded as a pioneer in the homeschool movement. Sam passed away in 2015 and willed most of his papers, books and recording to me. Thanks to the efforts of our camp newspaper editor Mark Affleck, who spent hours digitizing Sam’s work and our webmaster Eric Conover, the Sam Blumenfeld Archive was created. It contains most of Sam’s writings including his Alpha-Phonics and cursive lessons. You can use the archive to teach phonics. Since its creation in 2015, we have people all over the world but mainly in the U.S. that are using it. A school in Zimbabwe and a teacher South Africa are using Alpha-Phonics with excellent results.
While we have promoted the archive at homeschool conventions, events where we are invited to speak, promotional; spots on a few radio stations, and homeschool groups, most of those who come to the site are by word of mouth. A link to the spot ad:
https://youtube.com/shorts/CC7MaLHpQPQ?si=F49jmBVYyUYL0vEk
We are asking our readers to visit the archives, sign up and then tell others about it. Here is a link to the archives:
http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm
The Blumenfeld Archives
Good News from Albania: Christianity Making Inroads
Good news form our friend Charl van Whk.
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The Weekly Sam: Do We Really Need Three Liberal New Yorkers on the Supreme Court? By Samuel L. Blumenfeld
The nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court by President Obama seems to
ignore the democratic notion that members of the Supreme Court ought to represent a
wide constituency of Americans.
If Kagan is confirmed, she will be the third liberal woman from New York City on the
Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, born in 1933, grew up in the borough of Brooklyn, New
York. Sonia Maria Sotomayor, born in 1954, grew up in the borough of The Bronx,
New York. And Elena, born in 1960, was raised in the borough of Manhattan. Indeed,
she grew up on the upper West Side, home to the largest concentration of liberals in the
United States.
All three women are quite capable lawyers, with distinguished careers in academia and
law, but representative of a very narrow political philosophy dominant in New York City.
America is a very big country, with fifty states, with lots of able legal minds that could
contribute a less leftist view of American politics and law. However, a brief review of
the backgrounds of the present justices should answer the question: do they represent an
adequate cross-section of the American experience?
Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was born in 1936 and raised in Sacramento,
California. His father was a noted attorney with influence in the California legislature.
His mother was active in civic activities. Kennedy graduated from high school in 1954
and then went on to Stanford University where he got a degree in 1958 in Political
Science. From there he studied at the London School of Economics, founded by Fabian
socialists as a means of capturing the minds of the elite. He then got a law degree at
Harvard Law School.
Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the oldest judge on the bench, was born in 1920 to a
wealthy family in Hyde Park, Illinois. His father, an attorney, became an owner of
hotels, and his mother taught high school. He attended elementary school at John
Dewey’s famous Progressive Laboratory School at the University of Chicago, got his
B.A. at the University in 1941, and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He then got
his law degree at the Northwestern University School of Law in 1947.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts was born in 1955 in Buffalo, New York, then moved with
his family to Long Beach, Indiana. His father was plant manager at Bethlehem Steel.
Roberts attended both elementary and secondary Catholic schools and graduated from
Harvard College with an A.B. in history. He then moved on to Harvard Law School,
where he got his J.D. in 1979.
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1936. When he
was six, his parents moved to Elmhurst, Queens, a borough of New York City. His father
became a Professor of Romance Languages at Brooklyn College, and his mother taught
in elementary school. Scalia attended public elementary school and the Jesuit-run Xavier
Catholic High School in Manhattan. He attended Georgetown University in Washington
and Harvard Law School where he got his J.D. He and his wife have nine children. No
wonder he’s a conservative!
