thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--How to Do Homeschooling: Practical Advice From an Expert

Choosing to homeschool your child is a big decision , but many Americans just had the choice made for them .
Schools all over the country have closed their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic—with some states , such as Virginia , announcing that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year .
Leigh Bortins , founder of Classical Conversations , a homeschooling curriculum focused on classical education , joins The Daily Signal Podcast to offer practical advice and resources to parents who suddenly find themselves overseeing their child ’ s education .
Listen to the podcast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We also cover these stories : • President Donald Trump says he ’ d like to “ reopen ” the economy by Easter , despite the spread of COVID-19 .
• Vice President Mike Pence says the White House isn ’ t considering a nationwide lockdown .
• The International Olympic Committee and Japan agree to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics .
The Daily Signal Podcast is available on Ricochet , Apple Podcasts , Pippa , Google Play , or Stitcher .
All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts .
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You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [ email protected ] Enjoy the show !
Virginia Allen : I am joined by Leigh Bortins , founder of the homeschool curriculum Classical Conversations .
Leigh , thank you so much for being here .
Leigh Bortins : Thank you for having me .
It ’ s very nice to get to speak with you , Virginia .
Allen : Yes , we ’ re all speaking from a distance right now , maintaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because of social distancing and the Coronavirus , so many parents are finding themselves homeschooling their children and they ’ re looking for support , they ’ re looking for resources .
I want to pick your brain a little bit and find out what some of those resources are .
But first , let ’ s just talk a little bit about why you chose to homeschool .
Bortins : I chose to homeschool … How much time do we have , you want the whole story or the short version @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the sake of time .
Bortins : My husband ’ s 10 years older than I am and when we got married and then I got pregnant with my first born I saw a TV show about homeschooling and those folks struck me as quite weird and I knew I wanted to join them .
We didn ’ t have a TV , I was walking through the mall and saw it on TV at “ The Phil Donahue Show , ” if anybody remembers that .
And then when I got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and him being 10 years older , he had been very discouraged by students in our college program or at the University of Michigan getting our aerospace engineering degrees .
He just said , “ I ’ m so happy to hear there ’ s this way to do this because there ’ s no way our kids were going to go to school if they ’ re going to be as unintelligent as you freshmen seem to be to me.
” So he was just relieved for the academic side of it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , of course , we stopped wanting to emphasize having our children in college and instead said , “ Let ’ s make sure that they ’ re in Christ.
” So now I would say we homeschool for the best of reasons so that we can constantly model our love for the Lord and hope that our children will do the same .
Allen : Yeah , I love that .
That ’ s beautiful .
But it ’ s one thing to say , “ I want to homeschool my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different thing to decide that you ’ re going to create a homeschool curriculum .
Tell me a little bit about the reasoning behind Classical Conversations and what really drove you to create it .
Bortins : When our eldest , Robert , who ’ s now the CEO of Classical Conversations , was in middle school , … like so many other homeschooling parents , I thought , “ Oh no , can I do high school ?
” So I started reading more books on higher level academics and looking around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and a lot of them were very nervous also about it .
Just after doing a lot of research , and again , working with my husband , we really came to the conclusion that we were still the best solution for our children .
But one thing we really wanted to have was a classical education for them , which very much requires a community .
So my husband and I decided that we would once a week have people into the house , adults and children , and we would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to do on your own , not just because they were rigorous , but sometimes you want other people to do a Shakespeare play with or discuss a chemistry lab or you need debate partners .
So we came up with a curriculum where the families could do the majority of their work at home and then just get together once a week and polish it off and finish in community .
It ’ s kind of like a weekly PTA meeting for the parents , a weekly training for them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And , of course , the socialization , which has nothing to do with the children , it ’ s the mothers who all want to have friends , the kids will naturally .
So it just came out of a lot of different needs and within doing it in the first three years , we had 300 people on the waiting list to get into the program .
So my husband quit his job and we worked with some of our friends and that ’ s kind of how the story all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re in 20-some countries and in the United States alone we have over 120,000 children enrolled in our curriculum .
The greatest joy I have is to see how many homeschooling parents just dig in and really want to learn and are so glad for weekly support as well as recommendations and curating of the actual academics .
Allen : Obviously , right now , you all aren ’ t able to get together and do those larger group meetings .
So is a lot of that taking place online or how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you mentioned being so vitally important ?
Bortins : Right .
A couple of ways , some of our communities are online temporarily for this end of year .
But because we always homeschool within the parameters of safety , it ’ s not a big issue for us because we have a less than 12-to-1 … tutor to family ratio or to student ratio and so we ’ re in small groups anyways , most of the time .
Now , we do have programs that are in churches and much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personal homes , and if they can ’ t do that , then they do it online right now .
So we ’ re making do , as all homeschoolers do all the time , we just get the resources the Lord gives you and you just gratefully move forward and so that ’ s how we ’ re doing it .
Allen : Yeah , yeah .
All right .
Well , let ’ s get practical and talk about what were some of those challenges that you had when you first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them ?
Bortins : I would say the one that we all have is , I have never had this day before with the children I have at the ages they are before .
His mercies are new every morning for a reason because you don ’ t know what the day ’ s going to ever hold for you , and so you can react in fear or you can react in wonder .
During those middle school years where I was talking about where we were trying to explore what would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we continued through in fear and trembling with the confidence the Lord would help us day by day .
And , of course , after getting through your first child , and then your second , and then your third , and so on , you end up realizing that there really was nothing to be afraid of .
Most people I think quit homeschooling in the high school years because of the lack of confidence , not lack of ability .
Because , remember , they ’ re still children and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out there , parents are quite capable of homeschooling through the high school years .
So we just had to learn that because being the first generation of homeschoolers , I didn ’ t get to see that .
So it ’ s hard to believe what you don ’ t see , but then , of course , as Christians , that ’ s what we ’ re called to do , is walk in faith and so our faith was strengthened through that .
So , practically , it really is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sound like a platitude at this point .
Allen : Yeah .
Let ’ s talk a little bit more about that because I know so many of our parents out there listening , they do have kids in [ high school ] that are now at home or even in middle school and they ’ re looking at the math assignments that they ’ re supposed to be doing or the science assignments and they ’ re thinking , “ I do not remember this.
” So , practically , how can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in subjects that they honestly don ’ t even remember how to do ?
Bortins : You have a couple of different ways .
If somebody is homeschooling right now because of a short-term reason with the virus , and most homeschoolers actually only homeschool for a short amount of time .
They do it because they ’ re military , or a job loss , or they moved , or a child ’ s sick for the year , or something sets the majority of folks who homeschool .
So if people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us have this lifetime commitment like I do , that would not be true .
Most homeschoolers are going to do it to get through … a bad situation or maybe a really delightful , great situation .
They ’ ve been traveling , or dad ’ s home for the year working from home and they want more time with them .
A lot of people homeschool not because of academic reasons but just because of family reasons and here we are one more time having a lot of different family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s two groups , there ’ s the folks that are trying to get through this temporary situation and they tend to rely a lot on resources like we have at Classical Conversations .
A lot of new people will begin with Classical Conversations also .
And as people get more confident in what they ’ re doing , they start to be able to branch out and figure out a myriad of resources that are … available for homeschoolers .
For those that are just kind of jumping in , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now to finish off this school year is one that we ’ ve put together called homeschoolingjourney.com .
It ’ s a site where people can download what we call our survival kit and find all kinds of resources from our partners and more .
We ’ ve put together … a lot of things that are commercially viable that are now free for a short amount of time or highly discounted as well as YouTube videos .
Then we have games and we have some of our own products that are for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of people don ’ t know about is this service called Right Now Media , it ’ s like the Netflix for Christians and that ’ s free on our website , homeschoolingjourney.com as well as science activities .
There ’ s even a fitness program .
… [ If you ] can ’ t get outside , which , it is spring , I would think you ’ d go outside , but if you want to stay inside and get your kids moving , we even have a fitness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a lot of things that we ’ re doing and I know other homeschooling resources are doing the same .
Just trying to pull together things people can do to help their children and stay active for the next three to eight weeks or maybe even finish off the school year .
Of course , what we ’ re hoping for is people will see those resources and maybe consider homeschooling permanently or for at least another year and then , of course , we would ask them to look at classicalconversations.com @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great .
That ’ s such a practical resource to have , That kind of emergency kit package that parents can literally go to right now and start utilizing .
Bortins : Yeah .
Because we ’ re not the only one , right ?
A lot of people don ’ t know that there ’ s thousands of homeschoolers who have curriculum and materials that are for people , they can use it any time and , of course , there ’ s YouTube .
They ’ ve had a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on YouTube and learn anything , so people aren ’ t without resources .
But all of these I ’ m talking about right now are online resources , they really are our weakest resources because when you ’ re working with children , your best resource is a pat on the back and a smile or a word of encouragement .
Looking them in the eye and helping them consider why they ’ re struggling or what they ’ re interested in or … what kind of homework help they might need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea of social distancing is probably not the best word to describe what ’ s going on now , we are all social creatures who need a hug .
So in this time when we ’ re trying to not hug our neighbor because we ’ re worried about passing on various viruses , really a better word is physical distancing because you and I right now are being social together , aren ’ t we ?
Allen : Correct .
Yeah , absolutely .
Bortins : Yes .
One of the things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five or six of us can flop on a couch and just read a book together .
In fact , we have a new series called “ New World Echoes ” and it ’ s a collection of stories that are very short read alouds that are appropriate for the entire family , whether you have a 17 year old or a 7-year-old , they ’ ll just lay on the couch or flop on the floor and read together .
If you ’ re able to throw a blanket outside and have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring them too because they ’ re small books you can hold in your hand .
I really would encourage parents to use as little online resources as possible right now and to just spend time with their children talking face to face and getting to know them in a different way than they had before .
Allen : But what about the parents who are listening and thinking , “ Oh , I would love to do that , but I have a full-time job that I ’ m trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how much time should parents who do have full-time jobs and are working online be building into their schedules in order to keep educating their children and making sure that they ’ re still continuing to learn and get the attention that they need ?
Bortins : Yeah .
I know one time a grandfather told me he wished his daughter would homeschool , but since she had four children and they ’ re six subjects , he didn ’ t see how she could homeschool 24 hours a day .
