This is one reason why SSM is not, objectively, marriage. As a rule*, marriage is a culturally and societally managed institution which, through natural processes, results in the next generation being produced. The protection and perpetuation of the next generation is something which society (whether tribal or governmental) has historically been deeply interested in. Rest assured that there is no natural way in which an SSM couple can contribute to producing the next generation. While virtually any relationship between two or more humans can be recognized and, therefore, named "marriage", "marriage plus surrogate", "grouping", "shacking-up", "brotherhood", "sisterhood", or whatever, only a relationship minimally limited to a male - female arrangement can in and of itself produce the next generation (I know, that last part is pretty obvious). As such, marriage between a man and a woman should be recognized as an institution which, as a rule and by design provides for the perpetuation of society; and not as, for example, an arrangement which provides one with governmental benefits.
* By "as a rule" I'm referring to an anomaly free, unencumbered, and properly functioning system. (thanks to Stand to Reason for pretty much everything I just said)
Here's a link (along with a screenshot) to an interactive chart, from the folks at Healthline.com, which highlights the effects of a severe allergic reaction - Anaphylaxis (anna-fuh-lack-sis).
#anaphylaxis #peanutallergy #allergy #epipen #ephinephrine
This coming Sunday, every Bible believing pastor, priest, and rabbi in the U.S. should preach on what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, and then send a copy of their sermon (anonymously) to the city of Houston. #AnniseParker #Houston #BathroomBill #FirstAmendment
As home schooling parents, who happen to reside in California, it has always been our intention to give our children the opportunity to attend whichever university they desired and were qualified for. While private universities are certainly an option (an expensive option), we have also wanted our children to have the opportunity to attend a state supported school (primarily because of the lower cost involved). Yet, it wasn’t until our first child was in her junior year of high school that we seriously addressed the following question:
How does a home schooled high school graduate properly apply and get admitted to either a Cal State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) school?
Are you a home schooling parent, in California, who can relate to this question? Has the prospect of home schooling your child through high school caused you to have more than a few sleepless nights?
Indeed, the prospect of teaching high school level courses to your own children can be daunting and frightening, leaving one with feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy. If your experience as a home school parent is anything like what my wife and I have gone through then, after “What about socialization?”, probably the second most commonly asked question you’ve received has been,
“Are you planning to home school your child through high school?”
Many times, the question is asked with an intonation which indicates that such an endeavor - namely, that of home schooling your child through high school - is an unwise choice. Given that most state sponsored universities require an applicant’s transcript to line up with specific course material, many parents think themselves unqualified to teach their high school age children. Add to this the prospects of teaching Advanced Placement (AP) or Honors level courses, and it is no wonder that some home school parents decide to put their children into either a public high school or a home school program managed by the public school system.
Yet rest assured - home schooling your children through high school, while simultaneously insuring that they are qualified for admittance to a state of California university, is possible! You (and, especially, your child) can accomplish this! Our child, who was home schooled since pre-school, was recently accepted to both CSU and UC universities. Another student from our home school group, who began her home schooling journey while in elementary school, was also recently accepted to both systems.
The remainder of this post will be an analysis of what we discovered as we prepared our home schooled daughter to be able to apply - and get accepted - to a state of California university*, as well as what we recommend for those facing such a prospect with their own children.
* by “a state of California university” I am referring to either a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) school.
Note: BIG disclaimer here - I do not consider myself an authority on this subject. I am simply relating the experiences my wife and I had as we helped get our child through high school and into a state of California university. Please be aware that the regulations and procedures I will reference are dynamic. They are changing and may have changed since I wrote this piece. It is your responsibility to be aware of the current procedures for both the CSU and UC systems.
The crux of this issue lies, in my opinion, with what is known as the UC a-g subject requirements - requirements for proper admission to both CSU and UC schools. Here is an excerpt from the CSU Admission Handbook (for 2014-2015, and linked to later in this article),
The California State University requires first-time freshman applicants to complete, with a grade of C or better in each course, a fifteen-unit comprehensive “a-g” pattern of college preparatory work. (emphasis added)
A definition of the a-g subjects, as well as the number of years required, are listed per the same Admission Handbook,
a. History/Social Science
2 years required (including one year of U.S. History and Government)b. English
4 years requiredc. Mathematics
3 years required (algebra, geometry, and intermediate algebra)d. Laboratory Science
2 years with laboratory required (one biological, one physical, both with lab)e. Language Other Than English (LOTE)
2 years requiredf. Visual and Performing Arts
1 year requiredg. College Preparatory Electives
1 year required
Of particular note is the fact that the minimum academic requirement, for this portion of the admissions process, is that the student achieve a grade of C or better in each of the UC a-g courses.
To be honest, I was not aware of the manner with which the taking of UC a-g courses is viewed by the CSU and UC systems. While I was aware of the general list of course subjects required for high school graduation (see this link from the California Dept. of Education) I was unaware that the university systems required specific approved courses, in a UC a-g database, from specific learning institutions, also found in this UC a-g database. In my ignorance I had thought that as long as our child was learning Mathematics then she would satisfy that subject area of graduation requirements and, by extension, application to the CSU and/or UC schools. It was not until May of my child’s Junior year that I became aware of the existence of the UC a-g database, with approved UC a-g courses, which our child had to take in order to satisfy said requirements for freshman admission to CSU and/or UC.
For an example of how this works, take the UC “a” subject of History / Social Science (see the following link). From the University of California Doorways link you are able to view all the approved UC a-g courses, by institution, which satisfy that requirement. Staying with this example, the course American Government, at Villa Park High School, satisfies one class of this requirement (see the following link). In our situation the problem was that our child was not attending Villa Park High School but was being home schooled. Her curriculum in History / Social Science was via Sonlight Curriculum which, although a major home school curriculum provider - and an excellent provider, at that - is not on the approved list of UC a-g providers found at the University of California Doorways website.
Hence, our dilemma was how do we demonstrate that our child’s education more than satisfied the academic requirements inherent in the approved UC a-g courses? Remember, the minimum for this portion of the application process is that the student has achieved a “C” or better in the specific a-g class. Compounding this dilemma was the fact that, as I stated, I did not become aware of this need until my child’s junior year was almost completed.
Yet, as I’ve also stated, this is a task that can be accomplished by you and your child. In a nutshell, these are some of the key items which I think are needed to achieve this goal:
extensive curriculum planning, beginning while your child is in junior high school, and continuing through high school,
the taking of standardized courses and testing (i.e., AP, SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests**),
the taking of existing approved UC a-g courses,
potentially, the taking of Junior College courses, as a High School student.
Lastly, reading the fine print of CSU publications reveals that, at least for CSU, there are additional options for the “alternatively” educated applicant. These will be discussed later in this post.
**Note: SAT Subject Tests are separate tests from the SAT Test.
In my opinion, state of California universities have, in many ways, much more rigid application requirements than do private universities. In a sense, I think this is primarily because of the governmental procedure nature of these university systems. Whereas a private university usually has the capability to address applicants in a more holistic and thoughtful manner - a public university is typically bound to follow the letter of the law. As such, the public university has much less leeway when dealing with applicants who have not followed their prescribed approach in high school education. Unfortunately, such an approach tends to discount how most, if not all, home school curricula are administered. Many home school parents choose to home school precisely because they want to get away from the canned and standard curriculum approach they find in public (and private) schools. They want to have the freedom to choose which subject areas to address, how to address them, and when to address them.
We have formally home schooled our children since they were in kindergarten, mostly utilizing prepared curriculum (e.g., Sonlight, Math-U-See, etc.) yet also making use of custom material as well. It was always our intent to home school our children all the way through high school, and it was always our intent to give our children the opportunity to attend a state university. Unfortunately, my wife and I had a slight miscommunication regarding how we were preparing our child to be able to submit a college application. As our first child was mid-way through her junior year of high school, it became apparent that there were significant variances between what our curriculum for her consisted of, and what both the CSU and UC systems required.
