The Writer's Life 4/12

Unable to find any program to my liking last night at ten, I gave the remote a spin around channels not included amongst my favorites, and came upon Newt Gingrich giving an address at Wesley College in Delaware. He touched on the common conservative economic talking points: drilling, deregulation, lower taxes, elimination of the Capital Gains Tax, all of which I agree with. He also mentioned a way to tackle the college loan problem, which some predict will be worse than the mortgage debacle. He cited College of the Ozarks, in Missouri, which does not charge tuition for full time students. Instead, they must work 15 hours per week on campus, and two 40 hour weeks during school breaks. It dubs itself "Hard Work U." Unfortunately, it has an enrollment of only 1500. It is billed as a Christian Liberal Arts college. Wouldn't it be great if other schools experimented with the same financial approach?

Hearing about this small school, it reminded of another I'd been meaning to research for a long time, although I've known of it since the late '60's, when I attended Western Michigan University. In fact, I helped a kid I coached draft a letter to it. Hillsdale is another Liberal Arts College. It was the first in the United States to prohibit discrimination, writing it into its charter. Study of the Constitution is required of all students. It is currently offering a free online course, which conservative radio host Mike Gallagher is taking. The school is privately funded. It accepts no government moneys! Through the years, it has had several run-ins with the feds. In its 2010 "Resolution Against Federal Interference," it accuses the Obama administration of being "...bent on extending control over higher education and other areas of American life." They will get no argument from me on that front. Unfortunately, as is the case with the College of the Ozarks, enrollment is small, only 1400.

Newt Gingrich usually comes off as the smartest guy in the room. Too bad his past baggage and occasional trips into the bizarro world make him unelectable. He touted his record as Speaker of the House, also giving credit to President Clinton for the budget surplus that occurred during their tenure. I wish I'd been there to approach the microphone with the question that immediately came to my mind: "Wasn't it the internet boom and not politicians that balanced the budget?" It made all elected officials look good, as the current crisis makes them look bad. The job of politicians is to create a climate that will encourage prosperity. Most are clueless in this regard. Newt is an exception.

No luck today on 18th Avenue, as I battled on again, off again sprinkles. Maybe tomorrow.

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