"I can think of a half dozen government agencies which would best serve the nation by being eliminated (the Department of Education springs immediately to mind)."

Good call !

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/tah/

"The United States Department of Education's Teaching American History Grant program was created to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American history. Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) apply for the grants in partnership with colleges, universities, non-profit history or humanities organizations, libraries, or museums. Further information on the Teaching American History grant program is available on-line at the US DOE Teaching American History program website.

The Ashbrook Center at Ashland University has been a partner with LEAs in Ohio and across the nation on eighteen Teaching American History grants since 2001."

"I can think of a half dozen government agencies which would best serve the nation by being eliminated (the Department of Education springs immediately to mind). "

Good call and it needs to be abolished at the State Level also. Why? Here is why...

Mark Leno, Democratic State Leg Representative from the Stupid City - San Francisco, is sponsoring a bill that will most likely pass in the California State Leg requiring that public schools in California teach about gay and lesbian culture - along with Africian American, Feminists, Asian- American, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc, and on and on (the list excludes white males of course).

The Stupid State spents 63.8 billion dollars a year on K-12 education and 23.7 billon dollars per year on Higher Education. California ranks at 47th in testing scores in things like math, science, English, reading, and history. One in three students drop out of high school. The City of Los Angeles just issued 7,200 pink slips and other large cities are issuing 100's of pink slips to teachers. California tax payers owe about 200 billion in pensions to the California State Teachers Union. Since about 1,000 residents of California who work and pay taxes are moving out of California each day, the prospect of that 200 billion being recovered is probably null.

Of course it is important that our children learn about gay and lesbian culture. It will help them get through medical school. Wait, the students in California can't do math or science very well so I guess it doesn't really matter.

Liberalism is a mental illness and you can't fix stupid. The Bright Shining Camelot of Liberalism - California - is a complete utter failure.

Actually a good point ... what is Ashland's policy with regard to grants in the face of budget pressure to cut spending?

Just because Ashland has accepted grants in the past does not necessarily mean it can't call for elimination of the Department of Education now. So the ripe hypocrisy you believe is present is not really present unless Ashland were to argue for continued grants.

To be consistent Ashland should seek to be more like Hillsdale and not accept any federal monies. I'm not sure whether their present financial standing would permit that.

But on a broader point -- every single federal government department and agency has its constituency group. So if the mere presence of objection is enough to warrant taking cuts off the table, then no cuts are possible. The train will continue to rumble along until it derails. And it will derail on its present course.

I am starting to see the wisdom of an "across the board" cut -- no exceptions, no favoritism, no exemptions. Everyone -- Department of Education, Department of Defense, Congress -- everyone suddenly has to make do with 10% less this year, and another 10% the following year.

It can be done. It likely won't be done, but it could be done.

"... you can't fix stupid." Nope, cowgirl, you can't. Never a truer word from your fingers.

I so agree that you can't fix stupid. Depressing, but hopefully we can cure Liberalism and "you can't fix stupid" by seeing the Most Liberal State of all go down in flames. Starting completing over will be much easier than fixing stupid. Don't you agree?

Sorry, cowgirl, I really can't agree. In part because I'm genuinely not sure what you're asking me to agree to. Your post really doesn't make any sense, either logically or grammatically, however charitable one might wish to be. I do hope you're teaching your son to write more clearly than this.

Perhaps, though, you're being really clever here, writing in the style of an almost illiterate teenager ('starting completing,' anyone?) in order to demonstrate just how poorly California's doing in terms of education. Very nice.

Or perhaps ...

Please accept my apologies for a mistyped word (somehow I believe that you are trying so hard to find something to pick apart other than the facts that I have posted on the sorry state of California's eductional system) - it should be "completely". Thus the sentence should read as follows: Starting completely over will be much easier than fixing stupid.

I may have a spelling issue, but you have a comprehension issue. I was agreeing with your statement " Nope, cowgirl, you can't." That statement was in reply to my post that stated facts about the failing public school system in California. I was agreeing with you. Or are you just trying to be coy and cute and cut me down because you cannot argue or disprove my facts.

Your ability to find a misspelled word and blow it out of proportion is evidence to the fact that you cannot present any substantial material that my facts are incorrect. A true sign that Liberalism is a mental illness and you can't fix stupid. I have been posting on blogs for many years and find that when someone cannot reply with facts or evidence to the contrary, their first line of defense is to attack spelling/grammar and then the person or person's family with personal attacks - Wow - doesn't that sound just like the bus driver in the White House? You and the bus driver have a lot in common.

Also your unhealthy obession with the fact that my son is homeschooled is another telltale sign of your Liberalism disease. You literally fall apart when I misspell a word and then proceed to dump on my son. Fact: Homeschooled kids do better academically than kids that attend public school. This is a fact. My son is a 4.5 honors student.. Unfortunately for those afflicted with Liberalism, homeschooling is often a sore spot. One more fact to make you fall apart and find misspelled words. Homeschooling and charter school enrollment has increased by 40% over the past two years. The public school system, especially in California, will go by the wayside very soon. This fact is obvious since the Stupid State is going broke. Thank you Liberals.

By the way, are you Scanlon or related to Scanlon? Your style of writing and commentary are almost exactly the same. Are you ghost writing for Scanlon, like Ayers did for Obama?

No, cowgirl, I pick on your grammar etc. because you're an idiot who has absolutely nothing to say and no idea of how to say it but who holds herself up as a paragon of all that's good true and pure.

Repeatedly calling anyone who is a liberal mentally ill is simply repugnant. It's immediately insulting to about half the country - generally the half that thinks - and insulting to anyone who suffers from a mental illness. But then, like your good friend Marilyn Davenport, I'm sure you don't see it that way.

So ... whatever.

"It's immediately insulting to about half the country -"

Try 20% of the country, bro.

https://www.gallup.com/poll/141032/2010-conservatives-outnumber-moderates-liberals.aspx

You just called me an idiot and then bashed me for calling liberalism a mental illness. You just proved my point.

But if I am an idiot, then you should have no problem disproving all the facts that I posted about The Stupid State. Unfortunately for you - you will not be able to disprove it. California is the Camelot of Liberalism. It is failing apart daily.

If you are supposedly a mature adult, let me give you some advice. Calling someone names because you can't disprove their facts is a sign of mental illness.