To make matters worse, our child had an intense desire to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (CP SLO), a CSU school which happens to be heavily impacted. My daughter and I visited CP SLO in May of her Junior year and, as part of a group tour, met with an admissions counselor. It was my assumption that the admissions counselor would be able to instruct us as to the direction we, as home schoolers, needed to take in order to satisfy the applications requirements for the university. Wrong assumption. It was disheartening to find out that the counselor was very ignorant (innocently enough) as to exactly how a home schooled applicant would go about submitting a proper application. For example, he was under the impression that we, as home schoolers, had to have our child’s curriculum and transcripts “verified” by the local school district. Needless to say, I left that meeting very frustrated and feeling very uneasy about what needed to happen in the next (and final) year of my daughter’s high school education
That evening I spent some time on the web to get further clarification on the “UC a-g” requirements that both CSU and UC were expecting. As I researched the web I became aware of the specific courses found on the UC Doorways website - approved classes from specific institutions. And it also became clear that my child had taken none of those courses. The bottomline conclusion seemed clear enough - if your child had not taken one of the classes on the list, then your child had not taken the required UC a-g prerequisite for application. And if they had not taken the required classes needed to apply, then it seemed logical to conclude that they would be denied admission.
Yet we weren't about to go down without a fight. Despite the seemingly bad news, my daughter and I began an extensive search of exactly what was required for a home schooled applicant to apply to both CSU and UC schools, as well as what avenues of assistance we had available to us, and what alternative options we could possibly take. We scoured the web, looking for other examples or articles about home schooled applicants to CSU and UC, but found nothing. Could it be that she was the first home schooled applicant to CSU and UC? Hardly likely. Unfortunately, letters and e-mails to HSLDA went unanswered (even letters sent with an SASE). Similar inquiries to CSU admissions offices were also very unfruitful (although we did receive one helpful reply from San Diego State). One option we considered was to submit our daughter’s transcript based solely on the courses and curriculum she had taken, and if / when it was rejected, we would contest it - legally. In fact, the admissions counselor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had essentially stated that such an option was possible. That option, however, was hardly the direction we wanted to go, and such an approach could potentially have delayed the time when our daughter would have been accepted to and been able to start college.
Through diligence on my child’s part, however, she was able to find the CSU 2012-2013 Admission Handbook online, which I have already referenced above (see PDF file link here and in the Appendix section for the latest version, the 2014-2015 Admission Handbook). This was an absolute treasure trove of information and proved to be an invaluable resource, as it laid out specifically how an applicant from an “alternative” form of education could go about applying to CSU. Take the time right now to download a copy of this file (PDF format) to keep for your records. [Note: from what I can tell, the latest 2014-2015 version does not differ, in the area of UC a-g requirements, from the 2012-2013 version. As should be obvious, though, it is your responsibility to verify the latest requirements. All page references in this article will be referencing the latest 2014-2015 version of the handbook.]
Of particular importance, to the issue of this blog post, are the following handbook pages (PDF pages) of the CSU 2014-2015 Admission Handbook:
2 (PDF 6) - “a-g Guide Project,
3 (PDF 7) - First Time Freshmen: Admission Requirements,
5 (PDF 9) - Homeschool section,
6 (PDF 10) - First Time Freshmen: Subject Requirements (includes “a-g” Course List).
Note: From what I have found, the aforementioned Admission Handbook is unique for CSU admission. For similar requirements by UC, refer to this web site which gives their standards for qualifying UC a-g courses (the link is also in the appendix, titled UC requirements for a-g admission). Also, the UC system seems to offer admission for home schooled students by either examination or exception - see this link.
New, for 2014-2015 applicants:
New, for 2014-2015 applicants, a CSU - UC systems a-g comparison matrix has been placed on the CSU website. See link in appendix, or follow this link directly to the PDF. The matrix gives a good comparison of any differences between CSU and UC, and it also summarizes the alternative means of meeting the requirements.
In reviewing the CSU Admission Handbook, we discovered that for those applicants who have had an alternative education, they are permitted to submit their transcripts as equivalents to the UC a-g, subject to review and approval by CSU. On page 5 (PDF page 9) of the CSU Admission Handbook, it states,
Students completing high school through homeschooling are expected to meet the same admission requirements as those of students attending traditional schools.
...
Other homeschooling may not be affiliated with high schools or districts. If there are insufficient courses from the UC “a-g” list, the CSU campus will review the application on an individual basis to determine that all requirements have been met.
Applicants may be asked to submit supplemental information, e.g. SAT subject examinations, ACT subscore, AP examinations, etc. to document completion of CSU eligibility requirements. (emphasis added)
While submitting our child's transcripts for review and approval may be the easiest alternative approach, the option which caught our eye was that of allowing various standardized test scores to be submitted in lieu of, and as an alternative to, specific UC a-g courses (e.g., refer to page 6 (PDF 10) of the 2014-2015 Admissions Handbook).
This was the ticket we were looking for.
Our reasoning here fell back on our child’s desire to attend a specific, and impacted, school. We wanted to be able to demonstrate to the CSU system, and Cal Poly SLO in particular, that our child had objectively passed their published standards for admittance, thereby relieving ourselves of any need to present backup material of curricula used, or contest a potential negative decision on their part (had we simply submitted the transcript of her home school curriculum). If your child is not as particular as to which school they desire to attend, then you may want to consider the option of submitting your child’s transcript as your proposed “alternative” to the UC a-g, thereby letting the CSU / UC system determine compliance. I will touch some more on that option later.
Keep in mind that many, if not most, of the admissions departments at the state schools will not have a good handle on what their own requirements are regarding home schooled applicants. On one occasion my wife and daughter visited San Diego State University and stopped by the admissions office to ask a few questions. When my daughter notified the person at the counter that she intended to utilize SAT Subject Test scores as a means of validating her UC a-g Science requirements she was informed that such a step was inadmissible (since the SAT Subject Test does not include any actual lab sessions). My daughter then produced a printout from the 2012-2013 Admission Handbook, which clearly states that the SAT Subject Test can be taken in lieu of the Science class requirement. The person took a look at it and told her, “Just a minute,” and he then went to confer about it with others in the office. A few minutes later he returned and told her, “You’re right.”
While such a story is not very inspiring, and does not leave one with a great sense of confidence in this specific area of admissions’ office knowledge regarding home school applicants, it should bolster one’s motivation to be diligent about researching the issue and to keep pursuing the desired goal of gaining admission to a state university.
After my daughter found the 2012-2013 Admission Handbook online we set about to use that as our guide to plan out exactly how she would meet the UC a-g requirements. For example, referencing page 6 (PDF 10) of the Admissions Handbook, regarding the 4 years of English (UC "b") requirement, it states,
The English Requirement may be satisfied by:Completing approved courses from the “a-g” list; - OR -
Earning a 3, 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition examinations; - OR -
Earning a 680 or better on the SAT Subject Writing Test taken on May 1998 or after; - OR -
Earning a 680 – or higher on the writing portion of SAT...
Due to her fondness for reading, from an early age, and because of the excellent literature-based Sonlight curriculum we had been using (since she was in the 2nd grade), she excelled in English. As such, she was able to qualify for the 4 years of English requirement by two alternative methods. 1) her score on on the writing portion of the SAT (note: not the SAT Subject Test, but the SAT) and, 2) her score on the AP English Literature and Composition exam. To emphasize her competence in this area, she decided to submit both results, on her college application, as demonstrating her qualifying for the 4th year of the English requirement.
She had also taken and passed the AP Studio Art exam, giving her the UC “f” course requirement. She then found, for her senior year, an approved UC a-g course through BYU’s Independent Study# online learning program, which qualified her for the UC “g” requirement. For the remaining UC a-g courses she decided, because of her strong desire to attend Cal Poly SLO, to study for and take six SAT Subject Tests, with the intent to score above the minimum requirement as outlined in the 2012-2013 Admission Handbook.
Needless to say, by taking six SAT Subject Tests it was an academically rough fall semester her final year of high school. Yet, her hard work paid off and she qualified, by objective standards, for all of her UC a-g requirements. Combined with her academic excellence, as well as her scores on the SAT and ACT tests, she was rewarded with acceptance to all the CSU and UC schools she applied to (including her desired Cal Poly SLO).
#Note: For those concerned, we have utilized many of the Brigham Young University (BYU) Independent Study courses and we have found no Mormon proselytizing in their standard material.
With regards to our advice for those with students beginning or about to begin high school, I’ve broken it down into two basic options. Of course, you can tailor an approach to suit your needs and parameters. Take these two options as being general guidelines:
Utilize third-party UC a-g courses, in addition to Standardized Testing scores (in lieu of UC a-g courses) to qualify.
With this option you are satisfying the letter of the law, thereby not having to rely on an individual review and approval of your child’s transcripts. This approach, I think, is critical for anyone who desires admittance to a specific school - especially an impacted school or program.