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia, in 1948 to parents
whose ancestors were slaves. His father, a farm worker, left the family when he was
two. His mother, a domestic worker, unable to support her children, took them to live
with her parents in Savannah, Georgia. There Clarence fell under the strong influence of
his conservative grandfather who urged him to get a good education. Young Clarence,
raised as a Roman Catholic, almost went into the priesthood. He attended Holy Cross
College in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1971. Then to Yale Law
School where he obtained his J.D. in 1974. He was greatly influenced by the writings of
Thomas Sowell and Ayn Rand.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to Italian parents in
1950. His father, an immigrant, became a high school teacher and later Director of New
Jersey Legislative Services. His mother also taught school. After his graduation from
high school in Hamilton Township, a suburb of Trenton, Alito went on to Princeton
where he graduated in 1972. He then studied in Italy. Back in the U.S. he joined the
U.S. Army Reserve. In 1975 he obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School. He is the
second Italian-American and the 11th Catholic to serve on the Court.
Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer was born to a middle-class Jewish family in San
Francisco in 1938. His father was Legal Counsel to the San Francisco Board of
Education. After graduating high school he attended Stanford University where he got his
A.B. in 1959. From there he attended Oxford University. He finally got his law degree
from Harvard Law School. He became a Professor of Law and later taught at the very
liberal Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 1977-80.
So what do we have on the Court? Five Catholics: Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito,
Sotomayor. Two Jews: Ginsburg and Breyer, which will become three if Kagan is
confirmed. Two Protestants: Kennedy and Stevens. Two Italians. One Puerto Rican. If
Kagan replaces Stevens, there will be only one Protestant on the Court. That seems a bit
odd in a nation with an overwhelmingly Protestant population. But it is the Catholics
who represent the conservative view, while the Protestants and Jews usually vote liberal.
With Kagan we will have four New Yorkers, one of whom, Scalia, is conservative, two
liberal Californians, and two Midwesterners. The only law schools in America with great
political influence seem to be Harvard and Yale. But I think that many readers will
agree that the one truly remarkable American on the Supreme Court is Clarence Thomas,
descendant of slaves, whom the liberals tried so hard to destroy
(The above article is in the Sam Blumenfeld Archives where much of the writings and recording of the late Sam Blumenfeld are housed: http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm
The Blumenfeld Archives
An Open Letter to the U.S. Supreme Court by “Bear Arms” Kang
For about 50 years, the government of Massachusetts has been unlawfully
prosecuting and incarcerating otherwise innocent people for exercising our right to
keep and bear Arms, under the color of “licensing authorities,” who “impose
occupational fees or licensing requirements on a profession,” see MGL 6 § 172N.
The state’s “license to carry firearms,” like any other professional license, is
a requirement administered and enforced by the executive branch, specifically the
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The EOPSS regulates
persons who carry on businesses as gunsmiths or gun dealers, and those who carry
firearms “in the performance of their duties,” such as security guards, private
detectives, and auxiliary or volunteer police. However, there is no such thing as a
“license to bear arms” for personal use.
By prosecuting people exercising a constitutionally secured private right as
if it were a public entitlement, the Massachusetts government violates the public
rights doctrine, the major questions doctrine, the separation of powers doctrine, the
state’s Administrative Procedure Act, the Declaratory Judgment Act, and multiple
constitutional prohibitions and due process guarantees. This seriously undermines
judicial independence and deprives the courts of subject matter jurisdiction, as
fully explained in the amicus curiae briefs filed by Six New Hampshire State
Representatives in the cases of Commonwealth v. Dean F. Donnell and Philip J.
Marquis:
https://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/pdf/SJC-13561/
SJC-13561_05_Amicus_Gerhard_Brief.pdf
https://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/pdf/SJC-13562/
SJC-13562_04_Amicus_Gerhard_Et_Al_Brief.pdf
I humbly pray that you will help end this unconscionable injustice.
Happy Birthday U.S. Constitution
September 17 is a day that I customarily set-aside to walk around various business communities armed with pocket copies of the U.S Constitution and ask people I pass by: “What day is it?” “It’s Tuesday” was one answer. “National Donut Day” was another. But of all the hundreds of people I have asked only a handful know that September 17 is Constitution Day-one of the most significant days in U.S. History. It is the day that the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787.
