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.

I wrote it for my friend’s little boy when he turned three, and he’s like a nephew to me. So we were learning how to count, and I just wasn’t crazy about any of his books. I mean, they were fine, but I felt like he could be counting better things, so I wrote him a book for his birthday. Originally, I didn’t think about publishing it at all, but I shared it with a few friends to read to their kids and it was so well received that I realized parents are really looking of books like this. And I’m passionate about helping as many kids as possible learn about our country, so that’s how it came to be.

How do you feel about the lessons and values that kids are receiving from most modern children’s books?

I feel like many are lacking something. One of the first books I bought the same little guy, it was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie–which, I don’t know if you’re familiar with that story, but it’s how, if you give somebody something, they’re just gonna expect something more. So I feel like, even with some of the books that have good messages, the parents still need to extrapolate on what’s being said, and the books aren’t making kids ask more questions or want to learn more as well as they could be.

Do you think that in contrast, your book is encouraging the child to interact with their parents about what they’ve read?

Yes, I hope that it stimulates an interest in the children to learn more, because I feel like having well-informed children is the best chance we’ve got.

What kind of feedback have you been receiving from those who have already seen the book so far?

So far, people love it. I was worried that people might think it’s conservative, but they’re really not. Even people who may not see eye-to-eye with me on politics are just seeing it as a pretty straightforward, patriotic book. Since it is “One Nation Under God,” people of faith are liking Number One. It’s being pretty well received so far; of course, not that many people have seen it yet, so we’ll see what happens.

Who did the illustrations for the book, and how did you get them involved?

A man named Anthony Resto did the illustrations; he is incredible. I actually just found him on Craigslist; I thought it would just be a place to start and get some leads. I didn’t really expect anything to happen from that, but he answered the ad and was perfect.

I see there’s going to be a book tour come September when it’s released. How extensive are the plans for that tour?

That is still sort of being decided. In the next year or so, I hope to cover quite a bit of America. And so far, my Twitter friends and others are pulling together and helping me get into their local bookstores–things like that. So, pretty much whoever will have me, I will do my best to go wherever I’m invited.

And so, it’s being self-published their your Hamilton Oddbody company. What kind of methods are you using to get the book out to different stores?

Yes, my mom and I are the “Hamilton” part of it, and “Oddbody” is Clarence Oddbody from It’s a Wonderful Life. So, we’re doing it with our guardian angel. [laughs] So far, building a market has just been through our network of personal contacts, and it’s coming together amazingly. People really seem to believe in the book, and they’re willing to go to their local bookstores and put in a word for us, and it’s being really well received. We don’t have plans for a digital copy through Kindle or Nook right now, but that’s definitely something we are considering.

You can pre-order Amelia’s book at her website and “Like” its Facebook page here. You can also follow Amelia on Twitter, @gadsdenista.

This article was originally published at the Landmark Report.

—–

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…!

Longer answer:  poor Raffi is feeling victory slip through his fingers.  It’s 2011, and if he hasn’t heard of Climategate by now (which puts to rest the lie that climate scientists are impartial and objective),  he’s probably noticed how many more people are becoming skeptics puppets of Big Oil as more and more information comes out about climate change, the bullying and apocalyptic exaggeration of its prominent researchers, and the massive profits that cap and trade proponents stand to gain if they get their way.  As the number of studies contesting the conclusions of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) alarmists increases, true believers like Raffi see the vindication for their vain self-righteousness slipping away, and with their backs against the wall, their true colors begin to show.

Raffi continues:

We need a new lens and lexicon for conveying climate change as the greatest threat on Earth, a tragedy of epic proportions, especially for the world’s young. … It’s best addressed with systems change, beginning with belief systems learned very early. To cut pollution and GHG emissions for good, change personal belief systems. Start young.  To grow Earth stewards, steward the children and youth. This is where the restoration must focus–strategically and morally. Not only do kids get sustainability, they have the most to lose or gain. [emphasis mine]

So it’s pretty obvious that he’s watched “Barack Hussein Obama! Mmm mmm mmm,” then.  What’s most disturbing about this is that he’s not necessarily calling for parents to teach their children to care about global warming.  It would make sense that if they’re concerned for their and their children’s futures, they’ve already taught their children, even at an early age, the long-term benefits of not using electricity or water and not driving in cars that can actually protect them in a crash.