I just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Nobody does that.
” In general , I think homeschoolers through about eighth grade might spend three hours , five days a week at the most where it ’ s kind of a sit-down academic situation .
And then once your children are in high school , if you include those three hours , plus , they have , of course , a much more extensive reading time—which a lot of times they ’ ll do before they get out of bed in the morning and as they ’ re going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s really rare to have a six-hour day of academics , no matter how many children you have .
One thing homeschooling teaches you to do is to be efficient and picking the best things to do and not being robbed by somebody else ’ s lists , but being able to look at your children and say , “ These are the things that we want to do together.
” And make them your priority .
So when it comes to time , this is a quick schedule just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work and still has the kids at home , get up in the morning and do your reading or a Bible study and devotion together and have breakfast and then go off to do what you need to do for the day .
At lunchtime , break and do a math or science lesson , go outside and look at the plants and maybe do a little bit of journaling and writing .
Then when you go to bed in the evening , I suggest that you , again , you have like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hour and just spend an hour playing board games and doing read alouds , and if you want , watch a movie … something that ’ s for the whole family .
But break it up into segments that fit into your day and don ’ t feel like it ’ s something where you just sit down and work for three hours straight or six hours straight , whatever you think you would need to do .
I can ’ t say that I ’ ve ever been in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ straight of academics with my four children .
But that doesn ’ t mean that in their high school years there weren ’ t days where we did spend five or six hours , but it wasn ’ t every day by any means .
One of the things that we ’ ve become accustomed to with the public school system and institutional schools is just having 50 minutes with five or six different people each day .
That ’ s just not how homeschooling works .
Mom or dad , whoever ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time with the whole family .
Studies have shown that the average child only gets about 30 minutes of academic instruction in a classroom situation that ’ s personal .
So you really can do it and I suggested everyone find a friend who homeschools and just learn more about what it ’ s really like rather than probably what you imagine it ’ s like .
There ’ s no reason to bring school home , you actually can just have a family life together .
And just think about it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was no such thing as any school , wouldn ’ t you still teach them basic skills and how to read and do math … how to serve their community and how to take care of their home ?
The things that you just do in your average life and then like now helping with homework after school take up about the same amount of time we homeschoolers devote to academics .
The better part of our day is spent with our children doing things we just all enjoy doing .
So we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trips more , and we get together with friends more , and we can work at the community centers and service with seniors and things like that because service is a big part of homeschooling with children .
A lot of people are so worried about the math and science where there ’ s so much help like we offer and YouTube offers , when really what we ’ re trying to do is teach our children to be good citizens and have a constant civics lesson of how to behave appropriately in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s a lot more to it than I think people think of and it ’ s a lot easier than they think .
Allen : Yeah .
No , that ’ s really interesting to hear .
Because I ’ m sort of thinking , all right , if you ’ re a parent who has maybe four kids , they ’ re all different ages , you ’ re saying you don ’ t have to kind of have these individual specific full days worth of work for each child @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit of time for each of giving them their own assignments , but then you ’ re able to actually do a lot together and have more group activities even despite the age differences .
Bortins : If you think about it , they said , “ Reading , writing , and arithmetic forever ” for really good reasons .
You need a child on your lap when you ’ re teaching them phonics , they need some individual time then , you need your middle schoolers sitting next to you while they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is the same as taking them through phonics when they were younger .
So there ’ s some personal time that ’ s needed and then there ’ s quiet time that ’ s needed .
Each of your children should be able to go off and on their own , whether it ’ s playing Legos or writing an essay , they shouldn ’ t have to have mom or dad next to them all the time .
On the other hand , some of my favorite things to do was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lego castles with them , right ?
As a parent , it was just my job to assess their needs and our family ’ s needs and each day do my best to work it out because , again , His mercies are new every morning and who knows if the dishwasher ’ s going to leak that day or someone ’ s going to come down with the flu , whatever it is , you just have to learn to roll with the punches .
For those of us who ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d go to school from day care through college and then we ’ re at work , … sometimes it ’ s really difficult to retrench and just say , “ Hey , I ’ m in charge for a little bit .
What is it we want to do as a family ?
” Allen : Oh , this is so good , I feel like it ’ s just kind of taking the pressure off , this is great .
But are there maybe some do ’ s and don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer us ?
Just things that you ’ ve learned over the year through trial and error .
Bortins : The biggest don ’ t is to not worry that you ’ re not doing enough .
Because here ’ s the thing , none of us are doing enough and all of us are doing too much and it depends on what field or area you ’ re talking about .
Not one of us is perfect , so we ’ re going to have our strengths and our weaknesses .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are so weak in a certain area , just stop and don ’ t say , “ I failed ” or “ I quit ” or “ I ’ m a bad mom.
” Stop and say , “ You know what ?
I might not have done this so well , but I did do this other thing really well and the children are going to get a lot of different experiences from me as an adult and all of them have some sort of value.
” So to not make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unschoolish , they may be where the best teachable moments occur or where your kids are really listening .
So the one thing that I shared a little bit about … earlier was to learn to not be afraid and to just be really joyful and grateful .
And then when you just want to kick the kids out of the house or put your husband ’ s face in the mud , whatever it is , you just have to say to yourself , “ OK , this too shall pass and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tomorrow and we ’ ll have a great day.
” I used to , at the end of the day when I had all four of them home , if I knew I ’ d opened up with Bible reading with them , did a math lesson , and then read to them at night , my kids were well-educated , that was enough .
Allen : Let ’ s go back and talk a little bit more about Classical Conversations .
You all have come a long way since you first started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you think really led to that success ?
What was kind of that switch that just people were so hungry and really wanted to learn more and find out more about Classical Conversations that has allowed it to do so well ?
Bortins : It surprised me , the answer to that question .
About six , seven years into it , I realized that a high percentage of our families were military and that ’ s what was making us grow because once the families were bought into homeschooling and classical education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program was—they , of course , get deployed every three years somewhere else—then their attitude was like , “ Well , there ’ s not a CCD here , so I ’ ll start one and I ’ ll get together with my military friends there.
” So , of course , that ’ s why we ’ re in bases all across the world .
And then , of course , the families who ’ ve started the bases across the world have started to find natural citizens in those countries to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know the exact numbers , but I wouldn ’ t be surprised if … a third of our families are in the military .
So think what we do for them , and what we do for them they recognize is important .
But people need to remember one-third of children move year-round , no matter what situation their families are in , we don ’ t really have community schools anymore because of all the moving that occurs .
So by being in Classical Conversations , the military families had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they knew exactly what the curriculum was that they were going to be doing in the following week , no matter how far away they moved .
So that was a strain off the parent trying to decide what to do about curriculum .
Then the second one was that they instantly had friends for their children when they moved because of our small communities that we needed .
Again , the moms want the friends as much as the children do .
So that ’ s why they kept starting everywhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] academic community as well as the military community that they were in and enjoying the travel opportunities they had being military families .
That was really quite a surprise to me , and now I ’ m super grateful to all of them .
Allen : Yeah .
Well , it ’ s just incredible to see the success that you have had .
I mean , you ’ ve been in this movement for such a long time .
How do you think that it ’ s changing as we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instance , there ’ s now homeschool kids , they homeschooled themselves , their parents homeschooled them , and now they ’ re turning around and homeschooling their own children .
So how has the movement really changed over the years ?
Bortins : Yeah , probably my happiest stories are how many grandmothers , mothers , and their children are in Classical Conversations .
In other words , I got three generations all working on the material .
So think of the connectivity that we have in the sense of not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the families that stay generation after generation .
That ’ s been really neat to see happen .
For those of you that aren ’ t aware , we ’ ve been around for 20-some years now and so if folks came in , you don ’ t have to start at kindergarten , right ?
People might have started at high school and been with us for four years and then got married a few years later .
So that ’ s why we ’ re able to do that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just been fun to see .
The thing that I would say would be different is , it ’ s almost a whole ‘ nother conversation .
My eldest two children who are in their 30s had a more similar education to my grandmother than … compared to their two brothers .
What I mean is this , they didn ’ t have technology , the internet was not something in our house , we didn ’ t have computers when they were going through school .
So they learned [ with ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going outside and playing and the various things that my grandma and my mom and myself all did .
Versus the second two , we have a 10-year gap between our two sets of kids .
The second two were very computer literate and expected a lot of things to be done quickly and didn ’ t have necessarily the same level of patience as the older two because things were pretty snappy once you ’ re in the computer age .
So helping them deal with the fact that they don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology and the things they see in front of them , that it ’ s important to be outside and to be playing , and writing your own stories and reading books with something hard in your hand that ’ s not a Kindle was a battle for us , just like it is for all parents—trying to get the Nintendo off and determining whether you ’ re going to have a TV in your household or not .
I got sort of both worlds there , one where it was kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to playing together and working together to the place where now everybody can be in their own little silo and not even know what their siblings doing .
So it ’ s something to overcome .
Allen : We want to make sure that all of our parents listening know how they can find out more about Classical Conversations and start utilizing those resources today , so where can they go ?
Bortins : Go , again , if you ’ re a short-term homeschooler who ’ s just looking into all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s where we have our survival kit .
And if those kinds of items interest you , go on to classicalconversations.com and you ’ ll see the whole universe of what we offer for kindergarten through 12th grade .
We sell books and curriculum as well as information on the communities and the philosophy .
We are a Christian company and so you ’ ll see things like what we believe in , our statement of faith , and anybody ’ s welcome to participate in our curriculum , so we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I wanted to let you know that we are looking to make a really big announcement on March 28th .
We are going to be offering some new services and I ’ m not allowed to tell you what they are , but I want our listeners to go [ on ] our website on that day , I ’ m pretty excited .
Classical Conversations is about to change the face of homeschooling again , and it ’ s not what any of you would think of .
So please go look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , great .
That ’ s Saturday .
We ’ ll mark the calendar .
Leigh , thank you so much for your time .
We really appreciate it .
Bortins : Thank you , Virginia .
I hope that I was helpful and I pray blessings on everybody and that they will just be healthier and wiser than they ever knew possible when we come up the other side of this .
Allen : Yes , I agree and I echo that .
Thank you .
Bortins : You ’ re so @ @

