Brushfire of Freedom

Voice of Adams

by Babe in the Woods

It’s been rather quiet around here, I noticed. I’ve watched as friends trickled away one by one to their new colleges, new opportunities, new lives. ‘Tis the season of saying goodbye to all of our college-bound students. If there’s one thing I absolutely hate doing, it’s saying goodbye, and the only reason I contain this selfishness is because I know that a) I’ll be doing the same soon anyways, and b) they’re off to get educations that will enable them to do great things with their lives.

That being said, there’s more and more kids now making the decision not to go to college. In 2004, 40% of low-income kids went on to a four year college, a number reduced from 54% in 1992. Personally, I think the decision to not go to college is a great one as well. Pop culture has fueled a mentality that everybody has to go to a four year college after high school to make good lives for themselves. In reality, this is far from accurate. Too many people end up buried in student loans and only begin to realize while in their Economics 101 class that there was a cost-benefit analysis that should have been considered before entering college. Is all this debt really worth a degree? And don’t get me wrong; a lot of the time the answer is yes, and plenty other times the debt is reduced with scholarships and other financial aid. But there are plenty of jobs for which a college degree would be completely unnecessary, and we’ll always need people to work those jobs too. 

With the recent recession, people have been more and more considerate of how they spend their money, and the same has held true for the big ticket items like college. One of my friends was accepted to a state college but recently started considering other options, like joining the military. I have to say, I was quite proud of her for really thinking things through. “I’m just not sure what I want to do yet,” she explained. I think there’s a good point to be made with this statement; college is a very expensive time-killer if you’re really unsure about your future.

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Copyright 2011.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.

Brushfire of Freedom

Voice of Adams

by Babe in the Woods

To families in Memphis, the title of this article is a phrase they’ve heard far too often lately. In fact, they have been watching for a few years now as the Memphis City Schools Board of Education battled with the city over funding discrepancies. Within the last year, and the last month especially, the feud has only intensified.

The issue at hand goes back to a central problem that the whole country has been struggling with lately, a tendency to allow debt to steadily build up until it’s too late. It’s like America has been playing musical chairs, a fun game until the music stops and someone’s left without a chair, and lately the music has been stopping. 

The context of this story is probably not a unique one in the country. Essentially, the Memphis City Schools sued the city back in 2008 over a funding problem and since then have been relying on the board’s savings. Flash forward to 2011, and the board is now claiming that the city owes them $151 million, which includes $78 million needed for the upcoming year. Late July of this year saw a new debate arise when Memphis City Schools said they would not begin the 2011-2012 school year until the city had paid them $55 million. This issue has since been settled, but of course not with a deal that involved a $55 million payover. The city school district has also addressed their debt with a hefty list of proposed budget cuts that included the complete elimination of band and choir, sports, and foreign languages, among countless other expenses, essentially all cuts that would leave the city with fewer schools, fewer employees, and a bare-bone curriculum. Thankfully there has, as yet, been no followthrough on the majority of these cuts--although there will be fewer schools in operation this year--but there’s much to worry about when such a list even has to be drawn up. 

The funding issue comes in part from way back when the schools of Shelby County, although part of Memphis, were drawn up as a separate school district, so property taxes could be distributed by geographic location to the appropriate school district. The poorer inner-city make up of Memphis has subsequently been lacking funds comparable to those coming from the generally richer population of the suburbs in Shelby County. Thus, where Memphis City Schools have been struggling, Shelby County schools have actually been quite successful.

All this has prodded the people of inner-city Memphis to think that maybe they don’t want to be part of a separate school district after all. In the past several months there has been much debate about the possibility of a merger of the two districts, something the Memphis City Schools generally favored, whereas Shelby County was much more hesitant. Why would Shelby County want to sacrifice their success and balanced budget? Especially when a merger would mean getting involved with $151 million of insufficient funds. And we all know that such a big number is not just the fault of the city for not paying up but also the fault of the school Board for not handling their money well. 

Lo and behold, the merger did happen, on August 8th. The worry now is that members of the Memphis City School Board will demand representation on the Shelby County Board, the group that will most likely end up with most control over the new merged district. That seems like a good idea; let’s let the people who got the schools in trouble with funding have power over an even larger district now. That’d be as crazy as letting lawmakers who get a whole country in debt make new rules about how to handle the debt! (Oh wait....)