As with any approach remember - Plan, plan, and then do a little more planning. Plan curriculum based not only on your parameters, but on those that intersect with UC a-g. Plan testing strategies to help your child prepare for the big standardized tests. Plan for any necessary utilization of outside or third-party resources for UC a-g. Plan, and track, your child’s high school curriculum - by semester and by individual class. Research the various requirements for equivalency from CSU and UC. For example, on page 6 (PDF 10) of the 2014-2015 Admission Handbook, under the “a. History/Social Science” section, note that the UC “a” requirement (for one of the two required classes) can also be met by completing coursework from Section 40404, Title 5 with a C or better, or by scoring 3 or above on the AP US History test, or by scoring 520 or above on the SAT Subject Test for American History. So you have four options to objectively qualify for this particular requirement:
One note of clarification here - be sure to understand that passing an AP level course is NOT the same as passing the AP Exam. AP Testing occurs in May and is separate from the AP course itself. In fact, one can take the AP Exam without having taken the corresponding AP course (which is the path our daughter took).
In utilizing this option one needs to be intimately familiar with the Admission Handbook. Know all the options inherent in each of the UC a-g course requirements. Understand that most admissions office personnel will probably know less about this particular issue than you. Learn how to creatively (and cost effectively) approach qualification. For example, note that on page 10 (PDF 14) of the 2014-2015 Admission Handbook, under "Multiple-year Courses", it states that higher level mathematics courses will qualify the student for lower level UC a-g requirements. Hence, one can take a non-UC a-g approved third-party curriculum (e.g., Math-U-See) for lower level courses and then take a higher level college preparatory math course to qualify for UC a-g. Be smart in your approach (e.g., according to the Admission Handbook, passing an approved Algebra 2 course automatically qualifies one as having satisfied the Algebra 1 requirement, regardless of whether the Algebra 1 class was on the approved UC a-g list). Or, as I mentioned previously, be aware that the SAT Subject Test in science qualifies one for the UC a-g science requirement (one class, e.g., Physics, per test) - this despite the fact that the standard UC a-g requirement prefers that Science courses have lab sessions in which multiple students are collaborating together.
Of special note is that the UC a-g database, found at the UC Doorways website, lists classes that are approved on a year by year basis. Simply because a class is approved for the 2012-2013 school year does not guarantee that it will be approved for the following year. However, I think this simply means that any course taken during an approved year is valid regardless of whether or not the course or institution is rejected in a successive year.
Mainly, be aware of the requirements of each subject, especially with regards to your child’s strengths and weaknesses. If your child is weak in a particular subject, then research the best way they can qualify for the UC a-g requirement. One reason to be particularly aware of this is because SAT Subject Tests are primarily designed for a student to demonstrate their proficiency in that particular subject. As such, the SAT Subject Tests are strenuous. Also, note that some of the approved UC a-g classes can be taken by third party providers, such as BYU Independent Study. Our child satisfied the UC “g” Elective requirement by taking BYU's AP Psychology online - a class which was listed in the UC a-g database. Links to a few other providers are listed in the Appendix.
Language Other Than English (aka LOTE, or Foreign Language) can be a tricky requirement to meet. There are several methods one can use to satisfy this class. One can take the required classes from the UC a-g database, or one can score above the minimum on the SAT Subject Test, or one can have a assessment done by CSU, OR one can have their school administration submit a formal declaration that the LOTE coursework the student has successfully completed qualifies for the LOTE UC a-g requirement (see page 8 (PDF 12) of the 2014-2015 Admission Handbook, under the section "Verification Procedure to Determine Language Competence"). From the Admission Handbook,
The official high school transcript is the primary document for certification of a student’s academic record. Therefore, the CSU recommends a notation on the high school transcript as evidence of the high school’s determination of a student’s eligibility of college preparatory language other than English requirement.
We chose to use the SAT Subject Test option, but I think that if we had to do it over again we would go with the option of having a formal declaration by the school administration. The issue, with LOTE, is that since SAT Subject tests are primarily designed to demonstrate high proficiency in the subject being tested, they are usually taken by those who excel in the subject. However, recall that the UC a-g requirement, in its basic form, is only demonstrating that the student has achieved a C or better in the class. Hence there can be a bit of a disparity in the taking of the SAT Subject test for LOTE. Also, given the vastness of scope involved when learning another language there is no guarantee that the material covered by the student, in their normal course of study, is what will be tested for on the SAT Subject test.
Therefore, I would recommend a good course of study (e.g., Rosetta Stone supplemented with related textbooks) and then have your home school administration issue a formal notification that the student’s LOTE curriculum qualifies for UC a-g.
Utilizing Standardized Testing scores, and Submitting transcript as “alternative” to UC a-g courses to qualify.
With this option, you are essentially presenting your child as qualified, based on the curriculum they have taken, along with their standardized test scores, typically through the AP, SAT and ACT. Again, plan, plan, plan. Be diligent about, and meticulous in, your record keeping. Understand that you may have to justify your claims of curriculum equivalency and that, if rejected, you may then have to contest the results.
I don’t have much to go on here, except for what I saw happen in our home school group. I think that this method works especially well for those choosing to attend schools within, or close to, their local communities. It’s my understanding that the CSU system is designed to attract local students, thereby serving the local communities. If a local home schooled student demonstrates competency, mainly through standardized testing (e.g., ACT, SAT, AP), then the actual UC a-g requirements will be essentially “waived”. To the best of my knowledge, the student in our homeschool group did not complete any courses on the UC a-g database, but did score well enough on the SAT and ACT to be admitted to two local CSU campuses as well as one local UC campus.
Despite the apparent lack of information available, the convoluted steps towards alternatively achieving the UC a-g coursework, and the innocent ignorance in admissions offices, this is an achievable goal for you and your child. Planning is essential. Preparation is key. Diligence is paramount. And these are key qualitites that every home school parent should be desiring to impart upon their children. Despite the fact that home schooling has come of age, there are still naysayers in our midst. As such, I believe that it is in the home schoolers best interest to present their child as qualified - more than qualified, if you will - for admission to the CSU and UC systems.
Tips & Tricks:
Layout / Plan your child’s high school (and possibly junior high) curriculum well in advance, to take advantage of the preparatory requirements for the UC a-g requirements. Utilize a spreadsheet system to plan and track class units as well as GPA. In the Appendix, I’ve attached both MS Excel and Open Office template spreadsheets you can use to keep track of your child’s classes, units, GPA, and credits.
Stay abreast of the requirements for not only the CSU and UC systems, but individual universities within said systems. For instance, some of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s admissions requirements extend beyond or differ from CSU’s, and UC Riverside has a homeschool (“nontraditional” education) option in their application process. You can also reference additional UC system info at this link.
Regarding the Language Other Than English (LOTE) requirement, be aware that ASL can qualify for this subject. Check the guidelines in the 2014-2015 Admission Handbook.
Plan the courses in your transcript listing with the state school applications in mind. When applying online for CSU, we ran into an issue with the number of lines available for courses per subject, character limits in course titles, etc. This was a bit unnerving, since we had used a casual approach towards how many courses we listed as well as how we titled our classes. I was forced to revise the format of our daughter’s curriculum listing in order to complete a proper application. You can avoid this headache by consolidating your child’s coursework both in description and subject area ahead of time. In other words, plan for your college application.
Costs. Note that taking third-party AP or UC a-g courses, testing, etc., is not free. If expenses are an issue, then you will need to be very creative in your approach. Depending on the maturity level (and desire) of your child, you may need to parlay some of the academic burden onto them. In other words, they may need to study much more than normal in order to prepare for and take the proper standardized tests (these tests are not free, but they are much cheaper than taking online or private courses).
# Update: 8-Mar-14
It seems that College Board will be revising how the SAT is structured, beginning with tests in 2016. E.g., the 2400 point max will revert back to the 1600 point total. Also, points will not be deducted for incorrect answers. No word yet on how or if this will impact the SAT Subject Tests. Also, there may need to be changes made to the CSU Admissions Handbook. Stay tuned.
# Update: 3-Jul-14
A blogger, with a similar experience, has left a comment on the duplicate post at Stones Cry Out. He has also written three posts which address his approach to this topic with his child.
