In Croydon, where the school district has switched from a ransom model to a budget model, parents are suddenly asking lots of questions about the lower-cost alternatives for providing the opportunity for an adequate education that are being explored by the school board — mainly micro-schools run by companies like Prenda and Kai.
Ian Underwood
Ian Underwood is the author of the Bare Minimum Books series (BareMinimumBooks.com). He has been a planetary scientist and artificial intelligence researcher for NASA, the director of the renowned Ask Dr. Math service, co-founder of Bardo Farm and Shaolin Rifleworks, and a popular speaker at liberty-related events. He lives in Croydon, New Hampshire.
The Law, C’est Moi
I just listened to a remarkable recording of a Zoom meeting between some lawyers in the offices of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, and some Croydon town officers, including the supervisors of the checklist and the town moderator.
Heartbroken in Croydon
At most of the school board meetings that have followed the recent right-sizing of Croydon’s school budget, at least one parent has expressed a thought that simply breaks my heart:
Saint Joan of Ed
In Mark Twain’s wonderful book, Joan of Arc, he describes a scene in which Joan, having driven the English out of France, is asked by the newly crowned French king to name anything she wants as a reward.
Four Simple Rules for Funding Education
To the extent that society has any legitimate role at all in taking money from some people in order to give it to others, there are some rules that really ought to be followed when doing it.
Croydon Leads the Way Again
House Bill 1393, which passed the House recently, seeks to make it possible for voters in school districts to do, as a matter of policy, what Croydon was recently able to do on a one-time basis: Tell the school district what they can afford, rather than wait to be told how much will be demanded from them.
Croydon Cuts School Budget In Half, No One Notices
At the annual meeting of the Croydon School District on Saturday, the district demanded a ransom of $1.7 million dollars, and the voters of the district responded by approving a budget of $800 thousand dollars.
Budget or Ransom?
I printed these up to hand out at our annual district meeting tomorrow. I thought I’d post it here in case anyone else wants to try something similar in another district.
‘Subsidized’ is not ‘free’
Our local school board recently offered to let parents have their kids get weekly COVID tests at school ‘for free.’ Why? Because ‘it doesn’t cost the district anything.
School Choice: Old Wine in a New Bottle
Consider two possible government programs — ‘Roof Choice’, and ‘Roofer Choice’ — which are designed to provide everyone with the roof guaranteed them by the state constitution.
Yes, They Canada!
If I had several million dollars sitting around — perhaps donated by people who support the Freedom Convoy, and who would like to see the truckers get off without any criminal penalties — I would use that money to start educating Canadians about one of the most valuable, if least known, of their rights: jury nullification.
Justice Should Be Blind, Not Ignorant
Here’s the latest, from the New York Post, on Alec Baldwin’s attempts to evade responsibility for shooting two people on the set of his movie Rust.
Catch-73 Million
Here’s a summary (from CNN) of the legal argument that just cost Remington $73 million:
Lawyers for the plaintiffs contended that the company marketed rifles by extolling the militaristic qualities of the rifle and reinforcing the image of a combat weapon — in violation of a Connecticut law that prevents deceptive marketing practices.
License to Tyrannize
In case you haven’t yet grasped just how insidious the idea of occupational licensing really is, here’s a reminder from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking to the truckers in the Freedom Convoy:
The Vax Market Economy
It looks like those — including our own governor — who believe that ‘public health trumps everything’ are increasingly looking to segregate the population, not unlike the apartheid regime in South Africa.
No Right Is Absolute? Think Again.
Once again, the ‘no right is absolute’ argument is being dragged out, this time as an excuse for flagrantly violating not just the Constitution, but the federal statutes that prohibit the government from collecting information about gun purchases necessary to create a firearms registry.
The Joe Rogan Controversy in a Nutshell
Here’s the progressive argument for censoring Joe Rogan, reduced to a single sentence:
People are too stupid to make any decisions for themselves — except, apparently, about how to vote.
The Emperor’s New Science
As reported by CNET:
Earlier this month, a letter from more than 250 medical professionals, professors and researchers called for Spotify to stop the spread of COVID misinformation on its platform and pointed to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Since then, more than a thousand other professionals have signed the letter.
The San Jose Doctrine
San Jose is about to pass a law requiring every gun owner to pay an annual fee and obtain liability insurance that would cover damage caused by his weapon.