Jonathan Krohn: 13-Year-Old Conservative Wunderkind Wows 'Em At CPAC

I would never have believed I would be linking to the liberal Huffington Post in a million years. But I couldn't resist sharing a wonderful article about a rising conservative star who has written a book called Define Conservatism.

Did I mention he is 14 years old and homeschooled? Well, he will be 14 next week, if that counts.

Read the article, and then see for yourself. There are videos on the HuffPo site of his speech before CPAC last week.

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No time to go look at the article, take a quick look at this video of his appearance on FOX News.

Carnival Atmosphere

"Step right up, and see for yourself the most exciting trend in education since free public schools!"

Run, don't walk, to The Carnival of Homeschooling - Women's Independence Day Edition if you want to experience a fantastic selection of blogs of all kinds relating to homeschooling. If you are not familiar with home schooling, this is the place go and see what all the excitement is about.

Our carnival barker and hostess is Renae of LifeNurturingEducation.com, and this carnival is commemorating August 18, 1920, the ratification and final adoption of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. She includes a very informative timeline on the struggle for women's suffrage, for those who are interested.

On Friday, Moms In The Right also posted about women and voting. In this post, she gives us a glimpse into the Night of Terror, that occurred on November 15, 1917, when the warden at Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia gave an order unleashing the guards on the suffragettes imprisioned there for the unspeakable crime of picketing the White House for the right to vote.

Talk about a carnival atmosphere. Only the carnival was in a Stephen King novel.

My mother was only two years old when women won the right to vote. My grandmother was 26. I don't believe either of them ever missed an election. They understood the sacrifices that had been made, and they passed that on to me.

My mother got up off a sickbed in November of 1994 and had people practically carry her to vote in November of 1994 before she died the following March. My grandmother's last election was the June primary before she died in September of 1985.

In the June primary this year here in New Jersey where I am an election board worker, our district of over 1,000 voters managed to attract 30 Democrats and 32 Republicans, 90% of whom were over the age of 60. Two of the seven total voters under the age of 25 were homeschooled.

I wish I was kidding.

There is an interesting statistic in Homeschooling Grows Up, a report by the National Center for Home Education about behaviors of adults who were homeschooled, that says 76% of those 18-24 have voted in a state or national election within the previous 5 years, compared to 29% of the general US population, and a staggering 95% of those 25-29 have voted versus 40% of the general population.

No doubt many of those were women whose moms passed on to them an understanding of the blood, sweat and tears that went into our being able to vote.

So, step right up! Find out more about the kind of schooling that produces informed, engaged citizens!

Discover homeschooling!

Here's Your Chance to visit the Floor of the House of Representatives!

Received this notice today from the HSLDA e-Lert service concerning the ultimate field trip opportunity:

All this week, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., members of the House of Representatives will be speaking about our energy situation.

This is an opportunity for you to sit in the seats vacated by members of Congress and listen to the debate. If you are able to make the journey, HSLDA encourages your family to make the trip to the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

If you are interested, please go to the south visitors entrance to the Capitol (Independence Avenue side). Everyone should have photo identification. You will then go through security. Please make sure all metal and electronic items are available to be inspected.

After going through security, inform the security desk you are going to H-307, Congressman Roy Blunt's office. From H-307, you should go down the main hall, take the first right and go to the elevators at the end of the corridor. Take the elevator to the third floor. When you get off the elevator, go right, then left, then slight right down the hall. A congressional staffer will meet you and escort you to the floor of the House.

Please note: the time when there will be most space is between noon and 1:30. If you get lost or have any questions, please feel free to ask a Capitol Police officer. They are trained to assist you.

Hope you choose to take advantage of this opportunity.

Homeschooling IS Legal in California!

Hallelujah!

The Three Blind Mice of the Second Appellate District Court in California reversed themselves and unanimously conceded that homeschooling is, in fact, legal in California, to wit: "California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education."

We give all the glory to God for this victory!

We saw some pretty strange bedfellows in this fight - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Focus on the Family. Christian Home Education Association and the California superintendent of public instruction. Alliance Defense Fund and the California Attorney General.

Wow. Take a look for yourself by clicking the title link or here

Let's not assume that the fight is ended. Every year some politician introduces a bill trying to place restrictions on homeschooling in one or more states.

Perhaps they are afraid for their political careers. Home schoolers are way more likely to participate in the political process than other Americans. The report "Homeschooling Grows Up," a summary of the research conducted by Dr. Brian Ray on the adult behavior of former homeschooled students includes the eye opening statistic that 76% of those 18-24 have voted in a state or national election within the previous 5 years, compared to 29% of the general US population, and a staggering 95% of those 25-29 have voted versus 40% of the general population.

This would bode ill for legislators of all stripes who were virulently opposed to homeschooling.