Dave invites me to comment on this Samizdata post and the associated Local6 News article, referring to the monstrous couple who tortured 5 of the 7 children in their care. Antoine Clarke (at Samizdata) has this to say:

There are two benefits of even the most useless schools. Children meet other children their own age, which is useful if one is not intent on becoming a hermit.

Of course there is plenty of unreported abuse that occurs in full view. In some schools abuse is ignored or even inflicted. But most basically of all, a 12 year-old child turning up weighing 35 pounds with burn marks and bruises in rags might be noticed. So having children turn up somewhere where their disappearance or injury will be noticed is a valuable function of schools. Perhaps they need to open twice a month for roll-call and then let them go home?

Oh, where to begin? With the condemnation the acts truly merit, I suppose is the best place. I have nothing but contempt for people who would do this to children, and there are no excuses nor meliorations (the Local6 article brings up a history of abuse on the woman’s part – it’s not an excuse if your life sucked to make sure other people’s lives suck, too). Apparently, they’ve been caught, and they deserve the full protection of the law until (and assuming) they are found guilty, at which point they deserve to die, as far as I’m concerned. As a father of four, I’d be glad to be the one to kill them; and I’d have no moral issues with doing it.

I don’t see any way in which homeschooling (assuming the Dollars were homeschooling, as opposed to not sending their kids to school) is connected to the abuse. That’s somewhat like saying that a person who abused their kids with pliers and pipes and also had a gun in the house abused the kids because they were gun owners. The two issues don’t connect.

I do see that people can use homeschooling as a way to hide kids who are being abused, but even ignoring teachers who abuse students, there are also the cases of severely abused kids who are in school for years without being detected as abused.

But to Clarke’s points, there are some problems that I have with them even aside from the homeschooling/torture issue. First, Clarke talks about socialization – meeting kids their own age. Well, why is that purely a government school thing? My kids know several good friends their own age – or within a few years of their own age. My kids also have relationships with several adults, which is something that government schools don’t nurture. In fact, government schools generally segregate to the year, so even having friends a few years apart is not common. When the kids grow up, they’ll meet, work with and live with people of all different ages; how does only knowing people their own age as children prepare them for this?

Second, the idea of schools as society’s guardians of proper child rearing frightens me deeply. I was going to say that teachers are paid to teach, not to tell us how to rear our children, but the truth is that teachers are largely paid to keep kids busy until they’re 18, and hey, some of them learn things. (It’s an essay for another time, so let’s see if I can get back on topic.)

Oh, yes. Education is inherently a very fad-based undertaking. Like any large body of practice in which it’s not possible to tell the results of a new technique in advance, crackpots and quacks flourish. “New math” is not the worst of it; nor is “multicultural math”. There are a lot of ways in which schools actively mitigate against education. Education is hard, and “schooling”, which is really just basic skills training plus warehousing, is much easier. Secondarily, teachers are not trained in how to raise children, just how to deal with them in a classroom. Third, teachers tend to follow a particular political (and often union-oriented) line, which is not necessarily in tune with all – or even most – parents’ ideas of how to raise children. I do not want a group of government bureaucrats to have the power to tell me how to raise my kids.

Homeschooling is no more nor less than a way to educate children. Some homeschoolers produce fantastically well-educated and well-rounded adults at the end of the process, and some make real messes. The same is true of other methods of education or schooling.

The reality of the situation is that government schools do an excellent job of producing a society in which nearly everyone is educated to a minimal level: they can read and understand and follow instructions given to them. The problem is that the government schools have not only raised the lowest rung, they’ve also lowered the rungs above the average. Training mechanics and scientists is beyond the government schools, and so is training leaders and philosophers. Some of those kinds of people will emerge anyway, and so far that’s been enough. But in our case, we want our kids to have a superior education, and the government schools cannot provide that, even in good school districts.

