Homeschooling Growing Seven Times Faster than Public School Enrollment

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters

As dissatisfaction with the U.S. public school system grows, apparently so has the appeal of homeschooling. Educational researchers, in fact, are expecting a surge in the number of students educated at home by their parents over the next ten years, as more parents reject public schools.

A recent report in Education News states that, since 1999, the number of children who are homeschooled has increased by 75%. Though homeschooled children represent only 4% of all school-age children nationwide, the number of children whose parents choose to educate them at home rather than a traditional academic setting is growing seven times faster than the number of children enrolling in grades K-12 every year.

As homeschooling has become increasingly popular, common myths that have long been associated with the practice of homeschooling have been debunked.

Any concerns about the quality of education children receive by their parents can be put to rest by the consistently high placement of homeschooled students on standardized assessment exams. Data demonstrates that those who are independently educated generally score between the 65th and 89th percentile on these measures, while those in traditional academic settings average at around the 50th percentile. In addition, achievement gaps between sexes, income levels, or ethnicity—all of which have plagued public schools around the country—do not exist in homeschooling environments.

Read more from this story HERE.

GOP Congressmen: EPA Biased Against Conservatives, not Objective (+video)

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Fox News

Dozens of Republican lawmakers have joined in accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of “apparent bias” against conservative groups following a claim that it routinely showed favoritism to liberal organizations.

The allegations were first made by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank. It claimed the EPA was not being fair as it weighed whether to charge fees to groups seeking information via Freedom of Information Act requests.

Its research showed liberal groups have their fees for documents waived about 90 percent of the time, while conservative groups are denied fee waivers about 90 percent of the time.

“This activity calls into question the objectivity of the FOIA employees at EPA and undermines public confidence in an agency that is charged with protecting our air and water,” a group of nearly three dozen House Republicans wrote in a letter to EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said in a separate statement that the findings are “not a coincidence” and track with the kind of targeting conducted by the IRS against conservative groups.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russia Nuclear Subs Exploiting Lack of US ABM Defenses in the South

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WND

Russia’s decision to resume nuclear missile-equipped submarine patrols in southern seas following a 20-year lapse could exploit the lack of a viable U.S. missile defense against attacks from the vicinity of the South Pole, according to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The plan to place submarines in the southern seas will enable the Russians to increase their own deterrence as well.

“The revival of nuclear submarine patrols will allow us to fulfill the tasks of strategic deterrence not only across the North Pole but also the South Pole,” according to a Russian General Staff announcement.

The submarines – which can carry 16 long-range nuclear missiles – can take advantage of a lack of U.S. defenses against missiles coming over the South Pole.

Most U.S. anti-ballistic missile Aegis defense systems are located primarily in a northerly position to defend against missile attacks to the West Coast.

Read more from this story HERE.

Houston Community’s Gun Giveaway Begins

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Strain’s northwest Houston community of Oak Forest is the first neighborhood in the country being trained and equipped by the Armed Citizen Project, a Houston nonprofit that is giving away free shotguns to single women and residents of neighborhoods with high crime rates.

While many cities have tried gun buy-backs and other tactics in the ongoing national debate on gun control, the nonprofit and its supporters say gun giveaways to responsible owners are actually a better way to deter crime. The organization, which plans to offer training classes in Dallas, San Antonio, and Tucson, Ariz., in the next few weeks, is working to expand its giveaways to 15 cities by the end of the year, including Chicago and New York…

Residents of Oak Forest say their neighborhood, made up of older one-story houses and a growing number of new townhomes, has experienced a recent rash of driveway robberies and home burglaries. On a recent Sunday afternoon, a group of 10 residents, including Strain, went through training at Shiloh Shooting, a northwest Houston gun range.

Kyle Coplen, the project’s 29-year-old founder said his group expects to train at least 50 Oak Forest residents and put up signs saying the neighborhood is armed.

Read more from this story HERE.

School Bribes Kids to Stop Playing with Toy Guns by Offering Chance at Free Bicycle

/7 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

An elementary school in Hayward, Calif. will sponsor a toy gun trade-in, encouraging kids to swap their harmless toy weapons for a chance to win a new bicycle.

The purpose of the trade-in is to stop children from playing with toy guns, which may make them more likely to commit violence with real guns, said Strobridge Elementary principal Chris Hill.

