Happy Thanksgiving!

In years past for Thanksgiving, I have written lengthy pieces on the meaning of the holiday and a critique of our modern day tradition in celebrating it.  Although I have more this year than any year past to be thankful for, I have but a very simple thought for you:

"Thanksgiving and gratitude necessarily require an Object."

Think about it.

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Bugs

Yes, I hate bugs.  However, occasionally, they are fun to draw.  Here are two, both in coloured pencil.

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Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. On this day, we remember the men and women who have given the last full measure of devotion to the cause of Liberty. On this day, we remember their sacrifice and pay homage that which they have died to defend. On this day, we might travel to a military cemetery and place flags or wreaths on the grave markers. On this day, we dust off our American flags that fly twice a year at best, and hoist them in remembrance. On this day, we cook hamburgers and spend time with family. On this day, we might dedicate a facebook status. On this day, we might spare a thought for those in service to our country.

Why on this day?

Why only this day?

Every day of the year our troops defend us. Every day of the year, we exercise sacred Liberty, consecrated by the blood of the fallen. Every day we live in America, we live in debt to those who have died to defend her. Every day, by the choices we make, we honour or desecrate the memory of those who have been slain in the cause of Liberty.

The cause of Liberty is not something to be championed on one day of the year. Liberty is not to be put in a box labeled 'For use on Memorial Day and the 4th of July'.  On Memorial Day, we honour those who have made an outward profession to defend Liberty, but are not we, the citizens of this country, just as much bound by sacred honour and duty to defend the precepts of Liberty?"  Eternal vigilence is the price of Liberty".  The proper exercise of Liberty requires a complete and total commitment to its principles.  No half-hearted commitment, no one time a year rememberence will do.  Liberty requires a 100%, complete commitment. 

On this Memorial Day, remember the fallen, and honour the living.  Have a cookout, get together with friends.  There is nothing wrong with such celebration.  But don't stop there, don't stop after one day. Live, learn, and love Liberty. Not just this day, but every day, for the rest of your life.

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Florida Sketches

Here are two sketches I did whilst in Florida.  We stayed at Cape Canaveral and spent many happy days on the beach. While not particularly good (palms are hard to draw!), they are decent enough that someone may get a bit of enjoyment out of them.



This palm tree was outside our condo.  The entire area was virtually infested with Peacocks and whilst I was drawing, one ambled into view.  I decided I needed to include him.

These Sand Pipers are delightful little birds.  They run in and out from amongst the surf, pecking their beaks into the sand to forage for morsels. 

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Darth Aaron and the Student Senate

This is a drawing I did for the President of YEAH Academy's Student Senate, Aaron Mackey.  The joke is that his procedural manner was very reminiscent of Darth Vader.  Aaron was a great president, all jokes aside.  "Protocol" is, of course, what he would yell at those Senators who forgot to use the proper forms of address.

The class, Student Senate, deserves a plug as well.  Taught by Dave Racer, who served as the Campaign Manager on Alan Keyes' 1996 Presidential run, Student Senate functions as an actual legislative body, albeit with no real power.

As a pre-requisite to Student Senate, students must take Mr. Racer's other class at YEAH Academy, American Government.  This class, which takes up the first semester of the year, the latter being devoted to Student Senate, lays a foundation of knowledge about our system of government and informs students about civics and the role of citizens in our government.  Taught from an originalist perspective, Mr. Racer's big theme is that the principles outlined in the Declaration should be carried over to the interpretation of the Constitution, something that has fallen out of favour for the last century.

Once Student Senate commences at the start of the latter semester, proper procedure is required (Student Senate has its own Rules of Order, but Robert's Rules are generally accepted), and the class is entirely run by students who have been selected by Mr. Racer to serve as the leadership.

