Why Americans Are Stupid

Absolute Rights ^ | 1/1/2013 | Diane Alden

[A'elian' nation]

“That’s a Keeper.”
That was the exact segment I copied into my Zotero on Firefox before getting to your post.

That, and this one: “Public schools are the country’s largest employer and the largest mediator in contracts.”

Albert Shanker, once president of the American Federation of Teachers, said “I’ll start looking after the interests of school kids when they start paying dues.”

That’s what the American progressive education system has come to. It’s just a means of employing government workers and funneling union dues back to democrats.

Public Education is a slush fund. Period

And the best way to end it is, as another Freeper posted, to stop hiring teachers from the “Departments of Education” in universities.

[Mogger]

Here are some of the "forgotten" rules:

edsanders.com - Table of Substitutes

Click here to return

Table of Substitutes

Below is a list of letters frequently used as substitutes to represent several of the elements as given in the first table. The learner should first name the substitute, next the element it represents, and then the example in which it is combined. Thus, ei is a substitute for a (long a) as in the word vein, and so forth.

ei = a as in vein ey = a as in they e = a as in sergeant ou = a as in bought	i = e as in marine a = e as in any ai = e as in said u = e as in bury	y = i as in spy y = i as in hymn e = i as in english ee = i as in been
o = i as in women u = i as in busy ew = o as in sew eau = o as in beau	au = o as in hautboy a = o as in what ew = u as in new iew = u as in view	io = u as in nation eo = u as in surgeon y = u as in Myrtle e = u as in her
i = u as in sir o = u as in son oo = u as in blood o = u as in wolf	oo = u as in wool ow = ou as in now u = w as in persuasion o = wu as in one	i = y as in onion u = yu as inuse ph = f as in phrase gh = f as in laugh
d = j as in soldier g = j as in gem c = k as in cat ch = k as in chord	gh = k as in hough q = k as in quart c = s as in cent f = v as in of	ph = v as in Stephen c = z as in suffice s = z as in his x = x as in xanthus
x = ks as in wax cho = kw as in choir n = ng as in anger c = sh as in ocean	s = sh as in sure ch = sh as in chaise t = sh as in notion g = zh as in rouge	s = zh as in osier x = gz as in exact

[Mogger]

More of the forgotten rules:

Table of Combinations of the Substitutes:

In this table the substitutes are combined in words which you may pronounce, point out the substitutes, and give the elements for which they stand.

1. Vein, feint, deign; they, prey, survey, obey; oft, for, nor, cord; cough, trough, bought, ought; marine, police, fatugue; any, many; said, again.	2. Bury, buried, burial; spy, fly, type, tyrant; hymn, hysteric, hypocrite; English, Englishman, England; been; women; busy, busily, business; sew, shew, shewn.	3. Beau, bateau; hautboy, hauteur, hautgout; what, wad, squad, squander; mew, pew, dew; view, purview, interview; nation, passion, religion.
4. Luncheon, pigeon, surgeon; myrtle, myrmidon, myrrh; her, herd, perch; sir, stir, fir, bird; son, won, love; blood, flood; wolf, wolfish, wolverine.	5. Wool, wood, stood, how, owl, bower; suasion, suavity, suaviter; one, once; onion, valiant, collier; union, figure, stature; phrase, cipher, graphic.	6. Laugh, tough, enough; soldier, soldier-like; gem, ginger, gypsum; cat, scope, arc; chord, scholar, monarch; hough, lough, shough; quart, quibble.
7. Cent, dice, facile; of; Stephen; suffice, sacrifice, sice, discern; his, prism, usurper; Xanthus, xiphoid, xanthid; wax, axis, expanse.	8. Choir, choir-service; anger, languidly; ocean, social, specious; sure, sugar, pension; chaise, chamois, machine; notion, partial, patient; bastion, question, christian; osier, crosier, usual; exact, example, exist.	9. Ed is often used as a substitute for t; as in placed, mixed, vexed, looked, stopped, rebuked.

[Mogger]

edsanders.com - Silent Letters Rules

Silent Letters

Silent letters are those which do not represent any element; and they must not be sounded in the pronounciation of the words in which they occur.

