Yearly Archives: 2008

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Reading Made Easy

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Greenleaf Press is very pleased to announce that we are now the publishers of Valerie Bendt’s award-winning Reading Made Easy.

Valerie and her husband Bruce have six children, and more than twenty years homeschooling experience.

Reading Made Easy is a complete, phonics-based guide that is both easy-to-use, and effective. The focus is not just on the mechanics of reading (although those are competently and efficiently covered), but on kindling a love for reading.

“Reading Made Easy combines the best of sound phonics mechanics with a contagious love of reading. I only wish this valuable tool had been available when I began homeschooling. Affordable, scripted, east-to-use and effective; what more could anyone want? Reading Made Easy is a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to impart to children not only the information of ‘how’ we read but also the inspiration of ‘why’ we read.”
– Jane Claire Lambert, author of Five in a Row

  • Phonics based
  • 108 easy lessons
  • 3 lessons per week
  • Less than 30 minutes per day
  • Fully scripted
  • Christian content
  • Original stories and poems
  • Introduction to capitalization and punctuation
  • Hands-on activites
  • Writing and drawing activities

One of Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum!

Now available from Greenleaf Press, the new publisher (ISBN=1-882514-70-X). Paperback, 512 pages, $49.95.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

book reviews

Books on my bedside table (and in my book bag)

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The Drillmaster of Valley Forge:
 The Baron De Steuben and the Making of the American Army

 

I’m about halfway through. VERY good stuff.

We Are Soldiers Still

By Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway

 

If you read We Were Soldiers Once, And Young, then this is a must read. Follow-up to the account of one of the bloodiest battles of the Viet Nam war – 1st Cav almost over-run and wiped out by N. Vietnamese regulars. Marred by Gen. Moore’s attack in the final chapter on President Bush, but still a great read.

The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871

 

It’s amazing how little we know about what happened in Europe in the 1800s. Completing my own education.

We the People
 The Story of the Constitution

By Lynne Cheney

 

Just came in today. Looks very good. I’ll be reviewing it for Greenleaf later.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

Created by 108 Renowned Authors and Illustrators

 

Also came in today. Also looks very good

The Lodger Shakespeare:
His Life on Silver Street

By Charles Nicholl

 

Fascinating – if you’re interested in Shakespeare. If you’re not, this will seem much ado about very little

Mysteries of the Middle Ages:
And the Beginning of the Modern World

By Thomas Cahill

 

A great disappointment – How the Irish Saved Civilization is brilliant. This seems contrived and self-indulgent.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher: A Novel

By Rob Stennett

 

Brilliant. Outrageously funny. Provocative. What if a realtor joined a church in order to market himself to Christians – knowing that he, himself, is NOT a Christian – and wound up planting his own mega-church?

The Professor and the Madman:
A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

By Simon Winchester

 

The OED story is fascinating, in and of itself. Mix in a mysterious retired American military officer who has contributed 1,000’s of quotations and you have a most intriguing story.

Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945

By Max Hastings

 

We know the story of D-Day, so we think we know the story of how Germany was defeated. The year-long battle was harrowing, terrifying, and apocalyptic in the East. Frightening stories from soldiers & civilians describing what happened at ground level. Well-written

Triple Cross:
How bin Laden’s Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI–and Why Patrick Fitzgerald Failed to Stop Him

By Peter Lance

 

The title explains it all. Truly frightening and maddening story about how security in the US was compromised. Shows something of the caliber and planning of Al Qaeda. Well-documented and researched.

Islam At The Gates:
How Christendom Defeated the Ottoman Turks

By Diane Moczar

 

This has happened before.

Economics in One Lesson:
The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics

By Henry Hazlitt

 

Consider the consequences of policy for everyone – and long-term as well short-term.

With numerous examples of what goes wrong when you don’t!

Homeschool: An American History

By Milton Gaither

 

From colonial to modern times, with an emphasis on the modern movement – by a Professor of Education who is NOT a homeschooler, but not wholly unsympathetic to the movement. Pretty fair treatment of both secular and religious groups.