Choosing to homeschool your child is a big decision, but many Americans just had the choice made for them. Schools all over the country have closed their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic—with some states, such as Virginia, announcing that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year.
Leigh Bortins, founder of Classical Conversations, a homeschooling curriculum focused on classical education, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to offer practical advice and resources to parents who suddenly find themselves overseeing their child’s education. Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.
We also cover these stories:
President Donald Trump says he’d like to “reopen” the economy by Easter, despite the spread of COVID-19.
Vice President Mike Pence says the White House isn’t considering a nationwide lockdown.
The International Olympic Committee and Japan agree to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Daily Signal Podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!
Virginia Allen: I am joined by Leigh Bortins, founder of the homeschool curriculum Classical Conversations. Leigh, thank you so much for being here.
Leigh Bortins: Thank you for having me. It’s very nice to get to speak with you, Virginia.
Allen: Yes, we’re all speaking from a distance right now, maintaining that social distancing. But right now, because of social distancing and the Coronavirus, so many parents are finding themselves homeschooling their children and they’re looking for support, they’re looking for resources. I want to pick your brain a little bit and find out what some of those resources are. But first, let’s just talk a little bit about why you chose to homeschool.
Bortins: I chose to homeschool … How much time do we have, you want the whole story or the short version?
Allen: A shorter version maybe for the sake of time.
Bortins: My husband’s 10 years older than I am and when we got married and then I got pregnant with my first born I saw a TV show about homeschooling and those folks struck me as quite weird and I knew I wanted to join them. We didn’t have a TV, I was walking through the mall and saw it on TV at “The Phil Donahue Show,” if anybody remembers that.
And then when I got home I told my husband about it and him being 10 years older, he had been very discouraged by students in our college program or at the University of Michigan getting our aerospace engineering degrees.
He just said, “I’m so happy to hear there’s this way to do this because there’s no way our kids were going to go to school if they’re going to be as unintelligent as you freshmen seem to be to me.”
So he was just relieved for the academic side of it and then eventually we both became Christians and, of course, we stopped wanting to emphasize having our children in college and instead said, “Let’s make sure that they’re in Christ.”
So now I would say we homeschool for the best of reasons so that we can constantly model our love for the Lord and hope that our children will do the same.
Allen: Yeah, I love that. That’s beautiful. But it’s one thing to say, “I want to homeschool my child.” It’s an entirely different thing to decide that you’re going to create a homeschool curriculum. Tell me a little bit about the reasoning behind Classical Conversations and what really drove you to create it.
Bortins: When our eldest, Robert, who’s now the CEO of Classical Conversations, was in middle school, … like so many other homeschooling parents, I thought, “Oh no, can I do high school?”
So I started reading more books on higher level academics and looking around for programs, speaking with our friends, and a lot of them were very nervous also about it.
Just after doing a lot of research, and again, working with my husband, we really came to the conclusion that we were still the best solution for our children. But one thing we really wanted to have was a classical education for them, which very much requires a community.
So my husband and I decided that we would once a week have people into the house, adults and children, and we would work together on rigorous academics that were hard to do on your own, not just because they were rigorous, but sometimes you want other people to do a Shakespeare play with or discuss a chemistry lab or you need debate partners.
So we came up with a curriculum where the families could do the majority of their work at home and then just get together once a week and polish it off and finish in community.
It’s kind of like a weekly PTA meeting for the parents, a weekly training for them to do better in classical Christian education. And, of course, the socialization, which has nothing to do with the children, it’s the mothers who all want to have friends, the kids will naturally.
So it just came out of a lot of different needs and within doing it in the first three years, we had 300 people on the waiting list to get into the program. So my husband quit his job and we worked with some of our friends and that’s kind of how the story all began.
Twenty years later, we’re in 20-some countries and in the United States alone we have over 120,000 children enrolled in our curriculum.
The greatest joy I have is to see how many homeschooling parents just dig in and really want to learn and are so glad for weekly support as well as recommendations and curating of the actual academics.
Allen: Obviously, right now, you all aren’t able to get together and do those larger group meetings. So is a lot of that taking place online or how are you continuing to maintain that connection that you mentioned being so vitally important?
Bortins: Right. A couple of ways, some of our communities are online temporarily for this end of year. But because we always homeschool within the parameters of safety, it’s not a big issue for us because we have a less than 12-to-1 … tutor to family ratio or to student ratio and so we’re in small groups anyways, most of the time.
Now, we do have programs that are in churches and much larger and so those have disband to personal homes, and if they can’t do that, then they do it online right now.
So we’re making do, as all homeschoolers do all the time, we just get the resources the Lord gives you and you just gratefully move forward and so that’s how we’re doing it.
Allen: Yeah, yeah. All right. Well, let’s get practical and talk about what were some of those challenges that you had when you first started homeschooling and how did you overcome them?
Bortins: I would say the one that we all have is, I have never had this day before with the children I have at the ages they are before. His mercies are new every morning for a reason because you don’t know what the day’s going to ever hold for you, and so you can react in fear or you can react in wonder.
During those middle school years where I was talking about where we were trying to explore what would we do with our high school students, we continued through in fear and trembling with the confidence the Lord would help us day by day. And, of course, after getting through your first child, and then your second, and then your third, and so on, you end up realizing that there really was nothing to be afraid of.
Most people I think quit homeschooling in the high school years because of the lack of confidence, not lack of ability. Because, remember, they’re still children and there’s so many good resources out there, parents are quite capable of homeschooling through the high school years.
So we just had to learn that because being the first generation of homeschoolers, I didn’t get to see that. So it’s hard to believe what you don’t see, but then, of course, as Christians, that’s what we’re called to do, is walk in faith and so our faith was strengthened through that. So, practically, it really is trusting the Lord even though that might sound like a platitude at this point.
Allen: Yeah. Let’s talk a little bit more about that because I know so many of our parents out there listening, they do have kids in [high school] that are now at home or even in middle school and they’re looking at the math assignments that they’re supposed to be doing or the science assignments and they’re thinking, “I do not remember this.” So, practically, how can they be helping their kids right now in subjects that they honestly don’t even remember how to do?
Bortins: You have a couple of different ways. If somebody is homeschooling right now because of a short-term reason with the virus, and most homeschoolers actually only homeschool for a short amount of time. They do it because they’re military, or a job loss, or they moved, or a child’s sick for the year, or something sets the majority of folks who homeschool.
So if people are listening to this thinking that all of us have this lifetime commitment like I do, that would not be true. Most homeschoolers are going to do it to get through … a bad situation or maybe a really delightful, great situation. They’ve been traveling, or dad’s home for the year working from home and they want more time with them.
A lot of people homeschool not because of academic reasons but just because of family reasons and here we are one more time having a lot of different family issues to deal with.
So there’s two groups, there’s the folks that are trying to get through this temporary situation and they tend to rely a lot on resources like we have at Classical Conversations. A lot of new people will begin with Classical Conversations also. And as people get more confident in what they’re doing, they start to be able to branch out and figure out a myriad of resources that are … available for homeschoolers.
For those that are just kind of jumping in, a resource I would turn you to for now to finish off this school year is one that we’ve put together called homeschoolingjourney.com. It’s a site where people can download what we call our survival kit and find all kinds of resources from our partners and more.
We’ve put together … a lot of things that are commercially viable that are now free for a short amount of time or highly discounted as well as YouTube videos. Then we have games and we have some of our own products that are for free.
We have one thing that a lot of people don’t know about is this service called Right Now Media, it’s like the Netflix for Christians and that’s free on our website, homeschoolingjourney.com as well as science activities.
There’s even a fitness program. … [If you] can’t get outside, which, it is spring, I would think you’d go outside, but if you want to stay inside and get your kids moving, we even have a fitness program on there.
So there’s a lot of things that we’re doing and I know other homeschooling resources are doing the same. Just trying to pull together things people can do to help their children and stay active for the next three to eight weeks or maybe even finish off the school year.
Of course, what we’re hoping for is people will see those resources and maybe consider homeschooling permanently or for at least another year and then, of course, we would ask them to look at classicalconversations.com.
Allen: That’s so great. That’s such a practical resource to have, That kind of emergency kit package that parents can literally go to right now and start utilizing.
Bortins: Yeah. Because we’re not the only one, right? A lot of people don’t know that there’s thousands of homeschoolers who have curriculum and materials that are for people, they can use it any time and, of course, there’s YouTube. They’ve had a lot of ads lately about how you can go on YouTube and learn anything, so people aren’t without resources.
But all of these I’m talking about right now are online resources, they really are our weakest resources because when you’re working with children, your best resource is a pat on the back and a smile or a word of encouragement. Looking them in the eye and helping them consider why they’re struggling or what they’re interested in or … what kind of homework help they might need.
So we really believe that the idea of social distancing is probably not the best word to describe what’s going on now, we are all social creatures who need a hug. So in this time when we’re trying to not hug our neighbor because we’re worried about passing on various viruses, really a better word is physical distancing because you and I right now are being social together, aren’t we?
Allen: Correct. Yeah, absolutely.
Bortins: Yes. One of the things that we just love about homeschooling is five or six of us can flop on a couch and just read a book together. In fact, we have a new series called “New World Echoes” and it’s a collection of stories that are very short read alouds that are appropriate for the entire family, whether you have a 17 year old or a 7-year-old, they’ll just lay on the couch or flop on the floor and read together.
If you’re able to throw a blanket outside and have a picnic, it would be appropriate to bring them too because they’re small books you can hold in your hand. I really would encourage parents to use as little online resources as possible right now and to just spend time with their children talking face to face and getting to know them in a different way than they had before.
Allen: But what about the parents who are listening and thinking, “Oh, I would love to do that, but I have a full-time job that I’m trying to do online right now”? About how much time should parents who do have full-time jobs and are working online be building into their schedules in order to keep educating their children and making sure that they’re still continuing to learn and get the attention that they need?
Bortins: Yeah. I know one time a grandfather told me he wished his daughter would homeschool, but since she had four children and they’re six subjects, he didn’t see how she could homeschool 24 hours a day. I just kind of looked at him and said, “Nobody does that.”
