They’re Everywhere

This is what you can do with your time when you’re retired.

My wife sent me a “civics test” that she got via email and thought was interesting. She scored slightly better than what the email purported “college professors” scored (55%) and an “average American” (49%). She wanted to see what I scored.

So I, of course, took the test. It didn’t seem particularly difficult to me. But I did notice the questions got a little squirrely towards the end. By the end of the test, I was convinced there was a political agenda at work in the test. My son suspected the same thing and started the search. I joined in.

As you can see (if you followed the link), the test is from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. And here we go to Wikipedia. Follow the bouncing links.

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

“The group supports "limited government, free market economy, and Judeo-Christian moral traditions..."”

Right wing code words if there ever were any.

”In a 1989 speech to the Heritage Foundation, the ISI President, T. Kenneth Cribb Jr., stated:...”

My readers already know about the Heritage Foundation so let’s follow T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.

”T. Kenneth Cribb Jr. is a former Presidential advisor—to President Ronald Reagan—and currently the president of the traditionalist conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute.”

”Cribb graduated in 1970 from Washington and Lee University, and served as national director for ISI from 1971 to 1977. After that, he went on to University of Virginia Law School, graduating in 1980. He was deputy to the chief counsel of the Reagan campaign the same year.”

”He was appointed to his current position in 1989. During his tenure, ISI has vastly expanded its revenues and programs. He also served as vice chairman of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board from 1989 to 1992. Other commissions of trust include president of the Collegiate Network, an association of conservative college newspapers; vice president of the Council for National Policy, a conservative umbrella organization; member of the Board of Advisors for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; and counselor to the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, a conservative legal organization. Cribb also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, an educational organization that continues the intellectual legacy of noted conservative icon Russell Kirk.”.

My point is that even the most seemingly-innocuous things have an agenda these days. Some person is behind that agenda. Some person with money. It takes money to design a “civics test”, present it in a professional manner, set up the web site to administer it and then propagate it. Lord only knows what they’re are doing with the data they get when you visit the site. And make no mistake about it --they are doing something with it. They’re probably using the traffic statistics to bolster their case for more funding from their donors.

Speaking of donors, let’s go to Right Wing Watch and check them out.

”The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is helping to identify, educate and promote the next generation of right-wing leaders, primarily through its funding of college newspapers, its speakers programs and its promotion of conservative professors and journalists.”

”Right-wing donors include: Sarah Scaife Foundation; Allegheny Foundation; The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation; Earhart Foundation; JM Foundation; John M. Olin Foundation; Philip M. McKenna Foundation; Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation; Castle Rock Foundation; and the Carthage Foundation.”

Odd, you usually see Coors in that group. Hold on...wait a minute...

”Board of Trustees: E. Victor Milione (President Emeritus); Jay Bayard Boyle, Jr. (Vice President); Alfred Regnery; Edwin Meese (former Atty. General for President Ronald Reagan); T. William Boxx; James Burnley; Richard Allen; Holland Coors (of Coors Brewing Company);...”

(Emphasis added)

By the way, did you catch James Burnley on that list? Some of you may remember we have history. I wish I would have had the above information on him before I had to tangle with him.

These people are out there. They are well financed and they are not going to go away. They dismantled government regulations so they could prey upon working people. They have given us lower wages, less benefits and shredded our society’s safety net. They turned Wall Street into a casino and blew up the world’s economy. They led us into a “war of choice” in Iraq. They have turned the greatest country the world has ever known into a political basket case.

They are not your friends. They’re everywhere. Stop voting for them.

Don Brown
January 9, 2011