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Sunday we began our review of a "progressive" column in the Sun-News on September 18th by Bill Varuola. You can read his column by clicking here: The incoherency of the Varuola piece, particularly within the contest of what "troubled" him seemed to go on and on. He wrote, “The fact that we are being set up as a Christian state in opposition to Islamic states, in replication of the Crusades, is troubling as well.” Being set up as a Christian state in replication of the Crusades? These comments are preposterous. Since we know Varuola is literate we suggest a thorough reading of Princeton University professor Bernard Lewis’s book “What Went Wrong,” as well as a prolonged pass through the bi-partisan 9-11 Commission Report. There will be a pop quiz on radical Islam in a week.
Finally and mercifully Varuola moved on to the subject of education just in time to offer some valuable common sense. Unfortunately, from a philosophical standpoint the astute observations he made on education were contradictory and inconsistent with everything else he had to say. “We don't know what we want them to do for certain but we won't be satisfied until they do it and do it well,” he accuses. This sounds like a shot at the atrocious No Child Left Behind calamity that we have panned so often. For Varuola it was as if suddenly he understood the wisdom of rewarding talent and achievement as well as the folly of further empowering government when he said, “At no point does anyone recognize native ability or free will as factors in the equation. The scores must rise.” 
We agree with these observations and think the principles are universal. The real story is just how philosophically conflicted Varuola and many other "progressives are. In his editorial piece he was impervious to the simple justice involved in allowing people to keep most of what they earn. But when the discussion shifted to education, he seemed to find great injustice with the same oppressive and intrusive government dominating the decision-making in his own professional domain. No wonder Bill his troubled. It must be terribly frustrating to live in such a huge philosophical glass house. Government leaves no stones unturned and the damage done does not end within the realm of frustrated teachers. We are all taking our licks.
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