On August 2, 1956, President Eisenhower enacted Constitution Week acting on a resolution passed by Congress at the behest of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 2004, Congress passed Constitution Day also known as Citizenship Day. The act also mandated that all schools receiving federal funds must provide educational programs on Constitution Day. I have been invited to speak at some of these schools as a result of this act and the first thing I tell them is that the act is unconstitutional since the U.S. Constitution grants no power to the federal government to fund school.
New Hampshire had two delegates to the convention: Nicholas Gilman and John Langdon. They didn’t arrive until July 23-two months after it convened. The reason for their tartines was that New Hampshire couldn’t afford to pay the expenses for them to attend, but Langdon covered the expenses for the both of them.
(Painting of Nicholas Gilman by Lyle Tanson)
Nicholas Gilman was born in Exeter in 1755. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of Captain. From 1786-1788, he served as a member to the Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Constitution Convention, there is no record of him making any speeches, but he played a significant role in getting the Constitution ratified in New Hampshire. About the Constitution, Gilman said that it was “the best that could meet the unanimous concurrence of the States in Convention; it was done by bargain and compromise, yet, notwithstanding its imperfections, on the adoption of it depends-in my feeble judgment- whether we shall become a respectable nation, or a people torn to pieces … and rendered contemptible for ages.”
He was one of the original members of the Order of Cincinnati founded by Henry Knox. He served as one of New Hampshire’s first members in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789-1797. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1805 by the New Hampshire legislature and died while in office in 1814.
John Langdon was born in Portsmouth in 1741. He was a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress 1777-1776 but resigned in June prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He supervised the building of several naval ships including the Ranger which was command by John Paul Jones. He raised Langdon’s Company of Light Horse Volunteers and saw action with his unit in the Battles of Bennington, Saratoga, and Rhode Island. As a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he spoke out against a proposal made by James Madison. He served as “president” of New Hampshire from 1785-1786 and again from 1788-1789. He was one of the first U.S. senators from New Hampshire, and later served as a legislator of NH from 1801-1805 and then governor of New Hampshire from 1805-181 He passed away in 1819.
Portrait of John Langdon by Hattie Burdette
On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution with a close vote of 56-51. The Cultural Marxists want us to denounce our nation’s incredible history. Let’s disappoint them. Let’s celebrate Constitution Day, and other important dates in U.S. History, and National Coming Out Day isn’t one of them. The best way to honor the memory of these men and the others who gave us the U.S Constitution is to read it, share your knowledge of it, host a Constitution study group either in your home, local library, or church. And, above all, hold your elected officials at all levels accountable to the oath they take to uphold the Constitution.
For free pocket copies of the U..S. Constitution or help organizing a Constitution study group, please reach out to me at campconstitution1@gmail.com
Harris-Walz: Joy and Freedom – or misery and tyranny?
Will their radical left administration undo damage inflicted by Biden-Harris? Or make it worse?
Kamala Harris desperately wants to be “unburdened by what has been” – the Biden-Harris policies she helped develop and implement. She wants voters to focus on the “joy” and “freedom” she insists would be America’s future if voters elect her, Tim Walz and their Biden-Harris-Obama “advisors.”
However, she was the “last person in the room” with President Biden for major decisions and is super-glued to what she says are “still my values” about energy, climate, immigration, rioters and police.
She cannot run away from the horrendous Biden-Harris record on energy and food price inflation; letting illegal immigrants, criminals, spies, terrorists, and child, sex and drug traffickers stream into our country; weaponizing federal agencies against political opponents and private citizens; and the Afghanistan departure debacle that killed thirteen US service members and left 90% of our Afghan allies behind.