In general, I think homeschoolers through about eighth grade might spend three hours, five days a week at the most where it’s kind of a sit-down academic situation.
And then once your children are in high school, if you include those three hours, plus, they have, of course, a much more extensive reading time—which a lot of times they’ll do before they get out of bed in the morning and as they’re going to sleep at night. I mean, it’s really rare to have a six-hour day of academics, no matter how many children you have.
One thing homeschooling teaches you to do is to be efficient and picking the best things to do and not being robbed by somebody else’s lists, but being able to look at your children and say, “These are the things that we want to do together.” And make them your priority.
So when it comes to time, this is a quick schedule just to give someone who maybe has to work and still has the kids at home, get up in the morning and do your reading or a Bible study and devotion together and have breakfast and then go off to do what you need to do for the day.
At lunchtime, break and do a math or science lesson, go outside and look at the plants and maybe do a little bit of journaling and writing. Then when you go to bed in the evening, I suggest that you, again, you have like what they used to call the children’s hour and just spend an hour playing board games and doing read alouds, and if you want, watch a movie … something that’s for the whole family.
But break it up into segments that fit into your day and don’t feel like it’s something where you just sit down and work for three hours straight or six hours straight, whatever you think you would need to do.
I can’t say that I’ve ever been in a room doing more than probably two hours straight of academics with my four children. But that doesn’t mean that in their high school years there weren’t days where we did spend five or six hours, but it wasn’t every day by any means.
One of the things that we’ve become accustomed to with the public school system and institutional schools is just having 50 minutes with five or six different people each day. That’s just not how homeschooling works. Mom or dad, whoever’s doing the educating, just spends time with the whole family.
Studies have shown that the average child only gets about 30 minutes of academic instruction in a classroom situation that’s personal. So you really can do it and I suggested everyone find a friend who homeschools and just learn more about what it’s really like rather than probably what you imagine it’s like.
There’s no reason to bring school home, you actually can just have a family life together. And just think about it, if you love your children and there was no such thing as any school, wouldn’t you still teach them basic skills and how to read and do math … how to serve their community and how to take care of their home?
The things that you just do in your average life and then like now helping with homework after school take up about the same amount of time we homeschoolers devote to academics.
The better part of our day is spent with our children doing things we just all enjoy doing. So we travel more, and we have field trips more, and we get together with friends more, and we can work at the community centers and service with seniors and things like that because service is a big part of homeschooling with children.
A lot of people are so worried about the math and science where there’s so much help like we offer and YouTube offers, when really what we’re trying to do is teach our children to be good citizens and have a constant civics lesson of how to behave appropriately in any situation you find yourself in. There’s a lot more to it than I think people think of and it’s a lot easier than they think.
Allen: Yeah. No, that’s really interesting to hear. Because I’m sort of thinking, all right, if you’re a parent who has maybe four kids, they’re all different ages, you’re saying you don’t have to kind of have these individual specific full days worth of work for each child. You maybe have like a little bit of time for each of giving them their own assignments, but then you’re able to actually do a lot together and have more group activities even despite the age differences.
Bortins: If you think about it, they said, “Reading, writing, and arithmetic forever” for really good reasons. You need a child on your lap when you’re teaching them phonics, they need some individual time then, you need your middle schoolers sitting next to you while they’re struggling with difficult material, which is the same as taking them through phonics when they were younger.
So there’s some personal time that’s needed and then there’s quiet time that’s needed. Each of your children should be able to go off and on their own, whether it’s playing Legos or writing an essay, they shouldn’t have to have mom or dad next to them all the time.
On the other hand, some of my favorite things to do was write papers with my children or build Lego castles with them, right? As a parent, it was just my job to assess their needs and our family’s needs and each day do my best to work it out because, again, His mercies are new every morning and who knows if the dishwasher’s going to leak that day or someone’s going to come down with the flu, whatever it is, you just have to learn to roll with the punches.
For those of us who’ve been regulated our whole lives, we’d go to school from day care through college and then we’re at work, … sometimes it’s really difficult to retrench and just say, “Hey, I’m in charge for a little bit. What is it we want to do as a family?”
Allen: Oh, this is so good, I feel like it’s just kind of taking the pressure off, this is great. But are there maybe some do’s and don’ts of homeschooling that you can offer us? Just things that you’ve learned over the year through trial and error.
Bortins: The biggest don’t is to not worry that you’re not doing enough. Because here’s the thing, none of us are doing enough and all of us are doing too much and it depends on what field or area you’re talking about. Not one of us is perfect, so we’re going to have our strengths and our weaknesses.
On those days where you just feel like you are so weak in a certain area, just stop and don’t say, “I failed” or “I quit” or “I’m a bad mom.” Stop and say, “You know what? I might not have done this so well, but I did do this other thing really well and the children are going to get a lot of different experiences from me as an adult and all of them have some sort of value.”
So to not make light of the things that maybe seem unschoolish, they may be where the best teachable moments occur or where your kids are really listening.
So the one thing that I shared a little bit about … earlier was to learn to not be afraid and to just be really joyful and grateful. And then when you just want to kick the kids out of the house or put your husband’s face in the mud, whatever it is, you just have to say to yourself, “OK, this too shall pass and we’re going to start over tomorrow and we’ll have a great day.”
I used to, at the end of the day when I had all four of them home, if I knew I’d opened up with Bible reading with them, did a math lesson, and then read to them at night, my kids were well-educated, that was enough.
Allen: Let’s go back and talk a little bit more about Classical Conversations. You all have come a long way since you first started in the early 2000s, what do you think really led to that success? What was kind of that switch that just people were so hungry and really wanted to learn more and find out more about Classical Conversations that has allowed it to do so well?
Bortins: It surprised me, the answer to that question. About six, seven years into it, I realized that a high percentage of our families were military and that’s what was making us grow because once the families were bought into homeschooling and classical education and saw how easy and approachable our program was—they, of course, get deployed every three years somewhere else—then their attitude was like, “Well, there’s not a CCD here, so I’ll start one and I’ll get together with my military friends there.”
So, of course, that’s why we’re in bases all across the world. And then, of course, the families who’ve started the bases across the world have started to find natural citizens in those countries to take over for them. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if … a third of our families are in the military.
So think what we do for them, and what we do for them they recognize is important. But people need to remember one-third of children move year-round, no matter what situation their families are in, we don’t really have community schools anymore because of all the moving that occurs.
So by being in Classical Conversations, the military families had two things. They had, one, they knew exactly what the curriculum was that they were going to be doing in the following week, no matter how far away they moved. So that was a strain off the parent trying to decide what to do about curriculum.
Then the second one was that they instantly had friends for their children when they moved because of our small communities that we needed.
Again, the moms want the friends as much as the children do. So that’s why they kept starting everywhere because they wanted to have [the] academic community as well as the military community that they were in and enjoying the travel opportunities they had being military families. That was really quite a surprise to me, and now I’m super grateful to all of them.
Allen: Yeah. Well, it’s just incredible to see the success that you have had. I mean, you’ve been in this movement for such a long time. How do you think that it’s changing as we’re hitting a second generation? For instance, there’s now homeschool kids, they homeschooled themselves, their parents homeschooled them, and now they’re turning around and homeschooling their own children. So how has the movement really changed over the years?
Bortins: Yeah, probably my happiest stories are how many grandmothers, mothers, and their children are in Classical Conversations. In other words, I got three generations all working on the material.
So think of the connectivity that we have in the sense of not just laterally with other families, the legacy with the families that stay generation after generation. That’s been really neat to see happen.
For those of you that aren’t aware, we’ve been around for 20-some years now and so if folks came in, you don’t have to start at kindergarten, right? People might have started at high school and been with us for four years and then got married a few years later. So that’s why we’re able to do that in a single generation. That’s just been fun to see.
The thing that I would say would be different is, it’s almost a whole ‘nother conversation. My eldest two children who are in their 30s had a more similar education to my grandmother than … compared to their two brothers.
What I mean is this, they didn’t have technology, the internet was not something in our house, we didn’t have computers when they were going through school. So they learned [with] pencils and paper and books and then going outside and playing and the various things that my grandma and my mom and myself all did.
Versus the second two, we have a 10-year gap between our two sets of kids. The second two were very computer literate and expected a lot of things to be done quickly and didn’t have necessarily the same level of patience as the older two because things were pretty snappy once you’re in the computer age.
So helping them deal with the fact that they don’t always get to have electricity and technology and the things they see in front of them, that it’s important to be outside and to be playing, and writing your own stories and reading books with something hard in your hand that’s not a Kindle was a battle for us, just like it is for all parents—trying to get the Nintendo off and determining whether you’re going to have a TV in your household or not.
I got sort of both worlds there, one where it was kind of easy to homeschool because all families were used to playing together and working together to the place where now everybody can be in their own little silo and not even know what their siblings doing. So it’s something to overcome.
Allen: We want to make sure that all of our parents listening know how they can find out more about Classical Conversations and start utilizing those resources today, so where can they go?
Bortins: Go, again, if you’re a short-term homeschooler who’s just looking into all this, go to homeschoolingjourney.com, and that’s where we have our survival kit. And if those kinds of items interest you, go on to classicalconversations.com and you’ll see the whole universe of what we offer for kindergarten through 12th grade.
We sell books and curriculum as well as information on the communities and the philosophy.
We are a Christian company and so you’ll see things like what we believe in, our statement of faith, and anybody’s welcome to participate in our curriculum, so we encourage everyone to look at it.
I wanted to let you know that we are looking to make a really big announcement on March 28th. We are going to be offering some new services and I’m not allowed to tell you what they are, but I want our listeners to go [on] our website on that day, I’m pretty excited.
Classical Conversations is about to change the face of homeschooling again, and it’s not what any of you would think of. So please go look at it.
Allen: All right, great. That’s Saturday. We’ll mark the calendar. Leigh, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.
Bortins: Thank you, Virginia. I hope that I was helpful and I pray blessings on everybody and that they will just be healthier and wiser than they ever knew possible when we come up the other side of this.
Allen: Yes, I agree and I echo that. Thank you.
Bortins: You’re so welcome.


thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--38-Year-Old Track Star Justin Gatlin Will Compete In 2021 Olympics, Inspired By Tom Brady

Justin Gatlin vowed to retire after the 2020 Olympics , but the 38-year-old USA track star tells TMZ Sports plans change , 'cause he ai n't quittin ' before takin ' another crack at gold ... thanks to some inspiration from Tom Brady .
We talked to the LEGENDARY sprinter -- who competed in the '04 , '12 , and '16 Olympics and won 5 medals including a gold in the 100M in 2004 -- and asked him straight-up , are you retiring ?
?
Nope ... `` The goal will be to compete in the 2021 Summer Olympics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think a lot of people think that time is against me or against older athletes in this situation , and it 's far from the truth . ''
Fact is , almost no track athletes remain elite into their late 30s .
Usain Bolt retired at 31 years old ... and lost to JG in is last race .
So , Gatlin is a freak of nature .
But , does JG really believe with the Olympics postponed a year -- only months shy of his 40th bday -- that he can realistically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued ... `` It wo n't be that big of a difference from being 38 to 39 .
But , I always said , ' I 'm not running 'til I 'm 40 . '
I was so hard on myself with not running 'til I 'm 40 , and now it looks like I 'm pushing close to 40 , and I 'm gon na still be running . ''
Speaking of athletes in their 40s ... we asked Justin if he 'll retire after Tokyo , and he sure as hell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done -- thanks to some inspiration from a guy who is still pretty damn great on the football field .
`` Uh , [ retiring after 2021 is ] a possibility , I 'm gon na see , '' Gatlin says ... `` All this Tom Brady news that 's going on right now , it 's giving me a lot of hope to say , 'Ya know , maybe a 40-year-old Justin Gatlin on the track wo n't be that crazy . '
''