Veterans of the class, the leadership comprises of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Timekeeper (for debate, etc) and other Assistant Majority Leaders.  These Assistant Majority Leaders, or AMLs, function as guides to the committee chairmen and serve as liaisons between the leadership and the Senators.  Consequently, there are four of them instead of the usual single person inhabiting this position; one for each committee.  Last year, the Senators inhabiting these positions were, respectively, Aaron Mackey, Logan Knutsen, Katie Dierberger, Danielle Jack, Tatiana Bluel, and Rocky Rockwell.

At the start of the year, the Senators select four subjects they wish to study and are then divided into respective committees based upon their interest in the subjects.  Past year's topics include Legalization of Drugs, Death Penalty, Animal Rights, Drinking Age, Modern Slavery, Gold Standard, Nuclear Power, War on Terror, American Healthcare, and many others.  The last committee mentioned, American Healthcare, was the committee for which I served as Chairman during last year's session.

Chairmen are elected by their committee's members and do precisely what the title entails: chair the committee.  The Chairman is responsible for guiding research, helping with questions, planning and executing the overall strategy of the committee, planning and helping to execute the committee presentation, constructing powerpoints, and finally drafting and presenting the resolutions of the committee.  Chairmen report directly to their assigned AML, in my case this past year, Katie Dierberger, whose job it was to make sure the chairman ran the committee smoothly and to keep the chairman up to speed with upcoming hurtles.  Since the AMLs are all veterans of the class, their knowledge from past sessions is indispensable.

Each committee (all of the Senators split their time between two committees) researches their subject, narrowing the topic at the discretion of the Chair, the AML and the members, with the eventual goal of delivering a presentation to the Senate, assembled.  These presentations typically feature 12-15 speakers and can last upwards of two hours, questioning included.  In order to prepare for these presentations, and in addition to their individual research, each committee brings in special witnesses who are qualified to speak to an issue.  For example, this last year, my committee brought in Teresa Collett, a bio-ethicist and lawyer at St. Thomas University, and now the Republican nomination for Minnesota's 4th district House seat, to speak to the issue of ethics in a medical system.  What the Senators learn from these witnesses, many of whom are quite famous (past witnesses include former MN Governor Al Quie), is indispensable.

Once presentations are completed for all four committees, the attention of the Chairmen turns to drafting Resolutions.  These are documents drawn up in the fashion of actual legislation that seeks to remedy any problems found in the particular area of study.  As such, they require substantial reliance on the research done, as well as information conveyed by the witnesses.  Although it is not required, most resolutions seek to obey the dictates of the Constitution and will very often divorce powers from the existing government, a practice which should be encouraged in the real legislature.

The manner in which the resolutions are drafted varies by committee and chairman, but the general rule says that the Chair should seek the input of his committee members in writing resolutions.  Occasionally, an opposition bill is prepared and submitted to the Gouverneur (the Senator's term for Mr. Racer).  Because the Chair has the final say on Resolutions, dissatisfied members can and do take things into their own hands.  This part of Student Senate really illustrates the way that legislation is passed since the passage of a resolution often depends on the lobbying of other Senators to ensure votes will be cast correctly.

Once Resolutions have been passed (or rejected), festivities break out, aided in large part by the Committee on Celebrations.  This year, our final class's celebration was tempered slightly by Mr. Racer's departure to Costa Rica.  He had attended a conference on healthcare, his passion, about which he has written four books.

The long and the short of it is that if you are a student in the Twin Cities area, you simply must take this class.  If you are a parent, you should make your child take this class as well (although if they REALLY don't want to, don't make them.  If they refuse to work, it only drags down the performance of the rest of the Senators).  Student Senate has so much to offer that I could easily write another thousand words extolling it's virtues.  Simply put, this class with stretch you and make you learn things you never even thought you needed to know.

After all, it is the duty of American citizens to be informed about their system of government.  The following is taken from a Proclamation of the General Court of Massachusetts dated January 1776:

". . .as a government so popular can be supported only by universal knowledge and virtue in the body of the people, it is the duty of all ranks to promote the means of education for the rising generation. . ."

This class goes a long way towards satisfying this duty of all Americans.

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