As a 2019 presidential candidate she supported taxpayer-funded “gender-transitions” for illegal migrants. In 2020, Senator Harris was ranked to the left of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Vice President Harris proudly cast the deciding “yea” vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive $4-trillion spending spree on “Green New Deal” wind, solar and battery projects. The list goes on and on.
Major accomplishments? Senator Elizabeth Warren said Harris was the first VP to visit an abortion clinic.
That’s why she’s dodging interviews and presenting platitudes instead of policies. All with the happy collusion of legacy and social media and ABC debate moderators. All while anonymous campaign staffers assert that she no longer plans to ban fracking, offshore drilling, gasoline cars, gas stoves, plastic straws – or free speech by anyone who might question or criticize her policies.
Perhaps her nameless staffers are correct. Harris-Walz might not ban fossil fuel production and use. They might not ban misinformation, disinformation and “malinformation” from experts and citizens who disagree with administration assertions and policies.
But Harris-Walz and its Deep State bureaucrats don’t have to outright ban anything. They could just tax, regulate, delay, denounce, disincentivize, coerce, threaten and penalize our energy, freedoms and living standards into oblivion.
They could continue the Biden-Harris practice of using the FBI, IRS and Justice Department to harass, intimidate, prosecute and jail political opponents. They could continue colluding with the media and Big Tech to amplify Democrat viewpoints and marginalize opposing views.
Ms. Harris insists that her “values” and “concerns” haven’t changed. But even her official website says nothing about what her policies would be. It says only that she would create an “opportunity economy,” provide a pathway to the middle class, end price gouging (she called it “price gauging”), champion other progressive causes, and ensure Israel’s right and ability to “defend itself” (but “it matters how” Israel does so, and she will dictate those terms), while helping the Palestinian people “realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”
Nowhere does her website or recent debate performance explain how she would make any of this happen.
Ms. Harris’s proclamations about lowering energy costs and tackling the climate crisis are equally vacuous and specifics-free. We learn only that Harris-Walz would build on the “historic work” and “international climate leadership” launched by Biden-Harris, to “unite Americans” in tackling the global climate crisis, lower skyrocketing Biden-Harris-era energy costs, “advance environmental justice,” hold polluters accountable, create millions of new jobs, and increase resilience to climate disasters.
How she would actually convert that pablum into her promised utopia remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a word salad. Equally unclear is why the sitting Vice President has made little or no effort to change the Administration’s disastrous energy, economic, immigration and foreign policies. There’s still time for policy reversals and executive orders; Ms. Harris simply has no interest in seeking them.
What is clear is that she doesn’t want to talk about what she would actually do as president – and that much of the mush on her website was copied and pasted from the Biden-for-President 2024 website. However, the posts suggest Harris-Walz would inflict more economic, domestic and global chaos.
President Trump should have driven all these points home during the debate. He failed to do so. Now his interviews, campaign ads, rally speeches, and JD Vance speeches and interviews must do so – and show how they will fix our energy, economic, immigration, and Middle East, Russia and China problems.
A closer look at the Harris climate and energy record provides valuable information for voters.
Senator Harris co-sponsored the 2019 Green New Deal legislation, which would have “fundamentally transformed” America’s entire economy, in the name of fighting “dangerous climate change.” During her 2020 presidential run, she advocated a total transition to electric vehicles (personal, commercial and transport) by 2035. She supports mandating electric stoves and home and water heating.
Her all-electric economy would require tripling electricity generation – while her plans to replace coal and gas power plants with massive wind and solar installations would cause reliable, affordable electricity to plummet. Soaring prices for unpredictable, weather-dependent home, hospital, business and factory electricity would be paired with repeated blackouts, chaos, and heatwave and frigid-weather deaths.
Eliminating coal and gas power plants would also mean replacing their reliable, affordable baseload and backup electricity with enormous grid-backup battery installations costing tens or hundreds of trillions of dollars – and posing constant risks of chemical-fueled infernos.
