Journey To The Center Of... Eminent Domain
Shownotes
Segment I

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

When the gun-toting "park on my driveway by mistake and you'll take 2 to the chest" militia members of the right join forces with the "let's share all things as public property - except the stuff thats mine" Commies of the left, you are on a Journey To The Center Of... Eminent Domain

• While Brant was enjoying freedom of religion by attending church, Steve was exercising his 2nd amendment rights by going shooting. Steve retells his near death experience on the shooting range.
• L.A. Times story on Echo Park and the homes being destroyed by eminent domain
• Steve and Brant agree that this is a case of government stepping on poor people
• Eminent domain gives extraordinary powers to the politically connected and the rich
• For the next segment Brant asks, is eminent domain even necessary?

PODSAFE MUSIC: We Knew Trance Mix - Big Joey Little Joey, by Trap Door


Segment II

PODSAFE MUSIC: What is Truth?, by Cybster DJ

• Brant's extreme position as conversational device - eminent domain exists as a hold over from when we thought everything belongs to the king. Does it have a viable role in a liberal democratic society?
• Steve makes the case that eminent domain has historically had some positive improvements - such as the railroad and the freeway system - though it can be argued that it was not an unmitigated good
• Some scary cases regarding eminent domain - Scenic Park, Kelo

PODSAFE MUSIC: From the Moon, by Radoon


Segment III

PODSAFE MUSIC: Complacent Pretending, by Cheryl B. Engelhardt

The "BS clause" fencing in of eminent domain

• Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's - no bulldozing homes for tax revenue
• Prefer land that is not residential
• Small, responsive government

CLOSING DIATRIBES

This is a new feature for us, let us know if you like it. We'll close each show with an unmoderated, free rant - the one place in our show where we can let the vitriol flow (though still not at each other).

• Brant is mad about the republicans selling out CA and the fact that CA voters completely missed this in voting down prop 77
• Steve has a rant on China on the 710

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

Fin

Music played in this show is entirely available from the The Podsafe Music Network.

We've been working on cutting a good promo that reflects what we do on the show well. We're glad to be able to share with you our new promo. If anyone out there has a podcast and would like to trade promos, feel free to email us and we'll spin yours.

Journey To The Center Of... the 2005 special elections
Shownotes
Segment I - Prop scorecard - No means no.

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

When the "this isn't a referendum!" partisan operatives of the right meet the national leadership vacuum of the left, you are on a Journey To The Center Of... the 2005 special elections

Proposition 73 - Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes
• CA voters said No

Proposition 74 - Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. Dismissal

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes
• CA voters said No

Proposition 75 - Public Employee Union Dues. Restrictions on Political Contributions. Employee Consent Requirement.

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes
• CA voters said No

Proposition 76 - State Spending and School Funding Limits. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

• Steve says No, but is very conflicted. Ultimately it gets a No for the powers it gives to the governor
• Brant says Yes
• CA voters said No

Proposition 77 - Redistricting.

• Steve says Yes
• Brant says Yes
• CA voters said No

Proposition 78 - Discounts on Prescription Drugs

• Steve says No
• Brant says No
• CA voters said No

Proposition 79 - Prescription Drug Discounts. State negotiated rebates.

• Steve says No
• Brant says No
• CA voters said No

Proposition 80 - Electricity Regulation.

• Steve says... I don't know. He skipped this one because he wasn't sure which way to go.
• Brant says No
• CA voters said No

PODSAFE MUSIC: Sly Bone, by Larry Seyer

Segment II - There is no segment 2!

Our apologies, but this podcast was never actually finished. We wanted to wrap it up, but work and Thanksgiving and other things conspired against us to thwart our efforts. Even though this one is a bit stale, as we thought about all the work that went into it, we didn't want it to go to waste and so we wanted to share it with you.

Brant explains this and promises that we will have a new show coming soon - so stay subscribed and stay tuned!

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

Fin

Music played in this show is entirely available from the The Podsafe Music Network.

Journey To The Center Of... CA Ballot Initiatives (Part I)
Shownotes
Segment I

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

When the fetus-loving union haters of the right, rumble with the special interest Frankensteins of the left, you are on a Journey To The Center Of... California's Ballot Initiatives

• Brief history and explanation of the ballot initiative process
• Discussion of ground rules for evaluating props
  See Brant's post
• Tie goes to No - the default position for any proposition is No
• Bond measures are highly suspect
• Any measure that sounds like a repeat is also highly suspect
• Also highly suspect is any initiative that raises money for things that everyone agrees on

PODSAFE MUSIC: Psychosis, by DJ Top Shelf

Segment II

PODSAFE MUSIC: Soupy, by Larry Seyer

Proposition 73 - Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes, and blogged his reasons why

Proposition 74 - Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. Dismissal

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes

PODSAFE MUSIC: Walk Away (Bitstream Dream Remix), by Lovespirals

Segment III

PODSAFE MUSIC: The High Country, by The Marriott Jazz Quintet

Proposition 75 - Public Employee Union Dues. Restrictions on Political Contributions. Employee Consent Requirement.