My wife and I have just finished taking down the last of the outside Christmas decorations. It was quite a holiday season and not one I’d gladly repeat. But there’s quite a bit going on in the blogosphere you should know about. Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• A remembrance of German heavyweight fighter Max Schmeling, who died this week, from
  amba of Ambivablog.
• The Diplomad is hanging up his gloves.
  He’s done what he set out to do and is now riding off into the sunset. Who was that masked man?
• From Boing Boing:
  Life-size Candyland game staged by Nebraska college students. What is it they teach in college these days?
• Brad DeLong concludes
  that the CEA is forecasting a stock crash.
• David Kaspar of Davids Medienkritik contrasts post-war German and Iraqi democracy.
• Nelson Ascher of Europundits
  wonders whether the Iraqi terrorists have read Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent.
• Fafnir of Fafblog has
  delivered his State of the Internet address.
• TangoMan of Gene Expressions analyzes the BioPolitics of the blogosphere.
• Elizabeth Anderson of Left2Right
  writes about Social Insurance and Self-Sufficiency.
• David Adesnik of Oxblog quotes FDR’s
  message to Congress on Social Security from 1935. It’s a plan I can agree with completely but I don’t think
  that anyone who wants to abolish the Social Security system in toto can take much heart from. The
  problem is not that the contributions from government are too lavish but that individual savings haven’t
  met the targets FDR describes. And I’d say that the reasons for that include excessive individual taxation
  and stagnant median real incomes.
• It seems to me that the kind of abuse referred to in this post from Samizdata
  is not much of an argument against home schooling. I think I’ll leave it up to Jeff, my associate
  blogger’s, expertise to comment on it.
• The Big Picture
  reminds us that a falling unemployment rate may be a mixed blessing.
• The Curt Jester
  has the perfect solution for Catholics who are just too busy to go to confession: e-Fession.
• There’s a tribute to The Diplomad from Smiley of The Daily Demarche.
• Are the parrots deserting
  the sinking private/personal/whatever accounts proposal?
• A very good post from CaliBlogger
  on the Howard Dean DNC chairmanship.
• The Talking Dog warns about what I agree
  is probably the most serious threat facing the world right now: potential bird flu pandemic.

That’s the lot.

From A Daily Briefing on Iran:

16 trucks carrying weapons and large sums of money from Iran were discovered over the past few days en route to Iraq, according to an Iraqi Defence Ministry source.

Speaking to the Iraqi daily Al-Mashreq, the source said that the weapons included rifles, mortar rounds, and explosives. He said that those arrested admitted to being agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), and said that lodging had been provided for them in Samara, Balad, Najaf, and Latifiyeh.

The individuals revealed that they work working on behalf of the MOIS in conjunction with Iran’s Fajr Forces. During interrogation the Iranian agents also revealed the names of a number of Fajr commanders and MOIS agents whom they worked for.

That forms a pretty good companion piece with this item from last month.  Remember Seymour Hersh’s article? Here’s a refresher from the CBC:

NEW YORK – American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh says U.S. commandos have been inside Iran for at least six months looking for evidence to support an attack.

Hersh, who exposed the extent of prisoner abuse at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison, makes the allegations in Monday’s edition of the New Yorker magazine. He says the special forces are looking for potential air strike targets, including nuclear sites and missile installations.

[…]

Speaking on CNN’s Late Edition on Sunday, Hersh said the Bush administration has “extensive” plans for an attack on Iran. The forces are hunting for evidence of weapons in order to avoid what happened in Iraq, he says.

If both of these articles are true, that suggests that a low level of war already exists between the United States and Iran.  Consequently, it may be less relevant to wonder whether we will go to war with Iran than to ask whether the current state of hostilities will escalate.

There’s another excellent post on A Daily Briefing on Iran that suggests that the Bush Administration’s next strategem in dealing with Iran should be pressing human rights concerns with the international community. I certainly think that would be appropriate and long past due: I think that we should have announced a U. S. policy of regime change in Iran five years ago for just this reason. But any notion that the EU will place meaningful economic sanctions on Iran are fanciful in my opinion.

The EU has the same problem in negotiating with Iran that we have in negotiating with China. A strong negotiating position requires that you be willing to withhold something that your trading partner actually wants. In the case of our negotations with China, we won’t withhold trade. The Chinese are confident we won’t withhold trade (and their hand gets stronger with every Treasury Bond they hold). And as long as that’s true we can’t make much headway in negotiating with them in other areas that are interesting to us including human rights, nuclear proliferation, and their support for the North Korean regime.

Similarly the EU (along with China and Japan) won’t stop buying Iranian oil. And the mullahs know that. And as long as that’s true no negotiations with the mullahs will make much headway on human rights, their nuclear development projects, or their aid for terrorists (inside Iraq and elsewhere).

Still, I think that an actual hot war with Iran would be imprudent and that there are actions short of an actual shootin’ war that I would hope are being discussed at least privately.

As a brief aside I don’t believe in private diplomacy. I believe that it strengthens the positions of elites in countries engaging in it. And, as both a good democrat and a good republican (note the lower case), I oppose such strengthening. Do we really need to strengthen the positions of the State Department here or the mullahs in Iran or the Central Committee in China? Additionally, just as centralized control of the economy conceals market information from the commissars that they need to manage the economy efficiently, private diplomacy conceals information about the true state of foreign affairs that the electorate needs to make prudent judgments in voting. But back to the matter at hand.