1. E final is usually silent; as in brave, crime, drone, abide, become, improve; able, marble, Bible.	2. E is often silent before d; as in bribed, changed, hedged; cradled, handled, struggled.	3. E is often silent before l; as in drivel, grovel, hazel, shovel, swivel, weasel.
4. E is often silent before n; as in garden, hidden, kitten, lighten, spoken, taken.	5. I is sometimes silent before l; as in evil, weevil.	6. I is sometimes silent before n, as in basin, cousin, reisin.
7. O is sometimes silent before n, as in bacon, deacon, mason, pardon, reason, weapon.	8. B is silent after m and before t; as in comb, climb, dumb, jamb, lamb, tomb; debt, doubt; subtle.	9. C is silent in czar, and muscle, and before k and t and s; as in back, crack, lock; indict, victuals, scene, scythe, scepter.
10. D id silent in Wednesday, standtholder, and before g in the same syllable; as in badge, fadge, dodge.	11. G is silent before m and n, and sometimes before l; as in phlegm, diaphragm; gnat, feign, consign; intaglio, seraglio.	12. H is silent in heir, herb, honest; and after g or r; at the end of a word and preceded by a vocal; and sometimes after t; as in ghastly, gherkin, ghostly; rheum, rhyme, myrrh; ah, oh, halleluiah; isthmus.
13. K is always silent before n; as in knave, knee, knife, knob, known, knew.

[duffee]

It’s very likely that the “obamaphone lady’ is not only stupid but voted more than once, I’m told that here in Mississippi my vote only counts .95%. The DOJ held up our Voter ID implementation and I doubt it will ever be put in place. At the NYC Brennan Justice Center they say election and voter fraud only makes a difference in the close elections anyway, Florida, Ohio, Virginia etc.

[Mogger]

Here are the basic rules, perhaps some presented in a "new" way (1830s):

Rule 1. A clear and distinct articulation should be given to the elementary sounds employed in vocal utterance.

In the following table, the letters of the alphabet are divided into three classes, or kinds, viz: vocals, sub-vocals, and aspirates.

These are all the classes necessary for practical purposes; and any further division or classification, it is believed, would only tend to confuse and perplex the learner, and thus render the study of the exercise tedious and irksome to young pupils, if it did not, indeed, place it entirely beyond their comprehension. In accordance, therefore, with this simple and natural division, the letters are conveniently arranged on one page, and afford the pupil an interesting and intelligible exercise in enunciating the elementary sounds which they severally represent. The pupil should be drilled upon this table until he can not only readily distinguish the peculiarity of each sound when given by others, but can also enunciate it with perfect ease and clearness himself.

Table of Elementary Sounds.

Note. - Let the class, either individually or in concert, first pronounce the word containing the element, and then the element by itself, varying the intensity of the voice as the teacher may think proper ; thus, ale, a, arm, a, all, a, etc.

Vocals

Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power
1 A Ale	2 A Arm	3 A All	4 A At	5 E Eat
6 E Bet	7 I Ice	8 I It	9 O Ode	10 O Do
11 O Ox	12 U Sue	13 U Up	14 U Full	15 Ou Out

Sub-Vocals

Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power
16 B Ebb	17 D Odd	18 G Egg	19 J, G Jet	20 L Ill
21 M Him	22 N Run	23 R Bur	24 V Ev	25 W Woe
26 Y Yet	27 Z, S Buzz	28 Z Azure	29 Th Thy	30 Ng Sing

Aspirates

Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power	Name Power
31 P Up	32 T It	33 K, C Ark	34 Ch Much	35 H He
36 F If	37 Wh When	38 S, C Sin	39 Sh Fish	40 Th Thin

Note.-In this table, each vocal element is combined in words with all the sub-vocals and aspirates which is known to combine in the language. The class may be required to pronounce these words in an explosive and forcible utterance, both individually and in concert, until the highlighted letters can be easily and perfectly articulated in combination.