So if it stands to reason that parents who believe in AGW will teach their children about AGW, who else but the children of climate skeptics or agnostics is he talking about reaching?  And if these children won’t be reached by their thick-headed carbon-guzzling parents, how else can we teach them but through their education and the media they consume?  The real goal here is to get to the parents through the children, not vice-versa:

It’s the same principle as what I call the Disney Pop Star Combine.  The only way to get a mass audience in music these days is to target kids; there is no “alternative media” nor a demand for one in the children’s entertainment market.  Thus, by holding a monopoly on children’s attention, Disney can convince the kids that so-and-so is cool and awesome and attractive, and those kids will get their parents to shell out money that they otherwise would not have spent on absolute dreck.  This is the last, desperate gasp of AGW alarmism; we can’t reason with adults, so we must indoctrinate the youth so they can manipulate adults into doing what we want.

There’s just one problem.  With the Disney business model, since there’s such a short shelf life for these poor kids who get thrown into showbiz way too early, they’re constantly replaced by new “stars” to make the next wave of elementary schoolers think they’re getting something new and fresh when it’s just a repackaging of what their big brothers and sisters have already wised up to.  I was a child of the late ’80s, and I remember seeing all sorts of PSAs on PBS about saving the environment.  Heck, we received a magazine at school called Time for Kids that showed Planet Earth frying like an egg on a skillet.  Scaring kids about AGW is nothing new.  The youngest generation of climate skeptics are the very children who were targeted by the likes of Raffi over the past two decades; any receptiveness we had to his message died the moment we discovered we could research these issues for ourselves.  His “new lens and lexicon” can only have a short-term effect, while our side is gaining permanent ground by sticking with conclusions reached through the actual scientific method (evidence, not conclusions, first).

It saddens me more than anything to see aging celebrities try to create a positive legacy for themselves by jumping on the eco-awareness bandwagon, thinking they’re virtuous crusaders for a cleaner planet.  It saddens me even more that when they implicitly admit that they don’t have convincing proof for their pet cause, instead of reevaluating which side of history they want to be on, they decide to grasp for vindication even harder by preying on the one demographic that can’t challenge them.  When you’re ready to talk to us adults, Raffi, we’ll still be here… especially if those cold weather ever lets up.

–

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.

But, clearly Steve’s great talent is working with a camera and communicating in an effective, coherent and entertaining way with children.  He briefly returned to morning television with this highly entertaining video (with Drozd) about Groundhogs.  I admire this video not only as a fine piece of music, but it is a wonderful way to introduce children to guitar-heavy rock music.  Kids love it, parents love it, it’s a homerun.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

I guess considering what we know about the majority of television stars, rock musicians and the people associated with educational programming, it is not a real surprise (or even a disappointment) to learn that Steve leans to the left politically.  What did come as an enormous disappointment was to discover that he used his incredible communicative talents to gear his political message toward children.  In the video posted above, which he narrates, he joins the ranks of the disingenuous liars who are downright vicious in slamming Sarah Palin and Senator McCain.  And to me, what makes it unforgiveable is that it is presented in the same spirit as his loveable character from “Blue’s Clues.”

Steve, I can enjoy your talent and watch your shows and continue to contribute to your royalty checks despite your politics which border on Palin Derangement Syndrome.  But, you make it very hard for me to continue doing that knowing that you are actively trying to teach my kids more than just the colors and seasons.  Leave my kids out of it.

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.

There are many black students at my son’s middle school, but he is one of only three in the highly-gifted magnet program within the school. The HGM is a program restricted to students that score 99.9% on an intellectual assessment test. One of three! That doesn’t leave much wiggle room to be the black kid that can’t cut it, that clowns in class or that falls behind.

One of Three.

Last year I attended the honor roll ceremony and the vast majority of the students receiving certificates were Asian. I didn’t enter the auditorium prepared to count heads, but it was hard to miss the fact that every other child walking across the stage had an Asian surname. Nor was it difficult to miss the three Black faces sitting amongst the rows of eager and happy students.

Conventional wisdom says that black parents are less actively involved in their children’s education; that there exists an anti-intellectualism in the black community such that academic achievement is seen as acting white; that Black students do not read or write as well as their white and Asian Counterparts and that the middle class achievement gap is due to racism as opposed to a gap in work habits. In addition, convention says Black boys are angry, prone to violence and better athletes than they are academics. And sometimes we black folk do things that play into the mythology.

My son told us about a Korean girl in his class whose opinions command influence among the other Asian girls in the school, or at least she thinks they do. According to my son, the students refer to her as the “queen of the Asians.” She is a straight-A student.

My son’s little brother asked if there was a “Queen of the Blacks” at the school.

“Well,” my son replied, “there is a king of the blacks.”

“Who is that?” his little brother asked.

My son responded, “He is this boy that got held back last year.”

I cringed.

My wife cringed.

No doubt there is more to the story but on its face it is damning. How is it that the “queen of the Asians” is a straight “A” student while the “king of the Blacks” is the kid that flunked 8th grade?