I apologize for this probably boring article, because I realize that, with the current state of affairs, there is little surprise or suspense to be found in a news story about debt problems. But what I really wanted to point out is what this story is NOT about. 

The kids.

What about the kids? Memphis has been hearing so much, especially in the past several months, about disputes between the school boards and mayor and politicians in general. But what about the kids? Heck, they’re the ones going to school. They’re the ones trying to get an education. They’re the ones trying to better their futures so that Memphis won’t continue to be a city with such problems of debt and crime and poverty.

But nowhere in any article I read were the kids mentioned.

Nowhere.

And believe it or not, the kids do care. In late July when the students of Memphis were told that the start of the school year was being indefinitely delayed until the city payed up $55 million, there was actually a lot of worry. When I talked to most of my friends, they weren’t excited that school was being pushed off. On the contrary, most were quite anxious or upset, especially those rising seniors who now had a diploma to worry about. 

Clearly, our politicians lack concern about the interests of the people. If they did have concern, they wouldn’t be letting their money problems keep kids from going to school.

I mean, these kids actually want to go school. And I repeat, these kids want to go to school. Who is going to shamelessly keep kids out of school when they’re striving to be educated?

The politicians of Memphis, and politicians of the nation at large, need to start thinking about this. These issues aren’t just petty debates to take up time on the news. These issues truly affect Americans, people who care about their lives, their futures, their livelihoods.

Actions have consequences, America, especially the actions of those people representing the general population. Please remember that. 

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Copyright 2011.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.

 Brushfire of Freedom

Voice of Adams

by Babe in the Woods

As we all know, the last movie in the beloved Harry Potter series has come out recently, setting box-office records. I was amused to watch Facebook in the hours surrounding the U.S. midnight opening. Preceding the release were minute by minute countdowns, but the comments that followed are what surprised me. My friends emerged from the theaters not excited about the impressive battle scenes, but, rather, almost remorseful to see its end. With a last, disheartened comment, “Mischief managed,” it was generally realized that this last movie marked the end of our childhoods for my generation of the early 90s babies. 

Yes, I’ll admit that I was sad for the end as well, having been one of those kids who grew up with Harry Potter as a regular presence in my life, but then again, my generation is of the late high school, college, or early adulthood ages, and I’m realizing that it’s probably time we start growing up. Especially when it comes to politics. 

I’ve noticed trends in my high school friends, and I’m not sure how many years or decades these trends span, so what I’m saying is purely what I currently observe as a teen myself, a rising senior in high school to be specific, if you were wondering. 

Anyways, what I’ve seen is that most kids could care less about the economic aspects of politics; social issues are really all that get the youth’s attention. Most all of them have their opinions on gay marriage and abortion, and plenty of us are glad to wear our hemp shoes and carry recycled bags to show that we’re green (which, as a side note, is great and everything, but most of them don’t realize the absurdity of the political background to the climate change issue). But when it comes to economics, many don’t know, and many don’t care. And trust me, I’m the worst at it. If I’m not interested in a topic, then I’m not going to learn about it unless I have to, and economics is one of those topics that really doesn’t get my interest, besides knowing how much money I have in that ziploc in my sock drawer. I’ve started working to change that though, after realizing that I didn’t know too much more about politics than did my -- I say this with what affection is appropriate for the context -- ignorant friends and peers. Interestingly enough, some of my opinions have certainly changed as I looked at the arguments more. While still a fiscal conservative, I think I lean much more liberal on a many of the social debates.. not sure if that makes me a libertarian, but whatever the label, I’m learning what I believe. 

So why haven’t us “young adults” cared about much of politics? Largely because we don’t have to. We can get away with being lazy, and, honestly, friends, TV, and sports are much more fun and interesting. Why not leave the politics to the politicians? Clearly they’re handling everything just fine! As part of this rising generation, though, I’ve started to worry about this lack of care. It’s only when things really start getting bad and directly affecting these kids, like here in Memphis where the start of school is being delayed because the school system literally can’t afford to operate (although that’s a story for another day). I feel like we had it right at the beginning of our nation, when we had no career politicians, just a nation full of well-studied, active members of society who would sacrifice time here and there to act as temporary leaders for the country. 