1. The sound of a long; as in bate, date, fate, gate, hate, jane, kale, lade, mate, nape, pate, rate, sate, tame, vane, wave, yate, gaze, chain, thane, lathe, shape, whale.	2. a flat, or Italian; as in bar, dark, garb, hark, jar, car, lark, mar, nard, par, raft, salve, tar, vast, waft, yarn, czar, char, lath, father, sharp.	At the time this was written there were conflicts between Webster and Worchester, both of which were in the dictionary business. (Ed Sanders' Note)
(Worchester regards the sound of a in the words raft, vast, waft, lath, intermediate between that of a in fat and a in far. But the sound of a in this class of words, though not quite so much prolonged, is considered by Dr. Webster to be radically the same as it is in far, daunt, etc.; and hence we have put all such words in the same class here.)	3. a broad as; in ball, dawn, fall, gall, haw, jaw, kaw, law, mall, gnaw, pall, raw, saw, tall, vault, wall, yawl, gauze, chalk, thaw, shawl, wharf.	4. a short; as in bat, dash, fat, gat, hat, jam, cat, lad, mat, nap, pat, rat, sat, tan, van, wax, yam, azoth, chap, sang, thank, that, shall, whack.
5. e long; as in be, deep, feet, geese, he, jeer, key, lee, need, peat, reel, see, teem, veer, we, yee, zeal, cheer, theme, thee, she, wheel.	6. e short; as in bet, den, fen, get, hen, jet, ken, let, met, net, pet, rest, set, ten, vex, wet, yet, zed, check, theft, then, shed, when.	7. i long; as in bite, dine, fine, guide, hive, gibe, kite, line, mine, nine, pine, ripe, site, tine, vine, size, chime, thigh, thine, shine, white.
8. i short; as in bit, din, fin, gimp, hit, jib, kit, lid, mix, nit, pin, rio, sit, tin, vill, wit, zinc, chin, sing, thin, with, shin, whit.	9. o long; as in bolt, dome, foe, go, hole, joke, coke, lone, mote, note, pole, rope, sole, tone, vote, wove, joke, zone, choke, thole, those, shoal.	10. o middle; as in boot, do, food, goom, hoot, coop, lose, move, noose, pool, roost, soup, too, woo, ooze, cartouch, tooth, shoe.
11. o short; as in bot, dot, fox, got, hot, jot, cot, lot, mop, not, pop, rot, sot, top, novel, wot, yon, zocco, chop, ssong, thong, pother, shot, whop.	12. u long; as in bugle, due, fume, hue, june, cue, lute, mute, nude, pule, rule, sue, tune, yule, zumie, truth, sure.	(In the words rule, truth, sure, Worchester sounds the u like o in move. But the best speakers, in Dr. Webster's view, give only a slight softening between the vocal and sub-vocal or aspirate, pronouncing the u, in all this class of words, in a less broad and open manner than the o in move, thus giving the letter its distinctive elementary sound.)
13. u short; as in but, dust, fun, gun, hut, just, cull, lull, must, nut, pun, sup, tun, vulgar, yucca, buzz, shub, sung, thumb, thus, shut, whur.	14. u middle; as in bush, pudding, full, sugar, could, bull, pull, put, would, butcher, should.	15. ow and ou; as in bow, down, fowl, gout, how, jounce, cow, loud, mount, noun, pout, rout, south, town, vouch, wound, mouth, thou, shout.

Note.- This table embraces a great variety of the combinations of the sub-vocals and aspirates; and it is recommended that the class be frequently exercised in the pronounciation of them, both individually and in concert. The letters before the colon and dash indicate the sound to be given to the combinations underlined, whose elements are to be clearly and distinctly uttered.