Ms. Harris remains enthralled by “climate equity” and “environmental justice” – to address the disparate impacts the “climate crisis” allegedly has on women and people of color.
She would ban plastic straws but is committed to wind and solar technologies that create millions of times more plastic and fiberglass-epoxy trash that cannot be recycled and ends up in enormous landfills.
A single 350-feet-long offshore wind turbine blade weighs 140,000 pounds. The Biden-Harris green energy plan calls for 30,000 megawatts of offshore turbines – 2,500 turbines with 7,500 blades. The US Department of Energy says generating 20% of America’s electricity from wind would require 54,000 MW of offshore turbines; that’s 4,500 turbines with 13,500 blades weighing a combined 1.9 billion pounds!
Has she calculated how many plastic straws (or plastic bags) the United States and world would have to banish to equal that offshore wind trash – much less the entirety of Green New Deal trash?
VP candidate Tim Walz is equally radical on these and other issues. He opposes fracking, supports banning gasoline vehicles, and signed a law requiring that Minnesota generate only “carbon-free” electricity by 2040. Even without including the exorbitant price of grid-backup batteries for windless-sunless periods, that law will likely cost his state nearly $350 billion.”
The Harris-Walz “New Way Forward” on energy, climate and the economy has no connection to reality. It is devoid of any financial, engineering or ecological analysis. It is a disaster waiting for ill-informed voters to inaugurate next January.
Joy and Freedom? Harris-Walz is a highway to Misery and Tyranny.
The Trump-Vance campaign team, candidates for other political offices and each of us individually must do all we can to ensure America’s legal (and illegal) voters learn the truth before they cast their ballots.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of books and articles on energy, environment, climate and human rights issues.
The weekly Sam: Are Compulsory School Attendance Laws Good for America? By Samuel Blumenfeld
Should a child be forced to attend a public school that will turn him into a functional illiterate? Since no public school will guarantee that a child will be taught to read in a manner that will help him achieve high literacy, why should a parent send a child to that kind of school? Indeed, why should compulsory school attendance laws force parents to do something that wil1 harm their children? It is assumed by the vast majority of Americans that the issue of compulsory school attendance is a settled matter, part and parcel of every civilized nation-state, and a prerequisite of a democratic society.
We all acknowledge that a representative form of government requires an educated electorate for its survival. But what happens when that government’s schools no longer know how to teach children to read and write, when those schools turn children not into civilized citizens, but into barbarians? What happens when millions of parents feel compelled to remove their children from government schools in order to make sure that their children do get an education? What happens is that the basic premises of compulsory attendance and government education come into question. The glaring fact is that despite our compulsory attendance laws, we now have more illiteracy and more ignorance among Americans than before such laws were enacted. The first compulsory school attendance law was passed in Massachusetts in 1852 and by 1918 every state in the Union had such a law. Yet, the fact is that these laws have merely increased the amount of time children spend in school, not the amount of learning or knowledge they acquire.
The Way It Was To find out how much better educated Americans were before compulsory attendance laws and government schools existed, all we have to do is read DuPont de Nemours’ fascinating little book, National Education in the United States of America, published in 1812. He writes:
“The United States are more advanced in their educational facilities than most countries. They have a large number of primary schools; and as their paternal affection protects children from working in the fields, it is possible to send them to the school-master–a condition which does not prevail in Europe. “Most young Americans, therefore, can read, write and cipher. Not more than four in a thousand arc unable to write legibly–even neatly .. .. “England, Holland, the Protestant Cantons of Switzerland more nearly approach the standard of the United States, because in those countries the Bible is read; it is considered a duty to read it to children; and in that form of religion the sermons and liturgy in the language of the people tend to increase and formulate ideas of responsibility. Controversy also has developed argumentation and has thus given room for the exercise of logic. “In America, a great number of people read the Bible, and all the people read a newspaper. The fathers read aloud to their children while breakfast is being prepared–a task which occupies the mothers for three quarters of an hour every morning. And as the newspapers of the United States are filled with all sorts of narratives… they disseminate an enormous amount of information.”