Satisfying UC’s a–g requirements with home school
Appendix -
Transcripts, Credits, and GPA Templates:
HS Transcript and Credits Template.xls (MS Excel file)
HS Transcript and Credits Template.ods (Open Office and Libre Office file)
California High School Graduation Requirements:
California Department of Education
California State University (CSU) system:
CSU 2014-2015 Admission Handbook link (direct to PDF file)
CSU - UC systems a-g comparison matrix (direct to PDF file)
University of California (UC) system:
UC requirements for a-g admission
UC Info on home schooled students application process
UC A-G Guide, helpful links
University of California at Riverside (UCR) procedure for “Alternative” applicants
UC a-g course Database (UC Doorways):
UC Doorways: Database source for approved a-g courses and institutions Home page
a-g Course Lists (the UC a-g database), searchable site (searchable by high schools, programs, districts, community colleges, sample courses, course titles, and by academic year)
Various links
Online Courses (for both AP and UC a-g curricula) - NOT NECESSARILY AN ENDORSEMENT - shown for information only:
University of Nebraska Independent Study
Timeline (from KAPLAN, a standardized test preparation service company) - advice on how to prepare, through high school, for the various standardized tests needed for college. Link to PDF
Over at the LA Times, George Skelton has written an op-ed titled, Dorner case shows folly of arming oneself to combat government, in which he argues how the Dorner outcome demonstrates the futility of armed resistance to the government. Unfortunately, he does nothing more than demonstrate a lack of coherent reasoning and understanding of the issue at hand.
To begin with, what exactly is his understanding of what the "government" is? He states,
The nutty notion that a citizen can be heavily enough armed to fight off the government went up in smoke near Big Bear Lake.
Huh? And all this time I thought, to reference Abe Lincoln, that our government was of the people, by the people, and for the people. Silly me. They, are us. Regardless, what's up with the claim that 2nd Amendment advocates believe that it means that "a citizen" is pitted against "the government"? Weren't the Bill of Rights expressely written to delineate how the citizens (note: plural) are protected from the government? Oh, and in the case of the Bill of Rights, I do believe "the government" refers to those duly elected representatives of the people. Seems that at least some of the founding fathers were aware of the intoxicating aspects of power (even when representatives are duly elected), and the need to restrain abuse of said power, via the Constitution.
Yet the notion that an armed citizenry would engage in self-defense against a tyrannical government is, evidently, patently absurd to Skelton. He states,
And there are many [e-mails he's received] like Bryan, who asked: "What if the German Jews had been well armed" against Hitler?
My answer: They would have been slaughtered by the Nazi Panzer divisions.
Maybe Skelton isn't aware of this, but the Nazis slaughtered 6,000,000 Jews anyway. Maybe he also is unaware that in the late 1930s the Nazis prevented Jews from owning firearms. Is it really that difficult to figure this out? If you were a Jew in Europe in the 1930s, and given the choice, would you have rather been unarmed or well armed? Would you have rather silently watched as you and your family were hauled off to a ghetto, and then exterminated in a concentration camp, or would you have wanted the chance and dignity to at least fight for what you could? Is Skelton so immune to the notion of self and family defense that he can't see this?
Again, he states,
The French and Poles were well armed. How'd that work out?
Sigh. Is he not aware of the French and Polish Resistance movements? Does he honestly think that their resistance was not, at the very least, a thorn in the side of the Nazi presence in France and Poland? Would he rather their movements have had no firearms whatsoever?
What is scary, though, is how Skelton seems to imply that we, as citizens of the United States, are nothing more than subjects of the government (and whatever police force said government employs). In his world we must bow down and acquiesce to whatever the government says or does simply for the fact that we would surely lose were we to get into a real shoot-em-up battle with said government. This, of course, is because we are outgunned due to the fact that, as he states, the 2nd Amendment has been violated with our rights currently being infringed.
And, again,
Dorner could have read up on Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge. Or the Branch Davidians near Waco.
Yes, look it up. Randy Weaver's wife Sara was shot and killed by a government sniper as she was doing the dastardly deed of holding her 10 month-old son. And we are all aware (or should be aware) of the deadly and bungled fiasco in Waco, as perpetrated by Bill Clinton's AG Janet Reno. Is this the type of government that Skelton wishes us to simply acquiesce to?
And while Skelton may argue that an armed citizenry is useless against the full force of the government, because of what happened to one armed crazy by the name of Christopher Dorner, he continues to miss the point. Yes, Dorner lost - that was inevitable. Yet look at what he - one person - was able to do or cause before his death: four murders, two of which were on civilians, other individuals wounded by either him or local law enforcement (including one 71 year-old lady), two innocent person's vehicles wrongly shot up by local law enforcement, one innocent person's house burned to the ground by local law enforcement(intentionally, it is claimed), as well as the allocation of extensive resources in and around southern California dedicated solely to his apprehension.
All this because of one crazed individual. And yet, this travesty is a prime example of the right and need for law abiding citizens to own firearms in the United States. Why? Because firearms are already owned by some 100,000,000 people in the U.S. That number, when correlated with the impact just one armed law breaking individual can have, sheds light on the true nature of law abiding firearm owning citizens - their concern for safety, self defense, and committment to following the rule of law.
A government truly of, by, and for the people has nothing to fear from its armed citizens. Nothing to fear at all.
Gun Safety (TRUE gun safety) Edition
A PS!DF* Story
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke issues a PSA for the citizens he's pledged to protect. However, unlike the "let's dump all guns in the ocean" utopian dreams some keep dreaming, he has a slightly different, and extremely more rational, approach. From the PSA,
With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option. You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back. But are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course and having firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family.
* Pound Sand! Dianne Feinstein
###
86 firearms for every 100 Americans
And yet the U.K. has a higher violent crime per capita rate.
The Huffington Post offers the infographic under the presumption that this is a bad thing. Yet they don't offer an overall look at violent crime rates, much less defensive gun uses, on a per capita worldwide basis.
From Townhall's Katie Pavlich,
Pretty good national defense strategy, eh? As long as we have the Second Amendment, the United States will never be invaded.
###
Tiananmen Square Activist has something to say about the 2nd Amendment
From his speech,
To me, a rifle is not for sporting or hunting. It is an instrument of freedom. It guarantees that I cannot be coerced, that I have free will, that I am a free man.
###
Back in 2010 India armed girls to fight militants
A true example of the word 'empowering'.
###
And yet another PS!DF* story
With law enforcement officers out there who actually get it - who actually believe in the right of the citizenry to defend themselves - who actually believe the 2nd Amendment means what it says, it will make Federal gun control and/or gun ban legislation difficult to enforce.
This story is of Georgia Sheriff Scott Berry. From Gun Rights Examiner,
Dana Safety Supply [DSS], a well known police supplier of clothing, guns, and gear, with an outlet in Sugar Hill, Georgia, sells firearms to non-police officers. Recently, however, it announced that it would stop selling self loading rifles to anybody but "Law Enforcement individuals." ...What this means is that Dana Safety Supply will no longer sell an AR15 rifle unless the purchaser is a police officer. This new policy has ruffled the feathers of Georgia citizens who buy guns, many of whom declared that they will no longer hand their money over to Dana Safety Supply. One of those citizens is Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry...
Sheriff Berry sent DSS the following letter,
Sirs,
It is my understanding that you have stopped selling self loading rifles to members of the general public in favor of selling them to law enforcement officers only. I deeply regret that decision. As such, this agency will no longer seek bids from or purchase from DSS.
Here's a video of an interview with Sheriff Berry, done by FoxBusiness. Note, especially, the following comments by the good Sheriff,
Fox: Explain to me why you made this decision. [to no longer purchase from DSS]
Berry: Well it's real simple. If law abiding citizens in my county can't go there and buy - a legal to obtain - rifle, that they're entitled to buy and they have the money to pay for, then I'm not going to spend their tax money there, and I'm not going to spend my personal money there.
Lastly, as noted by Armed American Radio, note the gun control thinking questions that are asked by FoxBusiness.
* Pound Sand! Dianne Feinstein
###
Youth Education Summit
Sponsored by the NRA.
Forty-five outstanding current high school sophomores and juniors from across the United States are chosen each year to travel to the nation’s capital, where they participate in the weeklong educational opportunity. The summit encourages young adults to become active and knowledgeable U.S. citizens by learning about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the federal government, and the importance of being active in civic affairs.
Home School Edition (particulary for a couple of new homeschool moms I know)
Homeschooling and Socialization
Ah, yes. The question that won't go away. From the post,
And lets face it -- the "Lord of the Flies" social scene in most schoolyards never occurs anywhere else in life. I never encountered anything remotely resembling it in college, grad school or the work place. Women in groups may at times verge on being a bit "catty," but maturity has deadened the sharper edges of the claws they may have had as schoolgirls. And besides, maturity works both ways -- women have thicker skin than young girls.
