Amelia Hamilton, a communications consultant and writer in Colorado, recently announced a new venture of hers: her very first children’s book publication, One Nation Under God: A Book For Little Patriots. Between her constant travels and managing her small business, it’s hard to keep up with her, but we were able to ask a few questions about the book, her experiences as a self-publisher, and how she’s linked Frank Capra to the project.

So, for those who aren’t familiar, what is the purpose of the book? How is it structured, and what kind of lessons are you sending to its “little patriot” readers?

It is a teaching tool to help kids learn the fundamentals of America. So, it goes from one nation under God through ten amendments in the Bill of Rights. It’s a counting book, but it covers government structure, history–a little bit of everything. It’s meant for ages 5-8; the counting aspect is for younger children, but they might not really understand the concepts until they’re a little older. Still, good to familiarize them with it early!

What brought about the decision to make a book specifically catering to conservative parents?

It’s not really conservative; it’s more patriotic. It’s all factual things–I guess “one nation under God” is considered religious–but aside from that, things like 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights are pretty straightforward, information for kids. (more…)

If we’ve learned anything from the Huffington Post, it’s that celebrity’ attempts at political eloquence almost always ends in disaster.  A recent op-ed by Canadian singer Raffi was no exception; while God dumped enough snow on America to collapse the Superdome and Floridians tried to make sense of their temperatures dipping into the low 20s for a few weeks, the man had the tone-deaf gall to say we really need to refocus on this global warming thing.   And, attempting eloquence, he quickly made it the most embarrassing statement about global warming since… well…

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Quoth the Raffi:

In a well known Greek myth, the very rich King Midas, who loves gold above all else, is granted his singular wish that everything he touches turn into gold. The gift becomes a curse when his golden touch kills plants, food, and even his daughter, who is turned into a statue. Bereft and repentant, forsaking greed, the king begs for deliverance. His curse is lifted by a wash in the river. All he holds truly precious is restored.

The modern version of the story is about a gold rush called globalization, a monetized world order that commodifies everything and poisons all that it touches: air, water, soil, whales, indigenous cultures, mothers’ milk, and babies, now born with a body burden of toxic chemicals. Money, as symbolic reward for goods and services, when elevated above all else, becomes a curse. The symbol turns tyrant and casts a plague on the living. We’re currently in the atonement chapter of the tragedy, praying we have time to write a happier ending.

Just… where does one begin?

Short answer:  penguins. They’re not worried about global warming.  Just take a look at this little guy…! (more…)

For the uninitiated, Steve was the original host of the children’s show “Blue’s Clues.” I have sat through many repeated episodes of Steve hunting down that little puppy’s paw-print clues, and Steve’s performance and interaction with the camera made most of those sittings not only tolerable, but at times quite entertaining.  Unfortunately, I just discovered that during last year’s campaign, he used his incredible talents for a piece of fact-challenged propaganda targeting Sarah Palin and done in the same style he used to educate so many of America’s children about more mundane things like counting and sharing.

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Despite an alarming number of urban legends pertaining to Steve, it turns out he did NOT overdose on heroin and his arms are NOT all covered with tattoos (many thought this to be the explanation as to why he was ALWAYS seen in long-sleeves).  The truth is, Steve spent a few years writing and performing alternative rock with his friend Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips.  Although his music never made it really big, it did receive some pretty high praise from critics and fans.
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My wife and I have big dreams for our children. We want nothing for them but health, happiness and success and we recognize that a good education can be a step towards realizing that goal. We also demand that our children perform up to their potential. The skills one learns in school – study habits, attention to detail, and meeting deadlines – are essential for success in the work world. In this we are like every other parent in America.

However we are also Black parents of a certain generation and so the subtleties of race continue to speak to us and they are very real. Sometimes we are not sure if we are responding atavistically to the faint smell of something in the air or if what we are hearing are the soft echoes of our own imaginations. It’s sometimes impossible to tell, which is why race and issues associated with race (to coin a phrase from the late Ralph Wiley) continue to make Black People want to shout.