Obviously, back in the very early days of this republic, education was a family affair closely connected to religious practice. A nation built on Biblical principles had to ba a highly literate one. In addition, all of this education was achieved without any government involvement, without any centralized educational bureaucracy, without any professors of education, or accrediting agencies or teacher certification. And, most significantly, without any compulsory attendance laws. The Way It Is Contrast that happy picture of complete educational freedom and high literacy with the present situation in which the State has assumed the function of educator, at great expense to the taxpayer, with all sorts of laws and regulations forcing the population to patronize a system that is turning out functional illiterates by the millions.
According to an article in the Spring 1989 issue of Education Canada, published by the Canadian Education Association:
“It is currently estimated that one million Canadians are almost totally illiterate and another four million are termed ‘functionally illiterate.’ In the United States these figures are estimated respectively at 26 million and 60 million.”
Both Canada and the United States have had compulsory attendance laws for decades. The purpose of these laws was to make certain that every child was educated. The laws were particularly aimed at the children of the poor, and yet it is they who have suffered the most at the hands of government education. Even Secretary of Education Cavazos, in 1989, admitted in the frankest terms that the government education system was failing the American people. In his sixth annual report card on American schools, he repeated the well-known litany of failures that still plague American education: declining SAT scores, declining interest in math and science, declining literacy, and a soaring dropout rate in Washington, DC. He said that we were still wallowing in a ‘tide of mediocrity,” and that “we must do better or perish as the nation we know today.”
Has anything changed since 1989? Yes, it has all gotten worse. In fact, it was an alarming report on American literacy issued in 2007 by the National Endowment for the Arts that informed Americans that the reading problem had deteriorated further since Secretary Cavazos issued his own alarming assessment. The chairman of the Endowment, Dana Gioia, stated: ‘This is a massive social problem. We are losing the majority of the new generation. They will not achieve anything close to their potential because of poor reading.” The Endowment report revealed that the number of 17-year-olds who never read for pleasure increased from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. Almost half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 never read books for pleasure. Why? Because reading has become a painful, tortuous exercise that they wish to avoid. The simple truth is that literacy is not at all difficult to achieve, provided the schools use the right phonetic teaching methods. Indeed, the home-school movement has already proven that parents can actually do a better job of teaching reading than our high-priced professionals. It has also been shown 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.
So why do we need compulsory attendance laws? We need them so that the ruling liberal elite can dumb down the population and make sure they can’t read. For proof of this, listen to the words of Professor Anthony G. Oettinger of Harvard University, given in a lecture to an audience of Telecom executives in 1982:
“The present ‘traditional’ concept of literacy has to do with the ability to read and write. But the real question that confronts us today is: How do we help citizens function well in their society? How can they acquire the skills necessary to solve their problems? “Do we, for example, really want to teach people to do a lot of sums or write in ‘a fine round hand’ when they have a five-dollar hand-held calculator or a word processor to work with? Or, do we really have to have everybody literate–writing and reading in the traditional sense–when we have the means through our technology to achieve a new flowering of oral communication? “What is speech recognition and speech synthesis all about if it does not lead to ways of reducing the burden on the individual of the imposed notions of literacy that were a product of nineteenth century economics and technology? .. “It is the traditional idea that says certain forms of communication, such as comic books are ‘bad.’ But in the modem context of functionalism, they may not be all that bad.”
I doubt that there are any parents in America who send their children to school to learn to read comic books. If anything, they want their children to be taught to read and write in the traditional manner. They don’t consider learning to read as a “burden imposed on the individual.” Rather, if taught in the proper phonetic manner, learning to read becomes a joyful experience for children eager to expand the use of their minds and language.