But back to the topic at hand, how do we get these indolent teenagers (and yes, that’s politically correct for me to say, since I am included in this grouping) to start caring and learn a little something about the important political matters in today’s America? Well, as much as I’d like to do away with career politicians so that everyone naturally had to be up to date on their current events, that’s not really really an option this late in the game. Perhaps schools could incorporate more current events into regular study, to help kids learn how to think for themselves rather than taking the easy way out and simply regurgitating what they hear parents, friends, or newsmen saying. While there is certainly no clear solution to this matter, I have a feeling that our nation is at a point when kids will soon have no choice but to start caring. It will be hard, for better or for worse, to ignore political issues when caught up in the midst of them. For now, though, I’ll simply advocate that you do your part to support any teens looking to understand more about politics, and for heaven’s sake, at the bare minimum please make sure they know that credit cards are not free money but require a source to pay from!

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Copyright 2011.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.

 Brushfire of Freedom

The Armory

Note: Originally published on May 5th, 2009 at Brushfire Sparks.

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

The fourth amendment is the second boundary of private property and stems from the practice of the “general warrant” issued by the King of England.  General warrants allowed random searches of property without cause or evidence of crime.  The warrants were issued for the life of the King plus six months.  The practice was originally challenged in 1761 by James Otis and a group of merchants who called for hearings on general warrants and writs of assistance.  Otis later became an assemblyman in Massachusetts, leading the passage of a law making the warrants illegal.  Though the governor overturned the law, John Adams viewed these events regarding the warrants as the spark that started the American Revolution.

The fourth amendment requires that any warrant must be judicially sanctioned, meaning a judge must issue the warrant for search and seizure.  It is the basis for much of our legal system and private property laws.  The original prohibition against general warrants was the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which identified the practice as , “...grievous and oppressive...”.    

For a warrant to be issued today, the request for warrant must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope to the subject of the search.  Someone must swear an oath that the cause for search is just and valid, and that person is held accountable to the court for that oath.  Even if you are not in law enforcement or the legal profession, you have most likely encountered some of these concepts when watching television.  The purpose of the fourth amendment and the associated laws and rulings has always been to protect private property.  A man’s home is his castle and should not be violated indiscriminately by authorities of the state. 

There have been multiple cases regarding this particular right of the people.  Because it is more directly restrictive of the government, it is constantly in question in criminal cases.  The fourth is the root of the “technicality” defense, where law enforcement fails to properly define the scope of a search, or provide sufficient evidence to support the search and seizure of evidence.  The error in these defenses is that the court assumes and individual is innocent because their rights have been violated in the investigation of the crime.  This is simply a misapplication of the amendment and not a flaw in its construction.  In leu of declaring a criminal innocent, the courts should consider removing the improperly gathered evidence from the case and continue the trial rather than release a potential criminal back onto the streets.  There are other exceptions such as “plain view” and “open fields” that allow search of areas and collection of evidence that may not be considered private property, or evidence in open site of the investigator.

So, that’s the history.  What does it mean for you?  It means your home, your car, and your person are all protected from random government searches by the US Constitution.  It means the power of the government is limited to enacting and enforcing the law, not randomly investigating citizens with no specific cause.  It defines private property, and protects it from the government, ensuring the freedom of the people.  In more recent terms it means that phone conversations and your computer fall under a reasonable expectation of privacy and can not be investigated by law enforcement without oath and warrant.  

We take many of these rights for granted, largely because those of us alive today have never been forced to live without them.  Imagine what it would be like if federal agents could come to your home and conduct an investigation without cause.  Imagine that they seized your computer, cell phone, or other personal property.  Imagine they could take those items and present them as evidence against you for charges not yet provided and have you confined to prison.  Now, take a mental walk around your home for a moment.  What’s in there that might be used against you?  Perhaps some photos of a bachelor party that got a little out of hand.  Maybe some articles you’ve been reading as part of a class project.  Perhaps some web sites, phone numbers, or MP3’s that have been stored that, out of context, might seem suspicious.  Imagine what you would have to do to your home, your car, and your life to protect it from those types of random searches.  Now, breathe a little easier in knowing that the fourth amendment is there to protect you against unjust searches...for now.

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.

Brushfire of Freedom

Voice of Adams

Guest Blog - Musical Interlude

Even whilst the Brushfire team basks in the sun on holiday, the ire in this nation against the abuses of the Obama regime continues to rise.  The results are some very interesting signs, commentary that holds our representatives accountable, and some pretty catchy tunes.  

As a bonus during our vacation break, we’re posting a video of one of those catchy tunes.  Listen, enjoy, and comment as you like.  

Video: On the Ragged Edge Rag

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Copyright 2010.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.