1. Bd:- sobbed, robed.	Bl:- blood, blind, able, feeble.	Bld:- fabled, dabbled, trembled, tumbled.
Blz:- rambles, pebbles, rumbles, bubbles.	Br:- brain, brown, bright, brick.	Bz:- describes, cubs, clubs.
2. Ch:- pitch, much, chimney.	3. Dl:- cradle, idle, middle.	Dld:- kindled, fondled, huddled.
Dlz:- candles, paddles, riddles.	Dn:- sadden, ridden, golden.	Dr:- dream, dress, drive, drew.
Dst:- coveredst, amidst.	Dz:- trades, weeds, sleds, sides.	4. Fl:- flame, fling, baffle, trifle.
Flz:- baffles, trifles.	Fn:- often, soften.	Fr:- frame, frank, friend.
Fs:- laughs, griefs.	Ft:- abaft, left, lift, soft.	Fth:- fifth.
Fts:- gifts, lifts, drifts.	5. Gd:- gragged, begged.	Gl:- gleams, glide, glory, struggle.
Gld:- tangled, mingled, struggled.	Glz:- eagles, jungles, struggles.	Gr:- grown, grand, agreed, regret.
Gz:- rags, eggs, trigs, exert.	6. Jd:- engaged, discouraged, obliged, hedged, dodged, lodged.	7. Kl:- clad, clean, club, circle, sparkle.
Klz:- sparkles, articles, spectacles.	Kn:- taken, forsaken, broken.	Kr:- creep, creek, crying.
Ks:- sacks, cheeks, necks, bricks, looks.	Kt:- expect, looked, locked, picked.	Kts:- acts, facts, insects.
Kst:- next, fixed, mixed.	Ksth:- sixth.	8. Lb:- bulb, bulbous.
Ld:- failed, crawled, told, child.	Ldz:- fiele.P

[Mogger]

I started school in the mid 1950’s at a four-room schoolhouse (two grades per room, one teacher) in a village here in Ontario

Big school! We had seven kids, all 8 grades in one room or smallest year (figure that math out!) 18 kids biggest year. 1960 to 1968. One teacher.

No running water for 1st 4 years I was there, got electricity when I was in 1st grade, wood stove until I was in 4th or so. We wore our mittens and coats until the place warmed up. Started at 40 below some days inside.

The teacher walked the longest distance, over 2 miles. she was approaching retirement. Rarely, she would allow her husband to drive her to school. She carried a full load of books and papers back and forth.

She was a huge woman, probably 300 pounds or more of blubber and muscle.

We had a couple of older "boys" who had been held back a few times and were real problems. One of them, taller than her and quite strong made the mistake of trying to hit her one day. She wielded a four foot hardwood lumber rule like a Samurai sword, amazingly fast and furious. He was shortly reduced to a quivering pile of pulp in a corner.

Behavior improved after that.

We brought in the wood, swept and mopped the floor, cleaned the chemical toilets, etc. There was no vandalism.

They closed the place and went to a union school system when I was in 8th grade.

IMHO, a huge mistake.

Do you still have the smaller schools in Ontario?

[Mogger]

America’s future depends upon it.

Sadly, my present opinion is that this country must go down the rathole to which we are headed.

If we are lucky maybe we can start over after hitting bottom.

Maybe we can somehow pull it out of the fire first, but it isn't looking good.

I wish everyone would get as much knowledge as possible in print form, such as the phonics rules I posted and any other books, etc., and store it all away in fireproof, safe locations.

With all the knowledge that's been forgotten and lost over the millenia, we need to preserve as much as possible in as many places as possible.

[antisocial]

Good article thanks for posting.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

No one knows the true history of compulsory schooling in America. I wonder why?

John Gatto’s “Underground History of American Education” is a revelation. It’s also available to read for free on line.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-— that accounted for the high literacy. -—

Learning to read is easy. It typically takes about 8 hours of instruction.

I spent 15 minutes a day, for four weeks, instructing my daughters, at age 4, in phonics. After four weeks they were reading Dr. Seuss books on their own. This is typical for homeschooled kids. Many learn faster.

So why can’t so many kids read, after years of instruction? Compulsory learning isn’t about the lessons on the chalkboard.

[trebb]

She certainly helped strengthen the point that too many Americans are stupid, but I didn’t see the root cause. Until they take the “Left-Winger-Gene” theory seriously and treat it like a lethal disease, we will continue to have a low smarts/common sense profile.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-— By 1940, only fifty percent of Americans had graduated from high school. -—

True. Kids today spend much more time in school. Are they smarter? Wiser? More moral?