###
Well, homeschooled kids ARE NOT well socialized
Depending on how you define "well socialized." From the post,
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there’s nothing “normal” about our kids. Your homeschooled child is odd compared to the schooled population because they have not experienced ongoing school-based socialization and standardization.
When you consider that the homeschooled population makes up only 3-6% of the entire school-going population, you may begin to understand just how different your kids are or will be.
###
Does Homeschooling threaten public school systems?
From Glenn Reynolds,
Traditional public schools haven't changed much for decades (and to the extent they have, they've mostly gotten worse). But the rest of the world has changed a lot. The public who eagerly purchased Henry Ford's Model T (available in any color you want, so long as it's black!) now lives in a world where almost everything is infinitely customized and customizable. That makes one-size-fits-all education, run on a Fordist model itself, look like a bad deal.
###
Homeschooling: resistance is futile
From The Atlantic, even "progressives" have been smitten with the allure of homeschooling.
So we are making a different choice. Sure, we have philosophical reasons. Some of the parents in our circle are “unschoolers,” convinced that early education should follow a child’s interests and initiatives rather than shape them. Some of us aspire to offer something like a classical education: logic and rhetoric, mythology, Latin. Most of us are put off by the public schools’ emphasis on standardized tests and their scant attention to the visual arts, music, religion, and foreign languages.
###
Your homeschooled teen will be better prepared for college
Due to their lack of socialization skills, no doubt. From the article,
They're also better socialized than most high school students, says Joe Kelly, an author and parenting expert who home-schooled his twin daughters.
"I know that sounds counterintuitive because they're not around dozens or hundreds of other kids every day, but I would argue that's why they're better socialized," Kelly says. "Many home-schoolers play on athletic teams, but they're also interactive with students of different ages."
Home-schooled students often spend less time in class, Kelly says, giving them more opportunity to get out into the world and engage with adults and teens alike.
Dianne Feinstein is disgraceful. She is also un-patriotic.
Why is she disgraceful? It's no secret that she's anti-2nd Amendment. In this interview from 2009, when asked about her reinstating an assault weapon [sic] ban in America she stated the following,
"I'll pick the time and the place, no question about that."
Well, there's no question about the fact that she's picked the time and the place - and it's now. Her gun ban press conference was held today, just barely over a month since the tragic mass killing at Sandy Hook elementary school. She's certainly not letting a crisis go to waste by playing on the emotions generated by the senseless killing of those 20 children. Yet by picking this time and place she is, in fact, dancing in the blood of the murderded children in Newtown.
She is disgraceful.*
Why is she un-patriotic? Her interests in banning guns go beyond the so-called assault weapons she displayed at the press conference (yet another play on the emotions leftover from Sandy Hook). In this interview from 1995 she flat out states she wants to take away ALL firearms from ALL Americans.
"If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States, - for an outright ban - picking up every one of them - 'Mr. and Mrs. America? Turn 'em all in,' I would've done it."
Turn 'em all in? Has she never heard of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution? What is it about the right to keep and bear arms not being infringed upon by the government that she doesn't understand?
She is un-patriotic.
* Other indicators of her being disgraceful: Having a Reverend lead a prayer to open her gun banning news conference (no separation of church and state here, I suppose). Fear mongering the gun lobby as the problem. Using "scary looking" guns as props in her news conference. Including the Bushmaster AR-15 (used in Newtown) as a prop at her news conference.
In many of the debates / flat-out-arguments regarding gun control, recently, it's been interesting to see how some anti-2nd Amendment folk trot out the notion that gun owners who claim self defense as the basis for their right to own firearms must have some gender inferiority complex. What are you compensating for?, is the Dr. Phil-ish question that explains what these misguided gun owners are suffering from. Essentially, advocates of gun control claim that the supposed need for having firearms is inexorably linked to the fabrication of an essence, be it ever so false, of manhood.
Maybe they have a point. If I own firearms for self / family defense then what exactly am I compensating for? Well, I'll tell you what:
Among other things, I'm compensating for the 6'-4", 225 pound, 25 year-old thug who, after breaking into my home, would not think twice about shooting me in the head (or stabbing me or clubbing me) regardless of whether I was armed or complied with his demands. I'm compensating for the multiple assailants who, after training in prison*, would not think twice about slitting my throat, raping my family, and then strangling them to death. I'm compensating for the inevitability of civil unrest given a natural or man-made disaster in the metropolitan area I live in. And I'm compensating for the sheep-like mentality you display, insuring that your such departures from reality will not inhibit my right to defend the lives of those I hold dear to my heart.
In the meantime, let's take a look at some stories which illustrate that there are many women who seem to have taken to "compensation", regardless of whether they suffer from the gender-complex issues that gun grabber psychoanalysts say they do. And, as a sidenote, notice that not all defensive gun uses (DGUs) involved actually firing the weapon.
15 Million women "pack heat" in the US
And that was in 2011. From the article,
One mother named Elena who lives in Roseburg, Ore., explains how her job as a 911 dispatcher led her to overcome the discomfort she felt about owning a gun.
“Dealing with the calls that we field on a daily basis made me really aware of what people are capable of doing,” Elena writes. “I’m a single mom and I’ve got two kids, so I feel like if I’m ever put in a situation where I need to protect them, I’d prefer to have a gun.
Gun-toting Grandma pulls handgun on two men who tried to rob her
More women using guns for fun and protection
From the article,
Several factors are driving women to the gun range, experts say.
"The first and foremost reason is women no longer want to feel vulnerable," Parsons says. "They want to feel responsible for their own personal safety and the safety of their families. Just by their physical size, the perpetrator is going to be bigger and stronger. A firearm is the great equalizer."
From the article,
To those who say guns are masculine, Ellanson says, "It would depend on how you define femininity. I think a capable woman is the most feminine expression of power that there is."
15 year-old girl scares burglars (note - plural) with dad's... gun
From the article,
Officials said a teen in Texas City was alone when a pair of intruders broke into her family's house, but she turned the tables on the suspects by grabbing her father's handgun.
In Detroit. From the article,
The people of Detroit are taking no prisoners.
Justifiable homicide in the city shot up 79 percent in 2011 from the previous year, as citizens in the long-suffering city armed themselves and took matters into their own hands. The local rate of self-defense killings now stands 2,200 percent above the national average. Residents, unable to rely on a dwindling police force to keep them safe, are fighting back against the criminal scourge on their own. And they’re offering no apologies.
From the article,
More women throughout the United States are buying guns and learning how to use them. And we're finding that to be true in South Dakota. In fact, a 2011 Gallup Poll found that 43% of women say there's a gun in their home. KSFY's Courtney Zieller is finding out why numbers are at a new high.
21 year-old woman shoots and kills intruder who kicked in her door
Oh, and at least one of the intruders was armed with a gun. From the article,
Tweets sent from the official Dallas Police Department Twitter account said two suspects kicked in the door of the home at about 11:30 a.m. The resident was alone upstairs and heard the noise. She confronted the two burglars as they ascended the stairs and shot at them several times.
The two ran out the front door and one collapsed from a gunshot wound. Police later recovered a gun at the scene, "indicating at least one of the suspects was armed." Nobody has been identified.
12 year-old girl shoots intruder
Yeah, this one kicked his way in as well. From the article,
A 12-year-old girl took matters into her own hands during a home invasion in southeast Oklahoma.
It happened on Wednesday when the girl was home alone. She told police a stranger rang the doorbell, then went around to the back door and kicked it in. She called her mom, Debra St. Clair, who told her to get the family gun, hide in a closet and call 911.
* Not based on my own knowledge but as related by a retired LA County Sheriff and a current LAPD Police Officer.
Today is January 1st, 2013. Happy New Year! It also happens to be the 240th anniversary of the sermon with which John Newton introduced his newly written poem, Amazing Grace. From Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns,
On Friday morning, January 1, 1773, John Newton, former slave trader and infidel, preached a New Year’s message from 1 Chronicles 17:16–17 in his church at Olney, England. Newton opened his sermon, saying, “The Lord bestows many blessings upon His people, but unless He likewise gives them a thankful heart, they lose much of the comfort they might have.” He told his church to look back at God’s goodness, look around at God’s promises, and look forward to future usefulness. In concluding, Newton introduced a poem he’d written for the occasion, the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
- Morgan, Robert J., Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns
The scriptural text that Newton referred to in his sermon, the setting just after the announcement of the Davidic Covenant,
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O LORD God! (1 Chronicles 17:16-17 ESV)
And Newton's original six verses:
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ'd!Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Exporting the "old and sick" to another place
But don't worry - I'm sure it's for "the common good."