• Steve says No
• Brant says Yes

Proposition 76 - State Spending and School Funding Limits. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

• Steve says No, but is very conflicted. Ultimately it gets a No for the powers it gives to the governor
• Brant says Yes

PODSAFE MUSIC: Cold cloth and an ice pack, by Derek K. Miller, penmachine podcast

Fin

Music played in this show is entirely available from the The Podsafe Music Network.

Journey To The Center Of... Homeschooling
Show Notes with Time Codes
Segment I

01:00 Discussed the question posed in the last show. Last week we decided that we both hate standardized tests.
02:10 Talk of the Nation discussed the failure of education last night.
03:00 There's no long term incentive to improve education.
05:00 What's the deal with Home Schooling?
05:50 It's not the role of the government to school my children. It's the parent's responsibility.
06:20 Doesn't the PTA handle the school curriculum problem?
07:00 If we agree on parents role in education. They should guide their children and do not have enough control and input in public school.
08:20 Study from about 15 years ago, one of the leading indicators of future economic success, was the presense of books in the home.
09:30 All education is self-education. If we can't teach someone to self educate themselves, we really haven't accomplished anything. Which points to the problem with standardized testing.
10:45 It is the parent that helps inculcate a child's ability to self educate, but that doesn't negate public education.
11:10 Steve's education really happened at home since his public school sucked (almost like home schooling).
11:40 Brant: the presence of books is important. The brightest people he knows were heavy book reader.
12:20 Kenneth Anger: "Television is the vampire of time"
13:50 The parent who are willing to home school, are already the parents who will raise smart kids. As opposed to Randy Weaver living in isolation in Ruby Ridge.
14:45 Steve: Parents would almost be as involved in public school as if home-school.
15:10 A guy in Massachusetts was arrested when he went to preschool, to prevent his child from being exposed to a topic being discussed, for trespassing on school grounds.
16:30 Public and home schooling problems are indicitive of a lack of control of the curriculum.
16:40 Brant: it's impossible to separate ideology from education. No matter what, in public school you'll end up with and an ideology that is not the parent's ideology being taught to the children.
18:00 Things to discuss in the next segment: collectivization of resources, economies of scale, efficiency. Applying industrial models to public education is fraught with danger. Centrifugal and centripetal forces in education.

Segment II

21:40 John Taylor Gatto talks about the 6 functions of public education, integrative being one of those.
22:10 Steve: How do home schooled kids not end up being social freaks? Social misfits?
23:30 Brant: Of course there's no social misfits in public school.
24:05 R.C. Sproul, Jr. If the goal of education is the socialization by locking my 10 year old in a room with a bunch of other kids just like him.
25:50 The goal of home schooling is to shelter the kids
26:30 You don't need to be an expert to instruct kids, you can hire a tutor.
29:40 Importance of public education helps to bring this nation of immigrants together.
31:40 Founding fathers had a real fear or someone seizing the reins of governance.
34:00 Public education has become a form of ideology.
36:50 Want children to idenify first with the family. Which is why home schooling is necessary.
37:30 If the American experiment is about the idea of freedom and the rule of law (and not of people) then an American identity will emerge from the home schooling experience.
38:00 Kids are not as susceptible to the entertainment complex if they are raise by strong parents.
39:00 People are more susceptible to advertising and media when they can't think well.

Segment III

42:00 Cladistic forces at work.
44:50 In light of how many crazy people that are out there, it's scary to think that these people might home school their children.
47:50 If the Christian community has their own church and home schooling, they will not attempt to force their ideology on others absent of the current state mandated controls.
50:00 Total home schooling would become chaos.
50:40 Broad scale social experiments usually fail.
51:30 You can't just shut down the public school system and switch to home schooling.
52:00 John Mark Reynolds says that 99% of new things fail and go bad this is why we know about the 1% of classical music.
53:00 If we leave the responsibility of home schooling to the parents, it can be a gradual sort of change. Which is why Brants kids will not be a part of the public school system.
53:40 If I'm willing to home school my kids, the state should be willing to step out of the way and allow it to happen.
54:40 How well does home schooling prepare kids for the work force?
55:20 Homeschooling allows for much more freedom in curriculum.
56:00 Worst way to prepare kids for the work force is to send them to college. It's unfortunate that so many employers have come to rely so heavily on diplomas when deciding employment.
58:00 Conclusions: Mega schools don't work. Standardized testing doesn't work. Smaller and more nimble schools will teach children better. Home schooling is taylor made for this.