Play video content TMZSports.com
Justin Gatlin vowed to retire after the 2020 Olympics, but the 38-year-old USA track star tells TMZ Sports plans change, 'cause he ain't quittin' before takin' another crack at gold ... thanks to some inspiration from Tom Brady.
We talked to the LEGENDARY sprinter -- who competed in the '04, '12, and '16 Olympics and won 5 medals including a gold in the 100M in 2004 -- and asked him straight-up, are you retiring??
Nope ... "The goal will be to compete in the 2021 Summer Olympics," Gatlin tells us.
"I think a lot of people think that time is against me or against older athletes in this situation, and it's far from the truth."
Fact is, almost no track athletes remain elite into their late 30s. Usain Bolt retired at 31 years old ... and lost to JG in is last race. So, Gatlin is a freak of nature.
But, does JG really believe with the Olympics postponed a year -- only months shy of his 40th bday -- that he can realistically compete for ANOTHER gold medal?
"My educated guess is yes, [I can win gold in 2021]."
Gatlin continued ... "It won't be that big of a difference from being 38 to 39. But, I always said, 'I'm not running 'til I'm 40.' I was so hard on myself with not running 'til I'm 40, and now it looks like I'm pushing close to 40, and I'm gonna still be running."
Speaking of athletes in their 40s ... we asked Justin if he'll retire after Tokyo, and he sure as hell doesn't sound like someone who's done -- thanks to some inspiration from a guy who is still pretty damn great on the football field.
"Uh, [retiring after 2021 is] a possibility, I'm gonna see," Gatlin says ... "All this Tom Brady news that's going on right now, it's giving me a lot of hope to say, 'Ya know, maybe a 40-year-old Justin Gatlin on the track won't be that crazy.'"


thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--The Real-Life Costs of Bad Regulation

The Real-Life Costs of Bad Regulation

Years ago , hydroxychloroquine worked wonders on my arthritis ; now , it is showing early promise as a potential @ @ @ @ @ .

Entrepreneur Elon Musk, President Donald Trump, and New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo have each touted chloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria, as a promising treatment option for those infected with Covid-19. Some media quickly pounced on the president’s statement. The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, quickly clarified that the agency had not in fact approved the drug as a safe and effective treatment for the new disease, shortly after the president claimed that the drug was “approved very, very quickly and it’s now approved by prescription.”
Chloroquine is in fact available for prescription in the United States. It’s already being tried as a treatment for the new virus in U.S. hospitals. And multiple manufacturers are rushing to produce more and get it to doctors.
The confusion over chloroquine—along with the broader performance of U.S. regulatory agencies during this epidemic—highlights how our federal process for reviewing and approving drugs and medical devices still leaves much to be desired. Our regulatory regime is costing lives. The early administrative failings of the FDA and Centers for Disease Control, which greatly worsened the crisis in the United States, show how ugly that can be.
Getting a new pharmaceutical compound to market in the U.S. is an extraordinarily complex process. Development time is usually more than a decade. Costs add up to hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. After an innovator submits an Investigational New Drug application, the FDA requires a three-stage testing process, then the submission of a formal New Drug Application that typically includes hundreds of thousands of pages of documentation.
However, once the FDA has approved a pharmaceutical compound as safe and effective for a particular use, doctors can prescribe the drug for an alternative use that has not been run through the full FDA review—commonly called “off-label” drug prescription. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine estimated that 21 percent of commonly used drugs are prescribed for off-label uses. Off-label drug prescription is particularly common in emergency settings: a 2011 study in the Journal of Critical Care found that 36 percent of all drugs used in intensive-care units are for off-label indications.
That’s the story of chloroquine. In various formulations and analogs (chloroquine phosphate, chloroquine hydrochloride, hydroxychloroquine sulfate), chloroquine has been available for prescription in the United States for decades. (Discovered in 1934, the drug was approved by the FDA in the 1940s.) It has long been used as a common drug to prevent and treat malaria. More recently, scientists have discovered that it has antiviral effects as well—and doctors can prescribe it off-label as an antiviral treatment without further FDA review.
And they are doing so, in the fight against Covid-19. I can offer family reports from a law school friend of mine currently sick with Covid-19 on a ventilator in a New York hospital. Because the drug’s side-effect profile is well-known, it makes sense for doctors to try chloroquine formulations when handling critical cases, given anecdotal but promising reports from other countries further along in handling the epidemic, and especially when no other proven remedies currently exist. The drug might also be a promising prophylactic for health-care workers at serious risk of exposure, and it is currently being tested for that purpose. The anticipated demand for various chloroquine compounds has created a drug shortage, but manufacturers are scrambling to ramp up production—and donating supplies.
Chloroquine is not the only pharmaceutical product being explored as a Covid-19 treatment. Scientists have been testing scores of drugs approved for other uses for efficacy in treating the new disease. And the FDA has been allowing access to not-yet-approved drugs through its “expanded-access” or “compassionate-use” process, among them Gilead Science’s remdesivir, which has proved successful against the Ebola virus. (Alas, the company has been so swamped with requests that its ability to supply the drug has been sharply curtailed.)
The search for drug-treatment options is intense, given the high likelihood that severe cases of Covid-19 require ventilator-assisted breathing. Any treatment or prophylactic that might reduce demand for ventilators or speed up recovery times is extremely important: severe outbreaks that have swamped health-care systems have necessarily led to rationing of ventilator machines, which has contributed significantly to the high death rates in Northern Italy and in China’s Hubei province. The United States has significantly more intensive-care capacity per capita than most other countries—but still not nearly enough ventilators to meet expected peak demand if the virus continues to spread at current rates. Manufacturers, including Musk, are converting existing production lines to produce new ventilators, as well as other necessary protective equipment in short supply. Others are developing alternative processes—including through 3-D printing—to create substitute supply lines.
With cases and deaths growing exponentially, federal regulatory authorities can be expected to fast-track new approaches. The agencies were much less willing to afford latitude to the private sector just weeks ago, though—and the United States is now much more vulnerable as a result. Chinese authorities uploaded the SARS-CoV-2 genome onto the Internet on January 10. The CDC developed its own testing protocol by January 21; international scientists developed a different test by the same date, which was soon disseminated en masse by the World Health Organization.
The U.S. testing process failed. The day that the CDC announced it had developed its testing protocol, January 21, was the date of the first documented American case of coronavirus. South Korea documented its first case the same day. But by March 17, the United States had administered only 125 tests per 1 million people; South Korea had administered more than 5,000 tests per 1 million over the same time span. By aggressive testing, South Korea was able to trace viral spread and contain it. Without it, the U.S. was left with little choice but the draconian measures that have shut down much of American life.
As has been widely reported, the CDC’s in-house testing design was flawed, thus compromising early testing results. Mistakes happen, but the impact of the test-design flaw was much greater than it should have been—owing to the U.S. bureaucracy’s tightly controlled process. Even had the CDC test worked perfectly, not nearly enough tests would have been available for wide-scale testing on the South Korean model.
The reasons: the American regulatory system, cumbersome even in emergency settings; and the specific choices made by regulators that proved to be tragic misjudgments. As Alec Stapp of the left-leaning Progressive Policy Institute has documented, after Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a public-health emergency on January 31, private laboratories had to obtain an Emergency Use Authorization to conduct their own testing. On February 4, the FDA approved an authorization for the CDC—and only the CDC. This created a testing bottleneck, with all testing in the nation routed through the government agency. By February 28, the CDC had processed only 4,000 tests. The next day, the FDA finally invoked the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments to permit testing at some 5,000 highly specialized virology labs (among more than a quarter-million laboratories nationwide with some testing capability). The first Emergency Use Authorization granted to any entity other than the CDC was issued on March 12, to Roche. Throughout this period, the rollout of mass testing was limited by privacy rules in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA); they were not waived until March 15.
Some of the holdups in the critical early U.S. testing effort read like paradigmatic illustrations of bureaucratic bloat. In Emergency Use Authorization applications in the face of an epidemic, the government was actually requiring labs to mail in CD-ROMs for agency review, rather than permitting online submission, owing to outdated rules. (Thankfully, they’ve since dropped that particular rule.)
The botched regulatory response in the United States owed little to the choices of political actors. The individuals running the FDA and CDC are experts in their field, not hacks. FDA Commissioner Hahn is a distinguished oncologist who has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and has executive experience running one of America’s largest hospitals. He’s not a virologist, but the FDA is staffed with them; and Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, is one of the nation’s foremost researchers and clinicians specializing in viruses.
Thus, if the current pandemic crisis highlights the need for experts, the American response also shows the limits of relying on centralized expert command. Doctors and scientists who are the best in their field don’t understand all fields; they are more than capable of designing a test that works (even if they sometimes err), but less capable of figuring out mass-production constraints and the necessary processes for large-scale manufacturing and distribution. We should always be careful not to succumb to hindsight bias, but it’s hard not to believe that the U.S. agencies’ decision to micromanage all national testing for Covid-19 was fatally flawed.
The current viral pandemic highlights the tradeoffs between speed and perfect safety. Delaying the introduction of new drugs to market costs lives, too. The 1992 Prescription Drug User Fee Act has helped facilitate getting some drugs to market more quickly. But it may not go far enough. Scholars studying the question have persuasively argued that we might be better served by jettisoning FDA efficacy review entirely for some or all new-drug approvals, and require only testing for safety. This would mean treating new drugs the same way we do old drugs prescribed off-label.
Finally, there’s little public-health cause for regulating speech about potential off-label drug uses—the easiest way to get information about new applications in the hands of prescribing doctors. When Bayer tweeted that it was donating 3 million tablets of its chloroquine phosphate drug to the United States, it observed “New data, while limited, shows potential for the use of [chloroquine phosphate] in treating patients with #COVID19 infection.” But exactly that tweet by a manufacturer selling its drug in ordinary circumstances could land a company in hot water—exposing it to criminal-law investigations and enforcement that would potentially prevent a manufacturer from getting reimbursed through Medicare for its pharmaceuticals. To avoid that outcome, pharmaceutical companies have entered into multibillion-dollar settlements with federal authorities for such off-label marketing—even though it’s highly likely that informing doctors about new drug uses saves lives.
It’s too soon to tell how effective chloroquine, or other drug therapies, might be as antiviral agents against Covid-19. What is safe to say is that decentralized, private-sector innovation is among the most promising hopes for curbing the mounting death toll from the coronavirus in the United States and other countries—along with necessary, government-led efforts to slow the viral spread. The problems that U.S. federal agencies have faced highlight some of the inherent problems with a regulatory structure that favors centralized action and prioritizes perfection over speed. When ordinary life returns, we need to think about how to create a more sensible and effective regulatory framework.
Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images


thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--Nuttery – CNN Fake News Political Analyst/Democrat Hack Joe Lockhart Demands President Trump Ignore

Nuttery – CNN Fake News Political Analyst/Democrat Hack Joe Lockhart Demands President Trump Ignore “Social Distancing,” Tour Nation, Meeting Medical Responders

This example highlights the mindset of CNN and the national media .
CNN Political Analyst Joe Lockhart criticizes President Trump @ @ @ @ @ House , following the CDC guidelines , and not traveling around the nation undermining the @ @ @ @ @ ’ measures .
There really has never been a time like this .
The U.S. @ @ @ @ @ have dropped all pretense of journalism , or even common sense , and have gone @ @ @ @ @ derangement unlike any time in history .

This example highlights the mindset of CNN and the national media. CNN Political Analyst Joe Lockhart criticizes President Trump for remaining in the White House, following the CDC guidelines, and not traveling around the nation undermining the various ‘stay at home’ measures.
(link)
There really has never been a time like this. The U.S. media, writ large, have dropped all pretense of journalism, or even common sense, and have gone into a phase of resistance derangement unlike any time in history.


thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--Chi-Coms’ Propaganda Campaign Goes Viral

If you think that China isn ’ t pulling out all the stops to convince the world that it isn ’ t responsible for letting the Wuhan Virus loose and wrecking the entire world economy , then you better think again .
Not only have they co-opted the Western news media into pushing the line that pointing out COVID-19 ’ s point of origin is somehow racist and xenophobic—with willing dupes like The Atlantic ’ s Anne Applebaum even praising the ChiCom government as heroes for their response to the outbreak—they ’ ve also taken to social media to plant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came from here in the United States , and that the U.S. Army was responsible for spreading it .
At the forefront of that effort is Lijan Zhao , a mouthpiece for Xi Jinping and his band of thugs , who has been burning up the Twitterverse with all kinds of laughable claims to that effect .
He ’ s also been actively discouraging any association of the virus with China , by routinely making laughable claims such as this : Especially when that ’ s the stigma of your own government ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in creating a global pandemic that has threatened the lives and livelihood of billions of people .
So naturally , I had to chime in with a little reply of my own—one that stated a few of the facts Lijan claims to hold so dear : And boy , did the floodgates open after that .
Within moments , dozens of replies starting pouring in , and kept on coming all through the night .
Hell , half of the mentions I got on Twitter today were because of that post—all of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Care to guess what that was ?
Hard as it may be to believe , but “ hmy_lib ” with the bunny avatar has only been on Twitter since February and has a whopping 33 followers .
Could it be that the bunny is really a Chinese bot programmed to parrot the government ’ s propaganda efforts ?
Well , if he is , he ’ s got lots of company .
Give “ lxy ” some credit , at least her avatar actually looks like a human being .
Only 18 followers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game away , though .
Then there ’ s…this guy , I guess ?
It ’ s hard to tell .
Really like the Boring !
touch at the end .
Very Trumpian .
But only 8 followers since 2012 ?
Color me skeptical .
And so on and on and on it went… Until it got quite inexplicable .
I guess Tay-Tay ’ s latest woke album must really be a disappointment if she ’ s shilling for the Chinese Politburo .
Seriously folks , you all really do need to calm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercise in Twitter trolling , though , there is a darker lesson to be learned here .
To wit , if the Chinese propaganda machine is kicking into high gear going after a Twitter nobody like me , imagine the lengths to which they ’ re going in order to influence the big media players .
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism .
The coronavirus crisis has prompted many , even some conservatives , to promote authoritarianism .
It ’ s understandable to some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be allowed to embed itself in American life .
We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time .
If you are interested , please join us to receive updates .

Discern Report is the fastest growing America First news aggregator in the nation.
If you think that China isn’t pulling out all the stops to convince the world that it isn’t responsible for letting the Wuhan Virus loose and wrecking the entire world economy, then you better think again. Not only have they co-opted the Western news media into pushing the line that pointing out COVID-19’s point of origin is somehow racist and xenophobic—with willing dupes like The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum even praising the ChiCom government as heroes for their response to the outbreak—they’ve also taken to social media to plant the ludicrous accusation that the disease actually came from here in the United States, and that the U.S. Army was responsible for spreading it.
At the forefront of that effort is Lijan Zhao, a mouthpiece for Xi Jinping and his band of thugs, who has been burning up the Twitterverse with all kinds of laughable claims to that effect. He’s also been actively discouraging any association of the virus with China, by routinely making laughable claims such as this:
3/6 Chinese Spox: WHO believes that we should avoid calling #COVID19 “Chinese virus”. “This is the time for facts, not fear. This is the time for science, not rumours. This is the time for solidarity, not stigma.” — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 24, 2020
Especially when that’s the stigma of your own government’s incompetence, dishonesty and downright malfeasance in creating a global pandemic that has threatened the lives and livelihood of billions of people. So naturally, I had to chime in with a little reply of my own—one that stated a few of the facts Lijan claims to hold so dear:
It originated in China. It was covered up by the Chinese government. It was allowed to spread to the world by the Chinese government. The Chinese government is responsible. It is the Chinese Virus. — Hammerjack (@MarcGiller) March 24, 2020
And boy, did the floodgates open after that. Within moments, dozens of replies starting pouring in, and kept on coming all through the night. Hell, half of the mentions I got on Twitter today were because of that post—all of them some variation on the same theme.
Care to guess what that was?
This is just an excuse for the U.S. government to deal with the virus, and you need to denounce the U.S. government, and it's their dereliction of duty that led to the crisis! — hmy_lib (@HmyLib) March 24, 2020
Hard as it may be to believe, but “hmy_lib” with the bunny avatar has only been on Twitter since February and has a whopping 33 followers. Could it be that the bunny is really a Chinese bot programmed to parrot the government’s propaganda efforts? Well, if he is, he’s got lots of company.
The US military brought the virus into China during the wuhan military games. Dare the US government release the health report of 5 sick US military athletes during the games? — lxy (@lxy1919) March 24, 2020
Give “lxy” some credit, at least her avatar actually looks like a human being. Only 18 followers since August 2019 kind of gives the game away, though.
Then there’s…this guy, I guess? It’s hard to tell.
You have got lost where the story comes from, just repeat it thousands of times each day. Boring! — JC (@Jean_Casati) March 24, 2020
Really like the Boring! touch at the end. Very Trumpian. But only 8 followers since 2012? Color me skeptical.
And so on and on and on it went…
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HIV spreads from the United States to the world. We should call it US HIV — iwillonline (@ricky19813102) March 24, 2020
No evidence, It about science, not malicious accusations. — Liam (@LiamHanh) March 24, 2020
Look at the data of US, it grows very very fast these days. That means the virus spreaded in US long long ago, but it has not been tested. — faelanxu (@xfr0818) March 25, 2020
Until it got quite inexplicable.
Funny Mod Pee — 正道的光 (@Av4b64oM9o7tIdE) March 25, 2020
And then downright bizarre.
I kid you not, this is one of the Chinese troll bots in my menchies today: pic.twitter.com/h236rfEvRH — Hammerjack (@MarcGiller) March 24, 2020
I guess Tay-Tay’s latest woke album must really be a disappointment if she’s shilling for the Chinese Politburo. Seriously folks, you all really do need to calm down.
Aside from being an amusing exercise in Twitter trolling, though, there is a darker lesson to be learned here. To wit, if the Chinese propaganda machine is kicking into high gear going after a Twitter nobody like me, imagine the lengths to which they’re going in order to influence the big media players.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
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thelibertydaily--2020-03-25--Chi-Com Virus Brings Out the Worst of the Authoritarian Left