Although the compulsory attendance laws were enacted to make sure that everyone learned to read, their new application by the likes of Professor Oettinger and his liberal colleagues is to make sure that the population can be controlled and manipulated by schools that serve the agenda of the ruling elite. There is no longer any need for compulsory attendance laws since the ruling class no longer believes that literacy is for everyone, the poor and the rich. In reality, the compulsory attendance laws are the linchpin in the plan for a socialist world government. Such laws have been used by every modern dictator to control the people and mold the minds of the children. Such laws are not only not needed in a free society, but ultimately lead to its demise.
The Blumenfeld Archives http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm
We Will Never Forget 9-11, 2001
We are reposting this blog from 2021:
Camp Constitution was honored to participate in the Tri-County Republicans’ candlelight vigil that took place in Alton Village, Alton, NH to commemorate the terrorist attack on 9-11, and the recent tragic deaths of American servicemen and women at the Kabul Airport. The event was led by Priscilla Terry, director of the Tri-County Republicans, and the speakers included Greg Anthes, Ric Perrault, and Jason English. Mr. Russ Sample led the attendees in “America the Beautiful” “God Bless America,” and “Amazing Grace.” Pastor Sam Hollo of the Community Church of Alton offered the prayer.
For more information on the Tri-County Republicans: tricountyrepublicans@gmail.com
Nashua Sued in Federal Court for Viewpoint Discrimination by Steve MacDonald Managing Editor of the Granite Grok
Regular readers will know that the Donchess regime in Nashua is very selective about the flags it allows on the citizen’s pole—almost, dare I say, partisan in its rejection. Most recently, Stephen and Beth Scaer (who both write for GraniteGrok) asked the city to fly the de-trans flag. It was rejected, and an appeal to the mayor was denied.
Jim Donchess said no.
The story didn’t end with the mayor’s rejection. Beth and Stephen Scaer are suing the city in Federal court.
This is a clear case of viewpoint discrimination, one in a series of many such partisan rejections, so I’m excited to see this case take shape.
From the opening of the complaint.
The City of Nashua reserves a “Citizen Flag Pole” in front of city hall for people “to fly a flag in support of cultural heritage, [to] observe an anniversary, honor a special accomplishment, or support a worthy cause.”
Unless city leaders dislike the message. According to the city’s written flag policy, only speech which Nashua “wishes to express and endorse”—speech that is “in harmony with city policies and message” and in “the City’s best interest”—is allowed. Thus, while officials have allowed Nashua residents to fly flags celebrating causes such as Indian Independence Day, Lutheranism, Pride Month, organ donation, and women’s suffrage on the “Citizen Flag Pole,” they have forbidden Bethany Scaer from commemorating the 249th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill by raising the Pine Tree Flag, a traditional patriotic flag flown by New England troops during the American Revolution.
Likewise, officials have denied Beth’s husband, Stephen Scaer, permission to raise a Detransitioner Awareness Flag to observe Detrans Awareness Day (March 12). Stephen1 wishes to support gender detransitioners and call attention to the threats, ridicule, discrimination, and medical expenses that they often suffer, but city officials apparently do not want him to be allowed to express support for detransitioners. Nashua’s flag policy is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and it imposes an arbitrary prior restraint on use of the Citizen Flag Pole. The First Amendment does not allow municipalities to turn the government speech doctrine into a cover for favoring some private speakers and censoring others. Such viewpoint discrimination is anathema to the constitution. Plaintiffs Beth and Stephen Scaer are entitled to relief securing their fundamental right of free speech.
As we’ve written repeatedly, Hal Shurtleffs’ 9-0 free speech victory at the US Supreme Court in the Boston City flagpole case made it clear that Nashua would get sued for the same reason sooner or later. Despite that ruling, Mayor Donchess and company responded as they do to any challenge by assuming no one would ever invest the time and treasure to challenge them—and besides, it’s not their money if they lose.
And here we are.
You can follow the case history here and check back on the ‘Grok for updates.