This – however badly we wish it wasn’t so – is the paradigm concerned Black parents are battling. This is what distinguishes us as parents from the parents of our son’s non-black friends. This is why his mother and I feel a tremendous pressure that our son NOT be the black kid that can’t make the grade; why we have no patience for shucking and jiving – why we are not satisfied with a B average. We cheat him if we do not push him to be better, if we do not demand that he achieve. If he does not reach his fullest potential he cheats us. “To those to whom much has been given…” My son has been tremendously blessed and he is now charged with carrying the banner of the people. It may not be fair, but that is the way of the world.

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. 

This video looks like it was made over 30 years ago, and if you’re going to complain about something at least do it on a recent “Sesame Street” episode. 

That criticism ignores the fact that the song is on the “Sesame Street Sing Along” DVD. A compilation that remains available at Sesame Street.org’s online store. Thus, perpetuating its subversive messaging to children in subsequent generations. 

Would [you] prefer that a kids’ show teach children to hate and fear anyone from another culture? 

False dilemma fallacies are a predictable, yet routine clumsy rhetorical tactic of the Modern Liberal Statist. As bullies, their goal is to distract from the main point of an argument, so they project obtuse personal attacks. Their simplistic purpose is to stifle debate, via attempted demonization of the “Other.” It illustrates their immaturity and incapability to grow up and out of the elementary sandbox. 

Finally, this comment from what appears to be, pace David Mamet, a “Brain-Dead Liberal”:  

HEY! BAD X-FILES ACTOR! I wonder when was the last time YOU visited a military base. Sesame Street did. 

I sincerely love “X-Files” and take pride in my participation and performance on that legendary show. But ‘HEY!’ there’s no accounting for taste (or self-defeating ad hominem), right? 

Also, I have had the distinct honor and privilege to cycle through Texas (including a truly humbling stop at Ft. Hood) and California with some of our nations greatest military heroes in the absolutely amazing Ride 2 Recovery. 

Moreover, I’ve also had the privilege of joining forces with the “Firefly”/”Serenity” inspired California Browncoats and the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation to help raise tens of thousands of dollars for scholarships assisting the children of America’s fallen heroes. 

May God bless their souls and continue to provide comfort and assistance for their surviving families. 

Any efforts “Sesame Street” extends to comfort the families of our military should be respected, and I do (as long as they are not intended to exploit the fallen and wounded as “victim/mascots”). Thanks to the commenter for bringing this to our attention. 

It would still be very interesting to know when the last time (if ever) it was that “Sesame Street” allowed the Pledge of Allegiance, the “Star Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America” on its program. 

Indeed there is, as Stage Right indicates, “more to discuss. Much more.” 

Thanks to Big Hollywood readers for their interest. I look forward to the sustainability of convivial disagreements in the discussion of these very important issues. 

Happy Green Weak, kids!

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.

Dying, hungry, suffering children are used as tools to talk about leftists’ main obsession; the myth of man-made global warming. The opportunism of these people never ceases to amaze me. They truly know no shame.

Damon’s video likely has something to do with the upcoming climate change talk in Copenhagen, Denmark. The U.S. State Department is clearly stepping up its efforts to influence public opinion and to prepare it for a deal that would do tremendous, needless, damage to Western economies, all in a vain attempt to combat climate change.

That is sad. What’s even sadder, however, is that videos such as Damon’s can have a major impact in global policy. Although increasingly more Europeans are becoming skeptical of man-made global warming leading to catastrophe, they still form the minority – and a pretty small one at that. Videos such as the one produced by the U.S. State Department and narrated by the world famous actor Matt Damon will undoubtedly cause many Europeans to support whatever treaty comes out of Copenhagen.

Although Americans may be more critical about global warming than we Europeans, it’s hard to imagine they will be left untouched by the video. The average voter is likely to think, “but if we don’t do something, millions of innocent little children will die!” Who can argue against that?

Interestingly enough, the last thirty seconds of the video are dedicated to different subjects. Suddenly Damon switches to “opening strong markets” to African products (since when do leftists love globalization and the free market, you have to wonder?) and to “empowering women.” What that has to do with global warming, no one knows, but that is not the point. No, the real subject of this video is global warming and the goal is to prepare Americans for an overly expensive treaty, which will do nothing whatsoever to actually change the climate for the better.

Using imagery of dying children, hunger, and oppressed women to butter-up Americans (and Europeans) to embrace an unnecessary, expensive and probably counterproductive Copenhagen-treaty… for Hollywood, it’s business as usual.