Why We’re Not Emergent:
By Two Guys Who Should Be

By Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

 

Cause the Emergent guys are squishy on the Bible, the creeds, and anything that might put them in that embarrassing “Christian” box.

I Was Vermeer:
The Rise and Fall of the Twentieth Century’s Greatest Forger

By Frank Wynne

 

Turns out he fooled lots of museums and collectors. And they don’t want to know or find out that their prize possession is a forgery. Scary.

What Hath God Wrought:
The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (Oxford History of the United States)

By Daniel Walker Howe

 

Serious history. VERY well-written, thorough and comprehensive. If you want to understand the transition from the founders to the Civil War era, there is no better book.

Climate Change
(DK Eyewitness Books)

By John Woodward

 

Opposition research.

And that’s what I did on my summer vacation

– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)
Publisher, Greenleaf Press
Director, Schaeffer Study Center

Uncategorized

Sarah Palin biography jumps up to a higher level

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I just received an email from the largest wholesale supplier of books to bookstores across America:

“Ingram Publisher Services stock of Epicenter Press’s biography Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down (Hardcover EAN: 9780979047084—status OP and Trade Paper EAN: 9780980082562—status OSI) has been depleted and all backorders for these titles will be CANCELLED.

Epicenter has signed an agreement with Tyndale House to reprint the title under the new EAN 9781414330501. The Tyndale version of the title will be available through Ingram’s wholesale companies, Ingram Book, Ingram International, Spring Arbor, and Ingram Library Services, so please place your order for the new EAN today.”

The initial stocking order for Ingram is reported to be over 20,000 copies.

Since Ingram’s largest warehouse is about 20 minutes down the road from Greenleaf Press, we’ll be able to get copies as quickly as anyone. If you’d like to order one, you can buy it direct from Greenleaf by clicking here. We ship by a variety of methods, from USPS Media Mail, to UPS Ground and UPS overnight.

Because of our central location, UPS ground delivery (while not guaranteed) is only 2 days for over half of the US states, as you can see from this map:

So, don’t pay for UPS 2-day or 3-day select if you are in the yellow or light brown areas. If you request shipping by UPS Ground, you’ll receive your books just 2 days after we ship it.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press

PS: Sarah is the #1 “Red State” book being tracked by Amazon. Below is a fascinating map comparing the sale of “red” vs. “blue” books by state across the US:

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Sarah Palin, Todd Palin and their five children

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The hypocrisy of Governor Sarah Palin’s whining critics is truly stunning. The most outrageous attacks have been those who express “concern” about whether she will have time to be both a mother and vice-president – this charge coming, of course from those who routinely bundle their kids off to day-care as infants.

Since large families have become exotic and unusual in our culture, I am going to disclose to the world a little inside secret known only to those richly blessed parents who have more than three children.

Here it is: Caring for the fourth and the fifth child is much easier than caring for the first one, two, or three.

I know this sounds paradoxical, but it’s true, for the simple reason that a large family is a community of care and love. When the fourth and the fifth child arrive, the first three contribute their love to the equation as well.

Did you watch how the Palins’ older children (especially, and endearingly, Piper), helped to take care of their younger brother, Trig?

Sarah and Todd are obviously terrific parents, and they obviously love their children very much.

The larger family is going to be a tremendous asset to Bristol and Levi as well when their blessing arrives early in 2009. The first grandchild will start out with two aunts and two uncles on his Palin side. Levi Johnston has a sister, so add another aunt on dad’s side. They will benefit immensely from being part of a large family.

In the interests of full disclosure, my much younger trophy wife and I have eleven children, and two grand-children – so far. We are richly blessed. Our children are richly blessed. They love each other, look out for each other, and care for each other. Nothing makes dad’s heart swell with pride quite so much as to watch the kids helping each other – from changing a diaper to helping each other with homework.

I have no doubt that the Palin family is much like ours. They obviously love each other. I think they’re going to be fine.

