Letter to Wall Street Journal

Dear Editor:

Whenever I hear Richard Dawkins champion his selfish gene theory ("Richard Dawkins's Big Idea"), I cannot help but feel a touch of sympathy.

Assuming arguendo that Dawkins is correct with regard to genes ruthlessly seeking to replicate themselves, he, with one child, must therefore be host to defective genes -- ones without a level of ruthlessness to adequately replicate.

So, based on his own theory, Dawkins is not a pinnacle of his beloved evolution, he is but an evolutionary defect whose genetic legacy is bound for extinction. I assume he recognizes this, hence my sympathy.

Maybe, for his own sake, he should consider an alternate theory, especially the one he so whimsically denies.

Letter to WSJ

Dear Editor:

Edward Frenkel displays a high level of acuteness with regard to the esoteric boundaries of mathematics  ("Weekly Confidential," August 24, 2013). Nevertheless, his keen insight is not omnipresent.

To wit: In defense of the Common Core Standards Initiative, Mr. Frenkel makes an analogy to the heights of doorways. He claims the varying standards found in the several states are akin to doorways of different heights -- this notion he challenges and fears. Though, one stroll through, say, the Notre-Dame de Paris reveals the error in the analogy: doorways are set at different heights for reasons that make perfect sense.

The same is true for academic standards. No one -- no entity -- can define a set of standards that serve all purposes. To claim and advocate otherwise is to miss the lesson to be learned at Notre-Dame, or any building for that matter.

The Common Core Standards Initiative will not improve educational outcomes in the US, just as standard doorway heights would not have improved the Notre-Dame. Furthermore, to conceive of an entity setting standards that are neither political nor lacking is to view the process of zoning as the means to structures that have a greater sense of beauty than a French gothic cathedral.

 

The sweet irony that is the Joint Economic Development Zone

Dear Editor:

Oh, the sweet irony that is the Joint Economic Development Zone.

First, there is Republican Curt Sybert who recently announced he would not seek reelection to his Liberty Township trustee post. Instead, he will abuse the concept of no taxation without representation as he champions his new tax night and day.

Then, after burdening folks under the yoke of rising taxes, Sybert will run for Delaware County judge. Will he run on his conservative legacy: the perversion (er, reinterpretation) of an obscure tax law for the purpose of growing local governments? If so, his platform must not include integrity.

Finally, there are those most vocal against the new tax: local government employees. Liberty Township firefighter and union President Chalaco Clark lamented the dent the proposed tax will make in his wallet. But he made no similar declaration in defense of taxpayers when it was his levy on the ballot.

Doesn’t he realize the money Sybert wants from him was first found in the wallets of Liberty residents? In this instance, it sounds like the fox is being out foxed, and whining about the outcome.

The sweet irony of it all.

Anthony Gregory on Rand Paul's Senate Filibuster

Here is a new "video with Research Fellow Anthony Gregory regarding Senator Rand Paul's powerful and heroic filibuster defending the Bill of Rights and attacking the Obama White House's claim to be judge, jury and executioner and kill Americans at will with drones on American soil."

"Anthony Gregory on Rand Paul's Senate Filibuster," featuring Anthony Gregory
http://www.independent.org/multimedia/detail.asp?m=335

Enjoy!

Here is a recent piece by Senior Vice President Mary Theroux of the Independent Institute regarding the shameless and hypocritical use of the Oscars to promote the Obama social and economic agenda? The Presidency as Theater: The Façade Continues.

"Hurray for Washington," by Mary Therouxhttp://blog.independent.org/2013/02/25/hurray-for-washington/

Philosopher Alvin Plantinga Receives Prestigious Rescher Prize

"Philosopher Alvin Plantinga Receives Prestigious Rescher Prize" -- a very interesting and insightful article from David J. Theroux, Founder and President, The Independent Institute.