From The Guardian,
Growing numbers of elderly and sick Germans are being sent overseas for long-term care in retirement and rehabilitation centres because of rising costs and falling standards in Germany.
...
...with increasing numbers of Germans unable to afford the growing costs of retirement homes, and an ageing and shrinking population, the number expected to be sent abroad in the next few years is only likely to rise. Experts describe it as a "time bomb".
...
Germany has one of the fastest-ageing populations in the world, and the movement here has implications for other western countries, including Britain, particularly amid fears that austerity measures and rising care costs are potentially undermining standards of residential care.
Something to think about as we travers the road towards nationalized healthcare.
###
The Last Radicals
From the National Review,
There is exactly one authentically radical social movement of any real significance in the United States, and it is not Occupy, the Tea Party, or the Ron Paul faction. It is homeschoolers, who, by the simple act of instructing their children at home, pose an intellectual, moral, and political challenge to the government-monopoly schools, which are one of our most fundamental institutions and one of our most dysfunctional.
The author contends that opponents to homeschoolers have three core reasons.
The first is that progressives by their nature do not trust people as individuals and feel that, whether we are applying for a credit card or popping into 7-Eleven for a soft drink, Americans require state-appointed overseers.
...
The second reason for this hostility is that while there is a growing number of secular, progressive, organic-quinoa-consuming homeschool families, there remains a significant conservative and Christian component.
...
A third reason is that the majority of homeschool teachers are mothers. A traditional two-parent family with one full-time breadwinner and one stay-at-home parent is practically built into the model.
Long live independence!
###
Safe, legal and... rare?
From Touchstone Magazine,
The Federal Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) released a report on the eve of Thanksgiving showing that there was an historic drop of five percent in the abortion rate, the most in a decade. The data is from 2009, the latest year available, and shows that there were only 789,000 abortions. [emphasis in original]
The author states that data from California was not included, so the number of abortions most likely was over 1,000,000.
As for the demographics, this unsettling note,
Approximately 85 percent of women who aborted their babies were unmarried. The majority of abortions are performed by the eighth week of pregnancy. White women had the lowest abortion rate, at about 8.5 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age; the rate for African-American women was about four times that; and the abortion rate for Hispanic women was about 19 per 1,000.
The liberal mantra of being there for the disadvantaged seems to get turned on its head.
And to put some perspective on the killing of 1,000,000 unborn children every year, it's like having 137 Sandy Hook mass killings EVERY DAY.
###
A belated Christmas Light Painting link for you all
Here's a great example!
© Michael Ross
###
Doctrine vs. Methodology?
From The Gospel Coalition,
Pastors constantly face temptation to devote more time and energy to methods rather than to doctrine. If that includes you, then give heed to Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 4:16: "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."
Following the imperative to keep watch on himself, Paul further instructs Timothy to keep watch on his doctrine. My observation, however, is that most ministers aren't doing this. They don't talk about doctrine. They don't read it. If they're paying close attention to anything, it is their methods and psychology. What's the result? Less biblical fidelity. Less interest in truth. Less seriousness. Less depth.
Neglecting doctrine results in less capacity to offer a compelling alternative to the thinking of our generation. I often hear the excuse that pastors aren't studying theology because they're too busy trying to reach more people. Ironically, this pursuit of identification often comes with a corresponding loss of communication. We put forth all this effort to make people feel comfortable and at home so they don't feel the difference between life in Christ and life without Christ. Problem is, it is supposed to be different when you come to Christ. That is the point.
[emphasis added]
###
From Radicals to Oddballs
Oh, those homeschoolers,
There are two facets to educating a child well. The first is to recognize that education is not merely the accumulation of facts, but that it has an unavoidably moral aspect. A suitable education must do more, therefore, than simply teach facts, even moral facts. Education must seek to cultivate the moral imagination of the child, for reducing moral education to a list of rules is bound to fail.
No, despite America's obsession with guns, the U.S. isn't the most violent country
It's the U.K. From the article,
Britain's violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed.
Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa - widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries.
In terms of violent crimes per 100,000 residents, the U.K. comes in at 2,034 per 100K (with the U.S. listed at 466 per 100K).
For those who may be unaware, the U.K. has effectively banned the general public from owning firearms.
###
Besides that, gun control doesn't reduce crime - just ask the U.K. or Australia
From the Wall Street Journal,
We aren't alone in facing this problem. Great Britain and Australia, for example, suffered mass shootings in the 1980s and 1990s. Both countries had very stringent gun laws when they occurred. Nevertheless, both decided that even stricter control of guns was the answer. Their experiences can be instructive.
...
The results have not been what proponents of the act wanted. Within a decade of the handgun ban and the confiscation of handguns from registered owners, crime with handguns had doubled according to British government crime reports. Gun crime, not a serious problem in the past, now is. Armed street gangs have some British police carrying guns for the first time. Moreover, another massacre occurred in June 2010. Derrick Bird, a taxi driver in Cumbria, shot his brother and a colleague then drove off through rural villages killing 12 people and injuring 11 more before killing himself.
Read it all.
###
Enacting "Gun-Free [sic] School Zones" increases the frequency of active killer events
So says David Codrea, and he links to an interesting graphic provided by GeorgiaCarry.org.
The Mayor of Newark gets it
Mayor Cory Booker,
I'm not afraid of law-abiding citizens who buy a gun... Listen to me, the people dying in Chicago, the people dying in Newark are not being done with law-abiding gun owners.
###
The World according to murder
An interesting infographic (have not vetted the accuracy of it).
###
Be careful what you ask for
CNN asked its "iReporters" the question, "Was your gun banned?", and also asked them to "upload a photo of your gun and share your thoughts on gun control.
An intrepid young iReporter decided to have a little fun with the assignment, and uploaded a photo of a nerf gun* (shown below), stating,
My ak 47, 5th generation model. This one uses the 9.88x33mm round. I believe the only nation that uses it is Canada. They need this kind of firepower actually. I got mine in yellow because nothing says, "I'm big, bad and scary like yellow"...banana yellow.
This gun is actually at the top of the ban list. I don't like that. We have rights to bear arms. Don't take that away from me, don't take that away from us. Guns are a part of our heritage, or history, our roots, our blood.
What happens if tyranny arises? What if North Korea invades? What if a meth head randomly walks into my house? The only thing between life and death, survival, and non-survival, freedom and slavery is this baby.
Peace
As we closed the 1st Sunday of Advent post with an excerpt from Luke 2, we begin this post with the same:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:8-14 ESV)
Peace has been promised by God Almighty, yet in our world, as in the world of the past, peace is ever allusive. Is this an example of a broken or unfulfilled promise of God? Or have we equivocated on the type of peace promised? Let's look at the same record that has been given to us which promises peace.
Not long after the angels praised God at the birth of Christ by proclaiming peace on earth we find this event:
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
(Matthew 2:16-18 ESV)
State mandated slaughter of male children under the age of two in the region of and including Bethlehem. Doesn't seem very peaceful to me.
Or how about what Jesus himself told his disciples, about 30 years later, to expect - based on his historical presence in the region of Judea.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
(John 15:18-25 ESV)
And yet, despite the promise of persecution and hatred, he later says,
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:31-33 ESV)
May you have the Peace of the Christ who has overcome the world!
What, you say? How can this be? Simple, just check you Cable listings for the Casting Crowns Christmas Celebration and listen to the sermon [sic] from Max Lucado (about 30 minutes into the program). After reading the scriptural account of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary, Lucado then launches into one of the strangest evangelistic talks I've ever heard.
Here are some direct excerpts:
"The virgin birth – more than just a Christmas story, but a heavenly promise that what God did for Mary, he will do for you."
…
"The virgin birth – the core of the Christian hope, that God could work such a miracle in those that would trust and obey him, that Jesus himself would be placed within them, so that they could do what Mary did – deliver hope into a dark world."
…
"And John was clear that those who obey his [Jesus'] commands live in him and he lives in them. And the sweet invitation of Christ is this, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come-,” not just near, and not just around, but “I will come in.” Jesus' invitation to all people is this, “If you'll let me, I'll move in.” And what Christ did for Mary, he's willing to do for you. To grow in you, until he has to come out – until you deliver him. Until he comes out through your speech – through your touch – through your eyes – through your love. Every place you live will be a Bethlehem, and every day you live will be a Christmas. And you, like Mary, will deliver Christ into the world."