Schooling and learning aren’t synonymous but, more often than not, antithetical.

[Mogger]

John Gatto’s “Underground History of American Education” is a revelation. It’s also available to read for free on line

Thanks for posting this. I searched for, and immediately found it and have started reading.

The info he presents is even more dark than I had known.

[Old Sarge]

We should cease referring to the Democrat Party as 'democratic.'

I stopped using that term for them a long time ago.

They are Leftists, pure and simple.

[Dartman]

“Do you still have the smaller schools in Ontario?”

Maybe in the northern areas, I don’t know for sure. I think busing has taken away most of the smaller schools.
When I was a kid (I know ...here we go) there weren’t any school buses for the elementary students. My sisters and my brother and I walked about a mile and a half to school. When the big snow storms hit (before Algore took charge of the weather) we would sometimes go a few days before the plow would come down our road. Depending on the amount of snow, we would return to school according to our height. The taller kids would go first, a day or so later, the rest of us.

My favourite memory is of my Grade 1/2 teacher, Mrs. Oliver. She was an older lady who LOVED teaching. It was so obvious in her speech, her mannerisms, and the love of learning she instilled in us.

[GOPJ]

It's time for liberals and conservatives to realize we don't want the same things... time to split - walk away, breakup, get a divorce - whatever.

A THIRD PARTY is NOT the answer. A 'red' United States and a 'blue' United States is the answer.

Consider the two countries as a RED STATE and a BLUE STATE solution. Liberal elites won't have to fight us to win all the things they want - and we won't have to argue with them about our positions.

It's a win-win. Liberals can have ALL of the following:

Free - TOTALLY FREE Medical care from cradle to grave. ObamaCare on speed.

Unlimited gun control laws.

Unlimited immigration from third world countries.

A minimum wage of $50 an hour.

Taxes on the ‘rich’ of 90% to 98%.

Anyone can vote as ofter as they want to... no ID required.

Teachers have life time appointments - even if they can't pass a simple reading test.

“Marriage” is something between any groups or species or whatever. Anything and everything goes...

Krugman of the New York Times can run the economy - and borrow money from the world until (red state) debt is a million to one.

***********************************************************************

OUR SIDE can have traditional values...

Traditional Medical Care.

Voter ID Laws

Marriage between a man and a woman.

Balanced budget

Newspapers that work to win the respect and trust of their readers rather than working for liberal ‘prizes’ to adorn their office walls.

Citizens can keep the Constitution we have now - and ALL of the Bill of Rights.

[wardaddy]

Why do so many people including many here find this so new?

conservatives like me raised as a near minority in a creeping black dominated environment have known this all my life...minority dominated and secured by northern and coastal white liberals

(55 years old)

we now have let our elections be determined by stupid folks who want free stuff or getback or both

the only thing that could change this ...and only that is temporary is to shift a conservative white turnout at least 5 percentage points up...and that would matter...handwringing about turning minorities is a waste with little results unless you turn most of them...ain’t gonna happen

it’s too late now really in the long run...the Bush open borders really cemented the incremental-ism of turning the US into a non white nation...what we end up with will not be pretty or familiar

all this blather now is just biding time till total capitulation or civil war

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-— The schools can be fixed. Stop hiring education degrees. -—

All that requires is destroying the teacher unions.

Beyond that, compulsory schooling is opposed to liberty and parents’ right to be their child’s primary educators.

Finally, schooling and true education are often opposed.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-— When we started homeschooling I realized this, since I have a complete collection of bound Harpers magazines from number 1 on the 1840s to 1900, when the magazine began its’ slide into liberal trash.

From that magazine and other books and magazines I figured Americans were the most literate in the mid to late 1800s.-—

Fascinating. Thank you.

BTW, “whole word” was promoted by Dewey to prevent children from reading independently. As a committed socialist (he was one of the original signatories of the Humanist Manifesto), he desired that children learn to read cooperatively, guessing together at the meaning of words.

Teachers are unaware of this history, and promote “whole language” out of ignorance.