“Playing with toys guns, saying ‘I’m going to shoot you,’ desensitizes them, so as they get older, it’s easier for them to use a real gun,” Hill said in a statement to Mercury News.

The trade-in will take place on Saturday during the school’s “Safety Day,” which will also feature talks on safety tips from police officers and firefighters. Authorities will offer to take pictures and fingerprints of children to be used to help locate them in case they go missing.

Any child who hands over his toy gun will receive a raffle ticket. The school will raffle off four bicycles, and also hand out books in exchange for the tickets.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Tractor Trailer on Trans-Canada Highway Collides With Moose, Ignites Fireworks

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: YouTube

Two days ago, this tractor trailer in the attached video crashed into a moose and then exploded into flames. The driver apparently escaped without injury.

According to Brenda Grundt who posted the YouTube video, the “trailer was carrying ammunition and fireworks. Here are some of the fireworks exploding while the vehicle is burning. The collision occurred 40 kilometres south of Wawa at Mijinemungshing Lake” on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Limbaugh: ‘We are in the Midst of a Coup’

/11 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WND

This week’s revelations about the federal government collecting massive amounts of communication data on American citizens has the country’s most-listened-to radio voice saying President Barack Obama is leading a coup against the nation.

“What everybody knows and what nobody wants to come to grips with is we are in the midst of a coup taking place,” talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said Friday afternoon. “It’s almost on a par with [when I said] ‘I hope he fails.’ How does that sound now, by the way?”

“What’s wrong with calling this a coup?” he continued. “There’s a lot here to be concerned about.”

“This is the guy, don’t forget, convincing people that this kind of stuff was never going to happen here. … This is the guy who got elected president by telling us that what is happening now was never going to happen when he was president. … He got elected warning us that what was happening now was happening in 2008. … [Now] it’s more sweeping than it’s ever been.”

He pointed out that information gathering has already been used to target political supporters of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 election cycle.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Left Speechless Without Prepared Remarks on Health Care (+video)

/11 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Evan Vucci

President Obama was left stranded without a copy of his speech Friday as he prepared to give a short presentation about the importance of Californians enrolling in his health-care program.

As Mr. Obama walked on stage at the event in San Jose, Calif., he immediately noticed that a paper copy of his speech wasn’t on the podium with the presidential seal. The president was working without a teleprompter, and he tried to stall for time until aides could rescue him.

“Good morning everybody, it is wonderful to see all of you,” Mr. Obama said to the audience. “I want to thank everybody who is here. I think there’s only one problem, and that is that my remarks are not sitting here.”

Read more from this story HERE.

What a Relief: Our Trustworthy President Assures Us that the Feds aren’t Listening to Your Phone Calls (+video)

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Washington Examiner

President Obama on Friday for the first time publicly defended his administration’s top-secret phone and Internet surveillance programs, insisting that Americans weren’t being directly targeted and that national-security benefits were worth the “modest encroachments on privacy.”

“Nobody is listening to your telephone calls,” Obama said, acknowledging that his National Security Agency was collecting massive amounts of data on Americans. But he insisted that the data included only telephone numbers and durations of conversations — and that there was no monitoring of actual calls. To listen in on conversations, Obama said it would require court approval.

As for the revelation that the NSA and FBI are also accessing the Internet servers of major U.S. providers, Obama said, “This does not apply to U.S. citizens, and this does not apply to people living in the United States.”

Obama was forced to address the simmering controversies at an event in San Jose, Calif., meant to trumpet his healthcare overhaul. Allies and political foes alike have battered the administration with charges of government overreach as details continue to emerge about its surveillance programs.

Obama offered no apologies, at one point brushing off the controversies as “hype.” He said the secret programs, originated in President George W. Bush’s administration, were subject to Congressional oversight.

Read more from this story HERE.

Man Killed in Bear Mauling in Interior Alaska

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Jason Empey

A 64-year-old Fairbanks man was mauled to death by a bear at a remote lake in Alaska’s interior, authorities said Friday.

The man and a family member were at a cabin at George Lake, about 110 miles southeast of Fairbanks, when the attack occurred Thursday evening.

The family member sought shelter inside the cabin and called authorities, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said…

Responders found the man’s body outside the cabin, and the traumatized family member inside. The victim was identified as Robert Weaver, Peters said.

Read more from this story HERE.