…
"And the day you deposited your faith in Christ he performed an irrevocable yet undeniable miracle – he moved in. And he took up residence, deep within you, until he grows and he grows and he grows, and he must be delivered. You do not have a choice – you are third trimester heavy, with the presence of Christ. And you deliver him into the world."
I think this takes metaphorical analogy, with a personal application, to a whole new level.
Joy
The Third Sunday of Advent we celebrate this year is Joy.
What is Joy? One thing we should be clear of, as we answer that question, is that joy is not a synonym for happiness. Unfortunately, our culture seems to have gotten itself into a rut of genuflecting to the god of Happiness. If we've learned one thing, after living in over 65 years of peace and prosperity, it's that our most important aim in life is to be happy.
C.S. Lewis, on the subject, wrote,
The very nature of Joy makes nonsense of our common distinction between having and wanting.
Yet what do we find in America, today? Wanting? In Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, Smith & Denton write,
However, it appears that only a minority of U.S. teenagers are naturally absorbing by osmosis the traditional substantive content and character of the religious traditions to which they claim to belong. For, it appears to us, another popular religious faith, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, is colonizing many historical religious traditions and, almost without anyone noticing, converting believers in the old faiths to its alternative religious vision of divinely underwritten personal happiness and interpersonal niceness...
Christianity posits something much, much more vicious than personal happiness and interpersonal niceness. Namely, the Son of God became Man, fulfilling the covenant God made with Abraham - indeed, with Adam - that He would bless all the peoples of earth, that He would redeem all those with whom He finds favor.
This is not a pathway grounded on personal happiness. Again, from Lewis,
Which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness? While it lasts, the religion of worshipping oneself is the best.
...As you perhaps know, I haven't always been a Christian. I didn't go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity.
So... what of Joy?
Joy to the World,
the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Hope
Do we, here in the 21st century West, have any concept of what it means to have hope? Real hope? Do we understand what long-suffering means? Can we comprehend what it means to depend on the promises of God?
Consider Psalm 80.
Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
(Psalm 80:3-7 ESV)
For the Second Sunday of Advent, this year, we are celebrating Hope. The promise of God – redemption for mankind – was long awaited and, upon his arrival, was misunderstood. In like manner, I think, we have misunderstood what it means to rely on the hope we have in God. In our self-made reliance, we mistakenly rely on our ability to provide for ourselves temporal pleasures – a temporary immortality.
Instead, let's return to an understanding of our history, to an understanding of why we're here, and to an understanding of who God is.
The Bondage of Corruption, by Keith Patman
The world, upon its axis whirling, groans.
The flitting sparrow flinches, flails, and falls.
An aching hollow howls within the bones
Of bird and beast and man; the death-curse palls
Once-glad creation. Stung with sorrow, pain,
We toil and struggle under leaden skies
And wail like Israel in Pharaoh's reign,
“How long, O Lord, will you ignore our cries?”
God's Holy Spirit bears the troubled prayer
Aloft, with a more deeply uttered groan
Than ever echoed in earth's bitter air,
And lets the burden fall before the throne.
God answers. From a starlit hillside creche
A pain-cry rings as cold air bites new flesh.
Love
The 1st Sunday of Advent was December 2nd. I'm late. I know.
This year we're celebrating Love for the First Sunday of Advent. You may have heard of the saying, “God is Love.” Indeed, reference 1 John 4. But what exactly is that supposed to mean? In English, the word 'love' has a variety of applications which can run from the erotic to gastronomical. I 'love' green chile cheeseburgers, for instance. Not to worry, though, because we have the Word of God to explain this to us.
In Romans 5 we are told of the depths of love which was expressed for us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
(Romans 5:6-11 ESV)
And in the well known John 3:16 passage we are explicitly told of God's love for mankind as well as the implications of such love. Hence we celebrate the Advent of Love, a pre-existing love, which by its very nature, cannot have existed in a singular state – for who would God have to love?
One admonition I'd like to leave you with is that as you reflect on the Love of God, particularly in the Advent of the Incarnate Jesus, don't make the mistake of trivializing said love by over-personalizing the concept. While God loves each and every one of us, the phrase “For God so loved the world...” should not be translated “For God so loved ME...” In our self-centered culture, that's an easy trap to fall into. I recently heard an evangelist prompt the audience he was speaking to to repeat the phrase, “Jesus was born, just for me.” Besides being wrong on so many levels, such a phrase only serves to reinforce the individualistic mentality so prevalent in society. Remember Romans 5:8, “...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Happy Advent!
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:8-14 ESV)
A Twitter post from Piers Morgan,
The 2nd amendment was devised with muskets in mind, not high-powered handguns & assault rifles. Fact.
A TypePad response from me,
And the 1st Amendment was devised with movable type ink printing presses in mind, not internet websites, much less Twitter postings. Fact.
Some post election thoughts, albeit a bit late.
They ran out of undies on Staten Island (despite the promises from a "Presidential" looking Obama)
From Fox,
Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro says the people of his community are in desperate need of fresh underwear.
"It's like a third-world nation," Molinaro said in a phone interview on Tuesday's Good Day New York.
If you reference my March 2011 post on being prepared for a disaster level emergency, you'll note that I recommend you set aside extra underwear and socks in the "Shelter" section.
###
Is it the end of conservatism in America?
From a commenter at The Belmont Club,
I still have hope, but it is in the states and local communities. The governors and state legislatures must step up and stop acting like subsidiaries of Washington. Those that do will thrive; those that don’t will slouch toward their demise.
So let me be perfectly clear: we must restore self-governance. That was true before this election, and it remains true.
I want to encourage everyone to keep trying to preserve the republic. We have been blessed to be a part of this great American experiment, and we owe it to those who have paid in blood and treasure to not give up. It is a duty we should not fear, but relish. And if you don’t think you can do that where you live, come on down to Texas. We may be the last, best hope of the last, best hope on earth.
###
No! Your argument ignores reality.
For clarification, try a simple term substitution - as shown by the strikeout and italics below. From the "Dear Republicans" post, (FYI, the post degrades into juvenile level vulgarity),
Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, mention abortion the intentional killing of innocent unborn children again. It will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, be illegal in this country.
Whether or not the truth claim of the second assertion is valid does not mandate the abdication from morality as indicated by the first assertion.
Further reference, The SLED Test.
###
Even Obama, Presidential-looking though he may be, cannot cut through red tape.
SUCKERS.
###
The Gods of the Copybook Headings, by Kipling
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."...
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
###
Be wary of those who rag on that the Republican Party is primarily made up of old, rich, racist white men. Be wary because when faced with the prospect of a young Hispanic Republican, as in Marco Rubio, the media seems to think that a question of priority for said Republican is to ask him how old he thinks the Earth is. Let's disregard how other issues were skipped over in lieu of that high priority age of the Earth question. Issues such as: immigration, the economy, healthcare, gun running into Mexico, a U.S. Ambassador being killed in a coordinated attack at a U.S. Embassy and, maybe, the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, you know - low priority issues like that. Oh, and let's also disregard the fact that Rubio probably-most-likely-maybe thinks that the laws of aerodynamics work consistently enough so that he believes that when he boards a jetliner it will actually fly through the air (as designed); or that he thinks that the laws of chemistry work consistently enough so that when he takes medication it will interact with his body the way it is supposed to; or that he thinks most of that - you know - "science stuff" really works.
Yes, since they can't accuse him of being an old, rich, racist white man, they simply disregard all of the real issues and paint him out to be some sort of buffoon by asking him how old the Earth is because, when all is said and done, they're not interested in tolerating a Hispanic Republican.
Be wary.
There seems to be a meme floating around Facebook noting that, under George Bush, multiple embassy attacks were made (anywhere from 7 - 11) with up to 53 people being killed. The insinuation is that things were worse under Dubya than under Obama AND that people are somehow hypocritical if they criticize Obama for the attack on the embassy in Benghazi.
Let's take a look at this.
From Media Matters there's a post titled, Krauthammer Whitewashes Bush's History To Bash Obama Over Embassy Attack, which lists out seven U.S. Embassy attacks under the Bush Administration. Yet in reading over each of these attacks one finds that not one American was killed. Not one! In some cases, the embassy or building attacked was empty.
But the most egregious problem with this meme is that it attempts to divert the attention from where it belongs. The issues with the attack on the Benghazi embassy have to do with,
This muddled thinking and blindness to issues of reality, by the Left, will continue to leave America open to attacks from terrorists abroad.