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 important, competitive sports help you shape the kind of adult you’re going to become. Me? I sucked at most sports – but I played nearly every one because it taught me a valuable lesson: that I sucked at most sports. True, because of this, my teammates despised me: I couldn’t make a free throw, hit a fastball, or spike a volleyball. But I made up for it by playing nude.

But most importantly, my feelings were not spared because of my failures. No one attempted to comfort me just because potatoes were more coordinated than me. Fact is, my failures in sport steered me into areas where I could excel, and did. Of course I am talking about modern dance and taxidermy. Inevitably I combined the two, and if you would like to see my “Alvin the Chipmunk does Alvin Ailey,” stop by my trailer after work. Ignore the flies.

TONIGHT’S AWESOME GUESTS:

the great author Andrew Klavan

Andrea Tantaros

Jonathan Hoenig

and…John Bolton!

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).

But on Father’s Day, I’d like to remind the President that his dad is an aberration. The vast majority of dads out there would kill and die for their kids. I certainly would. And the vast majority of divorced dads out there, like me, would never abandon their children. Instead, a government system has preyed upon loving, caring dads and made them nothing more than ATMs with limited, government-determined access to the people they love the most in the world–their children.

Fathers are systematically discriminated against in an unnecessary and perhaps unconstitutional family court system. The judge in a family court frequently decides who should have primary custody of a child with limited testimony, evidence and understanding of a given family. These judges are essentially determining which parent might be a better parent within a matter of moments, and in the process, changing the very foundation of relationships the “losing” parent has with the child. In the vast majority of cases, the mother wins custody and the father is required to pay for the honor of not being able to see his children. That fact should frighten you. Deeply.

Another fact that should scare you is that a steep majority of the Child “Welfare” workers, who make determinations about whether or not you’re a good parent, are women. There’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose. I mean, after all, the good and caring government, while it sticks its nose into the intimate workings of your family dynamic must be entirely un-flawed, unbiased and fair. They’d NEVER side with someone of their own gender for completely biased reasons. And since everyone who works for the government is a deeply compassionate and caring person who would never work at that job for the incredible pay and Cadillac benefits, we can rest assured.

But the fact remains, these glorified DMV workers are mostly women and they decide the future of your family. Shouldn’t there be some gender balance?

The other fact that should frighten you even more is that the Child Support System is rigged. There is actually a financial incentive for government to intrude on your personal business. When I got divorced, I was making some decent dough, and though my custody arrangement regarding my daughter was a shared arrangement, I agreed to pay my ex-wife a little child support to help her out. To this day we have the same bills and expenses, so there wasn’t a big reason to do that, other than that I wanted everything to be as amicable as possible.

I simply wrote my ex-wife a check every month and that was that. Until something or other came up and she got angry with me. She called the county to have them collect the payments to teach me a lesson (no, I was certainly NOT behind on my payments, but here in Minnesota, every recipient can CHOOSE to have the government collect the payments). And thus, the System got involved. YOUR tax dollars are now paying someone to collect and process a check I was writing for free.

Being someone with a disdain for government intrusion into my life, especially in the most sensitive, important part of my life, I had no choice but to find out how this could happen. It turns out that the more enforcement cases there are at the county level, the more money the states give the counties. The more cases the states are accounting for, the more money they get from the federal government. So the bigger and more “involved” in your life government can become, the more security there is for the long-term established government employees. And judges. And case workers. And social workers. And it’s enough to make a person insane, when you think about it. A malicious government machine can feed itself and make itself bigger, nastier, and more entrenched in your personal life. And there is NOTHING you can do to stop it. Try, and they’ll throw you in jail or prison WITHOUT CHARGE, where you’ll be BEATEN TO DEATH, like happened to Brian Armstrong, a father in New Hampshire who lost his job and couldn’t pay up.

The Family Court system should be abolished. There is no reason for its existence other than to feed itself and to destroy families–especially fathers. Every aspect the system handles could be handled by district, state and federal courts. You want a divorce settlement and custody arrangement? Come up with a mutually agreed upon contract or sue in district or state court. What if there’s abuse? Call 911 and the offending party is arrested and tried under criminal statutes. There’s a custody dispute? File a suit over your contract at the time of the divorce.

If the President wants men to be good fathers, then he ought to think about doing what he can to get government out of the way. Eliminate Family Courts and sexist judges. Put people on the bench who understand that most fathers would choose to be with their children every day, every moment if they could.

Maybe the President should let us act like the men we are and get government the hell out of the way. And if he refuses to let us be good fathers without Big Daddy Government poking its stupid, overbearing nose into our lives, the least he could do is quit making speeches about how we need to do a better job.

Happy Father’s Day, dads.