Last week I had what my parents’ generation used to call a “come to Jesus meeting” with my 7th grade son. His mid-term report card arrived in the mail. His mother and I were under-whelmed.

The comments on my son’s report card indicated that he is under the mistaken impression that school is for socializing and his grades reflect a rather lackluster effort at best. I went “old school”: after a brief lecture he received some tactile encouragement to start taking care of TCB. (more…)

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Having received some criticism for my last post about “Sesame Street,” I would like to briefly respond to some of the questions and assertions in the comment section. 

What’s so bad about saying “we share common humanity despite ethnic/religious/linguistic differences?” 

A main tenet of the multiculturalism and Enviro-Statism inculcated by Modern Liberal educators and as practiced on “Sesame Street” — exemplified in “We All Sing the Same Song,” is the diminishment of the unique greatness of American culture. 

Political Correctness and its Critical Theory are shamefully deployed against American culture to create a false front of “equality” to less free, less successful, and deviant cultures around the globe. 

That is neither a healthy, nor appropriate form of values inculcation upon young American children, nor is it a responsible expenditure of American tax dollars.  (more…)

Recently, actor Matt Damon narrated a video for the State Department, addressing the problem of chronic  worldwide hunger. The video is extremely well made; those who watch it can’t help but be touched by it.

This first minute of the three-minute video revolves around one problem: Hunger. Poor children are seen dying of starvation, others are lying on the streets of third-world countries, not able to walk. Damon explains that six million children die of hunger every year – needless to say, a shocking statistic.

Even the most egotistical viewer cannot help but get angry at and upset by so much suffering, most of which is needless.

But then, one minute into the video, the subject suddenly changes. We move from dying children to tornadoes and tsunamis. Damon forgets about the children for a while to focus on … you knew it was coming … global warming. (more…)

So in Australia, which is a country, a swimming school operator plans to stage a symbolic protest against what she calls the “sanitization” of kids’ sports, by holding a “swimming carnival.”

I have no idea how she’s getting the Ferris Wheel into the pool, but screw the details: Julie Stevens says that while competition often puts pressure on children, the kids actually crave the stress. The 300 or so tykes that have signed up so far apparently like being part of a team, and having the opportunity to shine before their peers and parents. You can’t do that without competition, the potential for winning (and losing) and stylish swim trunks.

Trophies for Everyone!

Of course, Stevens admits this is unpopular with folks concerned with children’s self-esteem. But most of those folks are idiots. We’ve learned that removing objective measures for achievement does nothing but create what I call “success socialism,” where it becomes pointless to build character when there’s nowhere to express it. (more…)

I’m far from a perfect father. For example, just the other day, on my watch, my one-year old, Ben, who is now rumblin’, bumblin’ and stumblin’ all over the house, took a dive on the corner of our entertainment center and gave himself a nice shiner.  Within a few minutes, he’d forgotten about it and was wobbling around on two legs again, proud of his newly acquired mobility.  But I felt bad for not catching him. I suppose the President, who made it a point on Saturday to pontificate to us dads about what kind of fathers we should be just ahead of Father’s Day, has never missed either of his daughters just before they got an “ouchie.” If neither Sasha nor Malia have ever scraped a knee, had a black eye, or even fractured a bone, then I guess he can pretend to be the perfect daddy. But then, you could also argue that without said minor injuries, the First Kids probably haven’t lived much of a life.

President Obama’s righteousness about fatherhood comes from the recognition that his own dad was, indeed, a douchebag. He knocked up Obama’s mom and quickly fled the country, only meeting his son once, and bringing him a basketball. There are fathers like that out there, but they’re few and far between. And they deserve our scorn. And I understand the President’s desire to talk about his own experience as a fatherless child. I get it. It must have been terrible and I’d probably talk about it too if my dad Bruce Wilson hadn’t been the incredible dad he is to this day (see my movie “Michael Moore Hates America” for an interview with Pops). (more…)