Freedom, Freedom? ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA51wyl-9IE

Again, a few songs I'm not familiar with, that I, we, can now discover!

There are  a few here  and in the previous post that I'm not familiar with. I look forward to going to Youtube, and listening!

Agreed. I'm a fan of Billie Holliday, but don't put her in the Rock family. And I'm a fan of Bonnie Raitt, but haven't listened to her lately.

Great post, great info. and great points.

Yes, I'm glad you highlight this, Molly. I woke up today with this worrying me - both the free speech and religious liberty implications and also - if I'm remembering correctly - the subtle way blaming the video allowed the administration to indirectly blame "tea party types" for the Benghazi incident itself. Thus, even this fits in with the stigmatizing and targeting of conservatives.

I agree. Regarding isolationism, let alone indifference: We are better than that.

Oops - In my list of people blamed "for just about everything,"  I left out "corporate America." What was I thinking?

I'm not sure, but I haven't come across the word Hooey for awhile, and it gave me a good laugh!

I agree. I have to admit I'm overly obsessed with the 1930s, how things got so bad so quickly, and what  can learn from that time - and it is worrying.

But, whether we like it or not, government remains a place where many problems are "solved" and government affects every aspect of our lives. The societal effect of limited government versus the effect of statist government might be reason enough to get involved.

Actually, it does. We've reverted to the group-think and the statism that enabled many pre-WWII Europeans to see individuals not as human beings but as cogs in the wheel of group existence.

"But the biggest problem with the article is that it entirely sidesteps the evidence Common Core was written by special interests and federally funded nonprofits in secret, was pushed on states by the federal government before they even saw the final product, its requirements are vague, meaningless, and of shockingly low-quality, is an entirely unproven set of mandates untried anywhere in the world, states are incorporating creepy data-mining on teachers and kids, and the history of American education that shows, as the Soviets did on a larger scale, that central planning breeds corruption and destitution. "

Totally agree. The central planning aspect of this is concerning, and the fact that it emerged before anyone had a chance to review it is even more concerning.

It's today's "theories" of history for the sake of "speaking finely" that concern me because they affect first our approach to history and eventually, if they are accepted, society itself. They stand in contrast to the modest approaches here which emphasize seeking and recording the truth. If the more modest approach were defined and compellingly articulated and defended might that make a difference in our education and even our society?

Given the way the concept of truth has come up in this discussion, it occurs to me that the debate about Common Core is indirectly, but importantly related to this discussion.

Here's an article on Common Core by Sol Stern in City Journal. http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_3_curriculum-reform.html

Agree, but the other side of this is that versions of history have big actual consequences. Do you agree?