Here are parts one & two of the series.

"If I talked to any college student who is going into education right now, I'd tell them not to pursue teaching."  Those were the depressing but very real words Ms. K told me on her last day of teaching the kindergarten level for over 20 years.  She is having surgery on her knees that was supposed to bring just this year of teaching to an end; however, due to the difficulties of trying to teach kids in the rigid and out-dated public school system, Ms. K decided to fully retire.  What has made this wonderful woman not only run from the job she loved but also stop others from running to the job she once pursued?

Argument: We need the Department of Education to have a solid education system in America!  If we didn't have it, we would be failing our kids.

Answer: Actually, if we don't get rid of the Department of Education then we are failing our kids in America.  It is precisely federal involvement in education that has ruined our education system and has pushed teachers such as Ms. K out of the honorable service.  No, the federal government isn't the only factor; however, it cannot be denied that the Department of Education (and other federal involvement) has been an abmissmal failure and a destructive force in America.

There has been quite a lot of controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood (PP) lately.  The debate has been whether or not taxpayer dollars should be given to PP in light of the truly abhorrent amount of abortions they perform.  Americans are starting to ask, "Is it right to ask individuals to give their own hard earned money to fund something they find morally reprehensible?"  

Allow me to be really frank on this issue: There is no reason, no rationale, no argument that anyone can make to convince me that taxpayers should provide funds to PP.  I've seen all the bleeding hearts post on Facebook and complain in the media about how many good things PP does and how it deserves my support.  "Thank you for cutting off funding to cancer screening programs in order to prove you are pro-life," read one of those trendy memes floating around online.  Essentially, I'm being told not to mind the hundreds of thousands (324,008 in 2008) of abortions they perform each year because they provide cancer screenings.  Call me crazy, but I think the fact that Planned Parenthood performed 26% of America's abortions in 2008 is solid grounds for a pro-life individual to consider not giving money to them.

Drake University is trying to calm parents' and students' fears that the campus isn't safe due to a few shootings recently in the surrounding neighborhood.  To be honest, it really isn't all that safe around the campus.  No, it isn't another Detroit, where folks have a lot more to worry about in regard to their safety than Des Moines residents do, but certainly we have issues with violence.  

This is why I decided to write a piece in my student newspaper about a concealed carry policy on campus.  It'll get hammered by those who disagree, like most of my opinion articles, but I thought it was still necessary to put the option out there (you now, for those who actually care about their natural right to self-defense).  I think it is important also to remember that gun control has never been actually been about guns -- it has always been about control:

Unfortunately, we are all very aware of the recent violence in the Drake Neighborhood. Although there have not been school shootings, per se, there have been shootings by those in the Des Moines community at-large. They certainly evoke questions about the safety of our campus.

These questions are not new, though. In light of recent school shootings (two at Virginia Tech), folks have scrambled for solutions to the problem. While most argue for stricter gun control, some have argued that allowing students to carry guns themselves would actually make campuses safer. It seems counterintuitive, but is there any credibility in this argument? While I may personally support this policy, I’m not here calling for a switch at Drake. Rather, I only hope that as students we at least start to become more open minded to the idea and realization of our natural right to self-defense.

Read the rest of the article here.

Those who would give up Essential ██████ to purchase a little Temporary safety, deserve neither ██████ nor safety.

The sponsors of SOPA & PIPA want you to forget about your inherent liberties.  Don't let them black that out, too.  Contact these cosponsors and tell them to stop the attack on our liberty!

House cosponsors. Senate cosponsors.