Fin

Music played in this show is entirely available from the Podsafe Music Network. These numbers included:

• Cold Cloth and an Ice pack Derek K Miller (Penmachine podcast)
• Ecstatic (Radio Edit) Lovespirals
• Mos Isley Maximum Angel
• Boy Seventeen Delphinium Blue
• White Hotel Torchomatic

Journey To The Center Of... Education JTTCO Podcast #1

Show Notes with Time Codes

00:00 PSMN Cold Cloth and an Ice Pack by Derek K Miller the JTTCO Official Theme Song
00:30 Introduction and overview of show format.
03:00 Dorothy L Sayer quote from Inaugural Post.
03:50 Bailout Drills in the classroom.
05:00 Function of education in society is to raise kids who pass tests.
05:45 G K Chesterton, Education is the passing on our convictions to the next generation.
07:30 You can't separate religious education from other education. Math is important because God is true.
07:57 Johann Kepler says "Pursuit of science is the pursuit of thinking God's thoughts after Him."
08:30 Math is the descriptive language of the universe.
09:10 You can't separate our education from our religion (even if we're agnostic).
10:30 Traditionally, you received your religious education at the home or in the church.
12:00 A major shift in religion and morality happened in the last 30 to 40 years.
14:10 Is our world view shifting towards a secularism?
16:30 Some of the earliest acts of civil unrest were against federally imposed education.
17:45 Not in favor of using public education for teaching Christianity, but will home-school their child precisely because Brant wants his child to learn in the classically Christian style.
19:09 First break.
19:10 PSMN Pour quoi, pour quoi pas? by Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet

20:00 Brant mentions that we are promoting many of the products that we use to record and edit the show. These links can be seen off to the left of the page. Please consider these products if you like the sound quality.

20:50 PSMN Talk Talk Talk by Cheryl B Engelhardt
21:30 Welcomes the "Internetters" back to the show.
22:05 What is the deal with homeschooling? It seems so far from the mainstream!
22:30 John Taylor Gatto - Against School
22:45 Adaptive function. Getting kids used to hierarchical structure, to make kids more adaptive to being cogs in a week. Home school kids were like Amish kids amazed by A/C
24:45 The role of parents is to protect our children from bad ideas.
24:55 Originally, home-schooling was driven by a complex set of convictions.
25:30 Public schools are finding that you can separate dogma from education.
26:00 Current education is doing nothing more than indoctrinating our kids to do nothing but pass tests.
27:00 Standardized testing, like the balance sheet of education.
27:30 Steven J Dubner, Freakonomics. Wrote an article about fraud being conducted with regard of the standardized tests.
30:00 India is on it's way to becoming a super power.
31:00 Clyde Prestowitz, Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East.
32:15 What's the role of education?
32:40 We achieve greatness by standing on the shoulders of giants. But how do we do that without critical thinking skills. How can Home Schooling achieve that?
33:30 It's not the role of the state to conduct education.
34:25 Bad parents will exist, no matter what.
35:50 Kids should have access to a world-class education.
36:00 The first thing we should get rid of is compulsory education.
37:00 ACT level test only 50% have passed.
38:55 No one on earth will care more about our child than us (parents).
40:25 What happens to the kids whose parents can't home school?
40:42 Second break.
40:50 PSMN Love Survives by Lovespirals

42:30 Brant suggest that listeners who like how the site and podcast download to consider using LibSyn. Click here for our affiliate link.

43:00 Latin Groove by A.B.E. (Anthems of a Bygone Era)
43:20 Bonus third segment since Steve and Brant continued to discuss the topic. The reason that the state has to govern education is there is no market incentive otherwise.
45:00 If that's true, that why don't we feed them and clothe them by the state.
45:10 Brave New World decanting babies and turning them in to a consumeristic society.
46:00 Parents are no longer being held accountable for the education of their kids.
46:30 The dumbing down of America is leading to highly dependent and decompetencing of society as a whole.
47:20 People who can't change their own oil, have to become dependent on Jiffy Lube.
48:40 Liberal arts education significance.
48:50 Self education is so important, and the cornerstone to being truly successful in society.
52:00 It's very difficult to develop a standardized test to test for critical thinking.
53:30 Classical education is so good at educating children when compared to current contemporary education here in the US.
56:10 Without Critical Thinking Skills, you won't be able to develop as a human being!
57:00 Somehow in the last 30 years we've destroyed all Folkway in America.
59:10 We've achieved a culture of perpetual adolescence.
59:50 John Mark Reynolds says "Specialization is for insects."
1:00:02 C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity says "one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself. That is why an uneducated believer like Bunyan was able to write a book [Pilgrim's Progress] that has astonished the whole world."
1:01:40 John Taylor Gatto [Mentioned above] says "One of the primary focuses of education is to instruct boredom."
1:02:00 One of the miracles of self-education is that you live a life without bordeom.
1:03:00 Please send all email comments or audio comments to JourneyToTheCenterOf@gmail.com

All opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the speaker.

In the course of putting together our first show - Journey To The Center Of Education - Steve and I recorded a promo for the show. Producer Andrew has done all of the dirty work in getting the file thrown together and up here on LibSyn, but he hadn't actually put up a post for it. So here it is, our first brief promo. Stay tuned for the full podcast of Journey To The Center Of Education, and feel free as always to respond or suggest new topics via comments or email to journeytothecenterof@gmail.com.