I look forward to watching them celebrate when mom is elected vice-president in November and I look forward to watching them embark on the adventure of four (or more) years in Washington, DC.

– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)

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An open letter to the Washington Post – and the rest of the MainStream Media

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I received an email invitation today to “Join The Washington Post and Newsweek in St. Paul, Minn., for live coverage from 4-6 p.m. ET and 7-11 p.m. ET. The Post’s Chris Cillizza and Newsweek’s Jon Meacham bring you the latest news, live floor action and interviews with delegates and other guests. For more information, visit washingtonpost.com.”

You expect me to watch video coverage provided by the WaPo of the RNC?

HA!

What. Is. Wrong. With. You. People?

I am not a Tennessee redneck. I am not one of those “uneducated, and easily led” fundamentalist Limbaugh-listening ditto-head automatons that you imagine inhabit flyover country. I have an undergraduate degree from Davidson College, and a graduate degree from Stanford U. (I was a classmate of Tony Snow’s at DC). I have worked in both the private sector and the public sector – six years as a city manager in TN. I read voraciously, and am intensely interested in history and politics. May I just say, based on a thorough read of the coverage of the presidential campaigns of the last 3 days:

You.People.Are.Disgraceful!

You have ruined your profession. You have ruined your newspaper. Your continued babbling is only embarrassing yourselves. You are dinosaurs.

Sarah Palin is going to surprise you tonight. And McCain-Palin will thoroughly surprise you in November.

I am looking forward to the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Instead of evacuating New Orleans, we should shut down Washington DC for 6 months and evacuate everyone who works for the federal government and/or the mainstream media. You should all be compelled to spend six months on a farm or in a small town, with an intact middle-class family with kids.

You.Are.Completely.Clueless.

Don’t any of you have wives? or daughters? or mothers?

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

– Rob Shearer
(aka RedHatRob)

BTW, you can watch unedited, live, streaming video of the convention – without having to put up with ANY moonbat commentary, or even commercial interruptions, at this URL: http://www.ustream.tv/rnc/

When the coverage is not live, they are re-broadcasting the speeches and presentations from the previous session. I HIGHLY recommend it. Boycott the MainStream Media.

2008 Election

What Bristol Palin’s pregnancy really reveals

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Before the news about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy was barely a few hours old, the hyenas of the left gathered — gleeful and gloating, set to make Bristol’s pregnancy as difficult and stressful as possible.

Every candidate takes a position on the Life issue, establishes himself or herself as either a pro-pro-life or an anti-pro-life. Everyone stakes out a position, but, very few candidates actually walk out those positions in the way the Palins have and are.

So how do Barack Obama and Sarah Palin come across?

Obama on what he would call “inconvenient” life:

Before birth: Abortion. After birth (when abortion fails): Infanticide. Severely handicapped adults like Teri Schiavo: Death by starvation and dehydration.

And yet, citing the Gospel According to Matthew, Obama tells Rick Warren that American’s biggest moral failing is selfishness. “We still don’t abide by that basic precept of Matthew: that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.”

Of course, Obama conveniently redefines “least of these” to mean anything but the pre-born, accidentally newborn, or the handicapped adult.

Palin on what she would never call “inconvenient” life:

“We’ve both been very vocal about being pro-life. We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential.”

Children born with so-called disabilities: “I see a perfect child.”

Pregnant, unmarried children: “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We are proud of if Bristol’s decision to have her baby,”

Grandchildren conceived outside of marriage: ” . . .and [We are] even prouder to become grandparents.”

The Obama attitude toward babies:

“I’ve got two daughters. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby, I don’t want them punished with an STD.”

In other words, Obama’s position is that an unwanted baby is about as welcome as an STD.

The Palin attitude toward babies:

Whatever the circumstances of a baby’s conception, prenatal development, or birth, babies are beautiful, perfect, and cherished.

To the salivating hyenas of the left, one question: Whose grandchild would you rather be?