This particular line, from a Grateful Dead song, has always struck me as poignant,
Sign the Mona Lisa with a spray can,
Call it Art- Foolish Heart
As the singer insinuates, the quick and dirty tagger's label can hardly sanctify a classic work of art.
What is it about the Western Evangelical Church that drives us to acquiesce with the culture we live in and, at the same time, justify said acquiescence as a noble cause?
Take, for example, the manner with which many churches are approaching the upcoming celebration of Halloween. This year Halloween falls on a Wednesday and, as most of you may be aware, many churches hold their "mid-week" services on Wednesday nights.
It seems to me that in times past the church would hardly have blinked an eye at this current conundrum.
"What? Halloween is on Wednesday? Oh well, try to get some 'trick-or-treating' in before you show up for Bible Study."
Yet nowadays the church bends over backwards to accommodate a culture which worships Halloween (in terms of merchandising expenditures) less only than that of Christmas. Do a search on the various churches in your vicinity and my bet is that you'll find them having, in lieu of their regular Wednesday night ministries, some event geared to provide the community with candy and fun and games and entertainment. Whether or not said event is described as a Harvest or Hallelujah Party one thing is clear, there's very little chance of having a mid-week Bible Study at the event.
What I find most disconcerting with this whole fiasco is that, with cans of spray paint in hand, apologists for these events boldly stencil on the words COMMUNITY OUTREACH, and then walk away thinking that an event which has replaced the study of God's Word is somehow promoting the Gospel. In our misguided attempt at reaching a community of non-believers we've succumbed to the market mentality notion of keeping the customer satisfied. While we've been given a divine opportunity to be truly counter-cultural and shine like a light on a hill in a world of darkness, we've taken to dimming said light as we go out of our way to join in the celebration with our culture.
POSTSCRIPT: $370,000,000. That's how much money we Americans, who happen to be in the midst of the Great Recession, spend on Halloween costumes for our... pets.
Watch this one...
11 years after 9/11 we see that the problem still exists (witness the recent events in Cairo and Libya).
What we need to realize here is that on December 7, 1952 (11 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor), not only was World War II over, but Japan was our ally, and we were in the midst of the Korean War (which would not be over for another 7 months). The dynamics of the acts of aggression in those conflicts are categorically separate than what we now face. This is different - very different. As for the events of the past few days, to blame an insignificant movie as the cause demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the core issue. Furthermore, to blame an insignificant movie for the murder of 4 Americans in Libya would be like blaming Wall Street for the toppling of the Twin Towers. Oh, I forgot, some people already do.
Did you hear about that business in San Antonio that lost just about all it's marketshare after it's CEO left? Seems that under his lead he developed quite the brand following and, after he left, his successor couldn't keep the company on par with the local competition.
Oh, did I mention that the "business" was a former megachurch? From MySA,
It once was a megachurch. Now the sale of its far North Side property has wiped away longstanding debt and sparked new optimism for reversing its sizable membership decline.
...
The congregation counted an estimated 3,000 members a decade ago but today reports that about 200 attend on Sundays. The church has a lease agreement with the new owner to worship there through 2013.
“We love the building, and it's a great location,” said David Keith, lead elder. “We just didn't have the overall congregation to support much of that building and its mortgage.”
...
Former senior pastor Peter Spencer, who founded the congregation in 1988, could not be reached for comment. Keith said membership losses coincided with his resignation in 2003.
Spencer “had quite a following,” Keith said. “Basically, once he left, it just wasn't quite the same.”
John Cannon, former executive pastor, succeeded Spencer in 2003 and resigned last December, eventually taking a job as a commercial real estate agent.
The church is located along a stretch of Loop 1604 informally called “church row” for the many congregations fronting it, drawing members from fast-growing suburbs. Nearly 200,000 people live within a five-mile radius of Harvest Fellowship, according to its property listing, but the competition played a role in membership losses, church leaders said.
One of these days, and I think it will be in the near future, churches in America won't have to worry about competition from other churches.
Also see: Christians Need to Stop Making Converts
Remember how Junk-DNA was supposed to be a blatant indication of the process of methodological naturalism? Remember how all that noncoding fluff in the genome was considered the result of the trial and error nature of the evolutionary process?
Yet, it seems that the junk is not so junky after-all.
In the following video by Dr. Fuz Rana, from Reasons to Believe, he tells us of the importance of the Encode DNA Project, and its findings. In the video he states that the Encode DNA team have determined that about 80% of the human genome consist of functional DNA seqences.
I recall a discussion I had years ago with a friend, who accepts the naturalistic evolutionary mindset, and his response to the apparent fact that so much of the genome was noncoding (i.e., "junk") was, "And that makes sense from an evolutionary point of view."
What really makes sense, when one sees the vast integrated complexity of the genome, is that one is looking at the work of a designer. A mindless process? Or the process of a mind?
You didn't build that?
Okay, here is the full quote:
There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back. They know they didn't — look, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business — you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.
Let's take a look at the core issues:
There is an If -> Then statement in first paragraph. "...if you've been successful, [then] you didn't get there on your own..." He zeroes in on successful people, noting that they didn't get "there" on their own. Where is "there"? Presumably, based on the previous statement of "wealthy, successful Americans", he's speaking about successful entrepreneurs. In the second paragraph he clarifies with another If -> Then statement, "If you've got a business - [then] you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Herein lies the problem - what is he referring to by his use of the word "that"? Camp 1 claims the word "that" meant the businesses he referred to in the first part of the sentence (and in paragraph 1). Camp 2 claims the word "that" meant the infrastructure he referred to in the first part of paragraph 2 (coupled with the statement that some wealthy Americans "want to give something back" in paragraph 1). Given Obama's stated desire to "spread the wealth around" and his decidedly interventionist ideas, Camp 1's claim seems the most obvious. However, even if Camp 2's claim is correct, we're left with some goofy type of statement in which Obama believes that business owner's go around claiming to have built roads and bridges and teachers. To top it off, there is the hidden (il)logic of noting that because some people "want to give something back", and because government builds infrastructure, he's justified in forcing (by means of higher taxes) all successful people to "give something back". So much for "wanting" to contribute. Is that really what the O campaign wants to hang its hat on?
Evidently, it is.
Have you seen this little ditty floating around the internet (e.g., on Facebook)?
Cute.
Here are my thoughts:
- Schools: Along with Public School Employee Unions, low performing teachers, overpriced and bloated administrations, emphasis on testing rather than students? Average expenditure / student in US = $11,665. And you want MORE?
- Roads: Along with Public Employee Unions, excessive benefits, civil service mentality, bureaucratic red tape? Try contracting roads to private firms to see efficiency in execution.
- Firefighters: Along with early retirement pensions for some at upwards of 90% of final salary?
- Police Officers: Along with early retirement pensions for some at upwards of 90% of final salary?
- Hospitals: You mean like the ones run by the Catholic church?
- Paramedics: A wonderful perk of living in the 21st century West.
- HAZMAT Teams: Oh yeah, that must be a big line item in the budget.
- Soldiers: Definitely.
- Sailors: Definitely.
- Airmen: Definitely.
- Marines: Definitely.
- Coast Guard: Definitely.
- Clean Air: Not at the expense of bloated over-regulation.
- Clean Water: Not at the expense of bloated over-regulation.
- Safe Food: Not at the expense of bloated over-regulation.
- Pure Drugs: Not at the expense of bloated over-regulation.
- Child Protection: As long as child protection agencies do not abuse their authority and power.
- Safe Products: Not at the expense of bloated over-regulation.
- Air Traffic Control: Yes, definitely. And fire them all (a la Reagan) if they try to go on strike.
- Space Exploration: Robotic exploration is the future.
- Bridges: Managed by government, contracted to private firms. Kind of like the transcontinental railroad.
- Tunnels: Managed by government, contracted to private firms.
- Flood Defenses: Hopefully not as was managed in New Orleans (by the gov't)…
- Universities: Like Stanford, Claremont, or Yale? Oops, those are private firms. Same comment regarding overpriced and bloated administrations.
- Museums: Culturally enriching… yet a low priority for taxing the citizenry - ask the 1%'ers to help out.
- Science: Science? Science couldn't exist without more taxes?
- Diplomatic relations with other countries: Definitely.
- Public Parks: The ones that are used frequently or the ones that sit empty for most of the week?
- Criminal Justice: Definitely.
- Medical Research: This can't happen without taxes? Oh yeah, when you socialize medicine, you take away incentives for private research - got it.
- National Forests: Definitely.
- Care for the Elderly & Disabled: This is the government's responsibility?