Global crises tend to either bring out the best in people or the worst , depending on their proclivities during normal times .
The political right tends to favor individual rights and liberty , hence the term pro-liberty right .
The political left tends to favor collective ‘ rights ’ and control , hence the term authoritarian left .
For now , we ’ ll set aside the usual point that the political left falsely labeling themselves as being liberal is one of their biggest lies in order to focus on the larger picture as well as some new lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ChiComVirus pandemic .
Why we call it the ChiComVirus At present , the authoritarian left in the states and the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party are speaking in one voice , trying to blame this on someone else when it should be clear that the bureaucratic nature of big government is at fault here .
National Review detailed the missteps and outright lies promulgated by the CCP at the outbreak of this disease .
Suffice it to say , while governments based on economic freedom are not perfect , the top down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of socialism with Chinese characteristics had them hide the problem instead of taking steps to contain the outbreak .
Whether this was deliberate or accidental doesn ’ t really matter right now .
Had this taken place in the West , the whistleblower would have been praised instead of imprisoned and the current steps being taken would have been put in place , containing the problem .
Instead , we had a bloated government trying to protect itself while endangering the people .
They didn ’ t take action until it was too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures .
There is a reason the CCP and the authoritarian left are so exercised over this issue .
They want to deflect the blame from their cherished ideology to have it settle elsewhere .
That is why we call it the ChiComVirus as they are doing on The Liberty Daily .
It places the blame directly on the cause of the crisis and no , communism isn ’ t a race .
The left ’ s quandary of worshiping control while Trump is in charge Over on Blue Collar Logic , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation makes a very important point about our current situation given that it places the left in an untenable quandary .
Their secular religion of authoritarianism has them worship the false god of government while they have to deal with President Trump as the head of that government .
They have always looked to the government as the solution to every problem and the means to control others .
So while they desperately want the government to have more control over everyone , that control would end up in the hands of president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have emphasized state level control over the past few years and especially now with this crisis , pushing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo as a de facto opposition leader and potential Democratic party nominee .
Never let a serious crisis go to waste This is epitomized by the coronavirus bailout bill that could just be the beginning of our problems .
An editorial in USA Today was blatant on the issue : Democrats , please don ’ t waste the coronavirus crisis .
Hold out for what Americans need .
In addition to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bill Is ‘ Tremendous Opportunity to Restructure Things to Fit Our Vision ’ .
But they are going to experience a backlash come November .
Then of course , there are all the localities that are using this crisis as an excuse to deprive the people of their unalienable human rights while thousands of inmates released are released from jail : • Denver gun shop owner files lawsuit against the city to change ‘ non-essential ’ status of his store • So it begins : The Governor of New Jersey has shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Violating Law By Refusing To Process Carry Permits • If government can curb our rights to fight a virus , then why not to fight gun violence ?
If we can fight a war against an enemy we can ’ t see or touch , we certainly could use draconian measures to fight the gun violence in our neighborhoods as well .
• Colorado gun sales have spiked in the past week amid coronavirus fears Leave it to the left to still lie about Trump This may seem to be old news , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things up another notch .
It ’ s not just the repetition of the story blaming President Trump for a couple in Arizona ingesting fish tank cleaner instead of talking about how Over 65 Doctors , Medical Professionals And Scientists Call For Government To Use Hydroxychloroquine To Fight Coronavirus .
They are coming up with fake headlines : • Trump to New York : You ’ ve Been Mean to Me , Drop Dead Crisis such the ChiComVirus tend to emphasize certain personality traits , bringing out the best in some and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfortunate that we may see this going from bad to worse with Bernie Sanders staying in the race in hopes of taking advantage of the weakness of former Vice President Joe Biden .
Hopefully everyone is seeing the authoritarian left for what they truly are and leave the party and reject their socialist national agenda .
The deadly virus of collectivism is far worse than any disease .
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism .
The coronavirus crisis has prompted many , even some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s understandable to some extent now , but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life .
We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time .
If you are interested , please join us to receive updates .

Discern Report is the fastest growing America First news aggregator in the nation.
Global crises tend to either bring out the best in people or the worst, depending on their proclivities during normal times. The political right tends to favor individual rights and liberty, hence the term pro-liberty right. The political left tends to favor collective ‘rights’ and control, hence the term authoritarian left.
For now, we’ll set aside the usual point that the political left falsely labeling themselves as being liberal is one of their biggest lies in order to focus on the larger picture as well as some new lies they keep conjuring up in covering the ChiComVirus pandemic.
Why we call it the ChiComVirus
At present, the authoritarian left in the states and the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party are speaking in one voice, trying to blame this on someone else when it should be clear that the bureaucratic nature of big government is at fault here.
National Review detailed the missteps and outright lies promulgated by the CCP at the outbreak of this disease. Suffice it to say, while governments based on economic freedom are not perfect, the top down command and control nature of the regime of socialism with Chinese characteristics had them hide the problem instead of taking steps to contain the outbreak. Whether this was deliberate or accidental doesn’t really matter right now.
Had this taken place in the West, the whistleblower would have been praised instead of imprisoned and the current steps being taken would have been put in place, containing the problem.
Instead, we had a bloated government trying to protect itself while endangering the people. They didn’t take action until it was too late, then went overboard with draconian measures.
There is a reason the CCP and the authoritarian left are so exercised over this issue. They want to deflect the blame from their cherished ideology to have it settle elsewhere. That is why we call it the ChiComVirus as they are doing on The Liberty Daily. It places the blame directly on the cause of the crisis and no, communism isn’t a race.
The left’s quandary of worshiping control while Trump is in charge
Over on Blue Collar Logic, a recent posting and video noted that this situation makes a very important point about our current situation given that it places the left in an untenable quandary. Their secular religion of authoritarianism has them worship the false god of government while they have to deal with President Trump as the head of that government.
They have always looked to the government as the solution to every problem and the means to control others. So while they desperately want the government to have more control over everyone, that control would end up in the hands of president Trump.
Perhaps this explains why they have emphasized state level control over the past few years and especially now with this crisis, pushing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo as a de facto opposition leader and potential Democratic party nominee.
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Never let a serious crisis go to waste
This is epitomized by the coronavirus bailout bill that could just be the beginning of our problems. An editorial in USA Today was blatant on the issue: Democrats, please don’t waste the coronavirus crisis. Hold out for what Americans need. In addition to this a Democratic representative told colleagues the coronavirus bill Is ‘Tremendous Opportunity to Restructure Things to Fit Our Vision’. But they are going to experience a backlash come November.
Then of course, there are all the localities that are using this crisis as an excuse to deprive the people of their unalienable human rights while thousands of inmates released are released from jail:
Leave it to the left to still lie about Trump
This may seem to be old news, but the national socialist media is taking things up another notch. It’s not just the repetition of the story blaming President Trump for a couple in Arizona ingesting fish tank cleaner instead of talking about how Over 65 Doctors, Medical Professionals And Scientists Call For Government To Use Hydroxychloroquine To Fight Coronavirus. They are coming up with fake headlines:
Crisis such the ChiComVirus tend to emphasize certain personality traits, bringing out the best in some and the bad in others. It’s unfortunate that we may see this going from bad to worse with Bernie Sanders staying in the race in hopes of taking advantage of the weakness of former Vice President Joe Biden.
Hopefully everyone is seeing the authoritarian left for what they truly are and leave the party and reject their socialist national agenda. The deadly virus of collectivism is far worse than any disease.
Image courtesy of the Patriot Post
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
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