One such contingency is blockade. It is absolutely within our power to blockade Iran. And it wouldn’t take resources away from Iraq that are needed to keep the situation there under control. It would make the EU, China, and Japan very, very unhappy. The Russians would be publicly highly critical but privately rubbing their hands with glee: it would put them in the catbird seat as an oil-selling power.

But those considerations shouldn’t distract us from the critical question: can we live with a nuclear-armed mullahocracy in Iran?

Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• A Guy in Pajamas remembers Buddy Holly and Don McLean’s song American Pie.
  I wonder if he’s ever thought about the words to Mack the Knife?
• There’s an excellent post from KipEsquire of A Stitch in Haste
  on E-Accounts, wills, and contracts.
• Dr. Maurice Bernstein over at Bioethics Discussion Blog
  is looking for jokes about ethics. Got any?
• Boing Boing notes that
  around 100 years ago a German company produced sugar-and-chocolate records. I can tell you with confidence
  that if someone had given any of them to my wife none would have survived to this day.
• Dennis the Peasant has learned that Ward Churchill Is Actually A Nice Jewish Girl From The Bronx.
• The actor Ossie Davis has died.
  He brought incredible gravity and dignity to every part he played. Rest in peace. See LaShawn Barber’s obit and links.
• Does the future belong to the young? Maybe not over if Joanne Jacobs’s post has got it right.
• Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice wonders if the Democratic Party May Be Readying The Kool Aid.
• Donald Sensing of One Hand Clapping has predictions from the SOTU.
• James Joyner of Outside the Beltway writes on Fascists and Nazis, Democrats and Republicans.

That’s the lot.

Hokie Smokes, folks, it’s the 25^th Carnival of the Recipes here at The Glittering Eye. When I signed up for this date I didn’t realize what a great date this is—very propitious. There’s an enormous number of things going on and we’re going to need recipes for all of them. The Super Bowl is on Sunday. Mardis Gras is on Tuesday. And the Lunar New Year is on Wednesday. And we’ve got some great recipes here from some of the best cooks in the blogosphere.

I am really excited by a number of these recipes especially Kevin’s venison steaks, Karen’s pork stew, and Amanda’s spiced kofta.

When you’re checking out the recipes why don’t you take some time and check out the rest of these great blogs? Most of them are about more than recipes—they’ve got a lot to say.

And, by the way, please remember to tell us in the comments section here how any of the recipes you try work out.

UPDATE: Dave Gillies of The Daily Pundit provides recipes for Alfredo sauce and marinara sauce.

Next week’s Carnival will be hosted by Kris of Anywhere But Here.

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Meat

Kathleen at Baggage… and Blathering gives us a hands-on look at Look, Ma, No Hands Meatloaf.

Karen of Let’s Play Restaurant has Blanquinegro: A Mexican-Inspired Pork Stew. I’m looking forward to this one.

bothenook of A Geezer’s Corner prepares award-winning Sweet Onion Kielbasa. This is either an entree or a snack.

I knew I could depend on Allan for a great Indian recipe and I wasn’t disappointed. Allan of Inside Allan’s Mind presents Lamb and Red Lentil Curry.

I am definitely looking forward to trying out this submission. Kevin of Techno Gypsy gives us Venison Steaks. He recommends serving this with mashed potatoes and gravy and some good biscuits. Is there anything that isn’t good with mashed potatoes and gravy and good biscuits?

Amanda of Aussie Wife shows us how to make Spiced Indian Kofta. Can I come to your house for dinner? And do you think I can make it back in time for Monk?

Alpha Wolf of Laughing Wolf gives us Linda’s One Pot Cube Steak Meal.

Oddybobo of Bobo Blogger presents a trio of Korean goodies: Halmoni’s Quick Kimchi, Bulgogi (Marinated Beef), Rice and Seaweed. I’ve eaten more kimchi and bulgogi in my time than seems possible. I remember what one of my Korean senseis once said: “If you can’t eat five pounds of bulgogi, you’ll never make black belt”.

Poultry

Debbie Friedland makes Bacon-Wrapped Chicken.

Jeff of Trub presents Chicken Lips which despite the odd name looks pretty good.

Just in time for cold season, Punctilious of Blog O’ Ram offers us some Dr Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup.

My favorite church musician, Kris of Gradual Dazzle, is cooking some Peanut Butter Chicken.

Seafood

And don’t forget my Jambalaya.

Vegetables

Kathleen at Baggage… and Blathering has some yummy looking Garlictastic Roasted Vegetables.

I’m going to have to locate a good garlic (or onion) sauce recipe for songstress7 of News From the Great Beyond’s Tostones (Fried Plaintains).

Desserts and Sweets

Amy of Prochein Amy rolls out The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies.

Owlish of Owlish Mutterings is getting the Chocolate Fondue ready.

We have not one but two lemon cake recipes. Booklore bakes up Lemon Cake and Christina of Feisty Repartee prepares a Glazed Lemon Cake.

triticale (the wheat and rye guy) who I can always count on for a fanciful name presents Scutterbotch Pralines.

It may not be rocket science but it’s certainly culinary legerdemain. caltechgirl of Not Exactly Rocket Science cooks us Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake.

Kris of Gradual Dazzle bakes us Peach Cobbler. You’re preaching to the choir on this one, Kris. Skillet cobblers like this are among my favorites.

Drinks

Angela of Fresh As a Daisy whips up a Hawaiian Holiday Smoothie.

Beth (our fearless leader) of She Who Will Be Obeyed! tells us something else about her we want to know: she likes a Grown Up Milkshake.

Snacks and Appetizers

I wasn’t sure whether to classify this one as a drink or a snack. You choose. Be of bebere.com Jello Shots. She promises they “get the job done”.

Bread

My wife is quite a scone-fancier. I wish I could figure out how she stays so slim. It must be the fidgeting they told us about last week. Anyway, I’m sure she’ll be interested in Karen of Let’s Play Restaurant’s Cinnamon Scones.

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Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

4 bacon strips
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt, optional
1/4 cup canned chopped green chilies
1-1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 garlic clove, minced

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until partially cooked but not crisp; drain on paper towels. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Sprinkle with seasoned salt if desired.

In a small bowl, combine the chilies, cream cheese and garlic. Spread over one side of each chicken breast. Roll up and tuck ends in. Wrap each with two bacon strips; secure with toothpicks.

Place in an 8-in. square baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard toothpicks. Yield: 2 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (prepared with reduced-fat cream cheese; calculated without seasoned salt) equals 316 calories, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 121 mg cholesterol, 486 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 45 g protein.

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Mardi Gras is next Tuesday and when I think of Mardi Gras I think of Cajun food and when I think of Cajun food I think of either gumbo, etouffee, or jambalaya. This year I think I’ll give you a recipe for jambalaya. It’s a great thing to make if you’re planning on feeding a whole mess of guests.

But first I think I’ll tell you one of Justin Wilson’s stories. Justin Wilson was an engineer, and a stand-up comic, but most people know him from his TV cooking series. He’d always start off his cooking shows with one of his Cajun stories and this is one of my favorites:

A man goes into a restaurant and orders the special: chicken. When it comes out the chicken is just barely cooked—it’s bleeding and inedible. He stares down at the horrible, bloody mess for a while then leaps to his feet, flings the chicken up in the air, and yells “Fly, damn you, fly. You ain’t hurt bad!”

Jambalaya

Feeds four Cajuns or eight normal people

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 lb. medium shrimp, shells removed and deveined
4 cups water

3 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
8 drops bitters
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup uncooked rice

1. Brown the sausage in a large flameproof saucepan or dutch oven.
2. Remove the sausage from the pan and slice into ½ inch sections.
3. Add the oil, onion, and red bell pepper to the saucepan. Saute until
   the onion is translucent.
4. Add the water, Worchestershire sauce, Tabasco, Kitchen Bouquet, bitters,
   and pepper to the saucepan. Bring to the boil.
5. Add the sausage, shrimp, and rice to the pan. Stir. Bring to the boil again.
6. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover, and cook until you can’t stand it any more
   (at least one hour and no more than two hours).

When you make your jambalaya on Tuesday, drink a glass of wine to Justin.

American Future has an extremely helpful run-down of reactions from the overseas press to Mr. Bush’s State of the Union speech yesterday.

Here’s what’s caught my eye this morning:

• There are reactions to the SOTU from Lileks, Ann Althouse, Beldar,
  Ambivablog, Buzzmachine,
  Smash,
  Duophony,
  Noah Millman,
  Hugh Hewitt,
  Juan Cole,
  Lintefiniel Musing,
  Little Miss Attila,
  Mountaineer Musings,
  WuzzaDem.com
  (hat tip: Greyhawk),
  Murdoc Online,
  Nouveau Patriot,
  Polipundit,
  Politopics,
  Roger L. Simon,
  Shakespeare’s Sister,
  South Knox Bubba,
  The Diplomad,
  The Moderate Voice,
  The Talking Dog,
  Three Rounds Brisk,
  Rand Simberg,
  Varifrank,
  Winds of Change

  I really tried to find more commentary from the other side of the aisle. What you see is what you get.

• Futurepundit notes that false memory looks different under brain scan.
• Gene Expressions wonders if we’re out of Africa
  again and again.

That’s the lot.

Dean Esmay has an amazing post – a verbal essay from someone named Moses Sand. You just have to read it; there’s no way to excerpt it at all.