– Cyndy Shearer (wife of RedHatRob)

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It’s really not smart to mess with mom

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Some will point to Sarah Palin’s accomplishments as mayor of Wasilla, and governor of Alaska and her success is clearing out corruption as her major qualification for national office.  Hopefully, the American people are ready for someone to lead the charge.   (Go get ‘em, Sarah!)

But I’m looking most forward to what Palin will bring to this campaign precisely because she is a mom.

Every mom knows deep down that if our children behaved like the professional American politician, we’d be dusting backsides.  (Fragile self-esteem be damned!)   I think it might be high time for someone to dust some political backsides.  And I suspect that Gov. Palin just may be the one to do it.

  • Moms know when you’re lying.
  • Moms know when you’re really hurt and when you just started screaming because you knew the cameras were on.
  • Moms know you know how not to whine.
  • Moms know when you talk nice, but mean nasty.
  • Moms know everyone else is doing it, and moms don’t care.
  • Moms know what’s really under the rug and how it got there.
  • Moms have eyes in the backs of their heads
  • Moms just know.

The Dems have been talking down to moms for years; it’s second nature to them now.

It’s only a matter of time before they step in it, and get reminded – It’s really not smart to mess with Mom.

Should be an interesting campaign to watch.

And I expect she’ll be an outstanding Vice-President –

and an outstanding President, when she gets her turn.

– Cyndy Shearer (wife of RedHatRob)

2008 Election

Qualified to be Vice-President

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“I would rather live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.” – William F. Buckley

It didn’t take 15 minutes after John McCain’s announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate before she was being denounced as “lacking experience.” This provoked guffaws of course, especially when the issued is raised from the campaign of Barack Obama, who is less than four years into his first term as a United States Senator.

There are two kinds of experience in elected office, and they are radically different. On the one hand, are those who are elected as legislators. On the other are those who are elected as executives. It is a mistake to lump them together.

I would value much more highly any presidential candidate’s experience as an elected executive – city mayor, county mayor, governor – than any candidate’s experience as a legislator. The experience of a legislator is vastly different. A legislator acts officially only when his legislative body is in session. He (or she) usually has the leisure of time to ponder positions, background papers, and briefings with a great deal of advance notice before actually having to make a decision, take a position or cast a vote. Not so an elected executive. They must make hundreds of important decisions on a daily, weekly, monthly basis – and they rarely if ever have the luxury of time.

In fact, Sarah Palin is perhaps the BEST qualified of the four (Obama, Biden, McCain, Palin) to assume the duties of the presidency.

And don’t even get me started about how small Wasilla is… or the fact that Alaska has a population considerably less than a million. Have you looked up the census figures on Delaware? Delaware has three counties and ONE congressman. Being elected to the US Senate from Delaware is not much tougher than being elected to the state legislature in many other states.

Delaware has 1,954 square miles making it the 49th smallest state. Anyone know how big Alaska is? Class? That’s right, Ferris. 656,525 square miles. Or roughly 335 times larger than Delaware.

Any other questions?

– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)

2008 Election

Qualified to be Vice-President, part 2

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Some of our best presidents have moved up from the office of Governor.

Look over this list of “modern” presidents (since Lincoln)

1860 Lincoln – Congressman from Illinois (he had served one term 1846-1848)
1868 Grant – General of the Army
1876 Hayes – Governor of Ohio
1880 Garfield – Congressman from Ohio (the only sitting congressman ever elected President)
1881 Arthur – Collector of the Port of New York (administrator of the Customs House)
1888 Harrison – Senator from Indiana
1892 Cleveland – Governor of New York
1896 McKinley – Governor of Ohio
1904 Roosevelt – Governor of New York
1908 Taft – Secretary of War
1912 Wilson – Governor of New Jersey
1920 Harding – Senator from Ohio (first sitting Senator ever elected President)
1924 Coolidge – Governor of Massachusetts
1928 Hoover – Commerce Secretary
1932 Roosevelt – Governor of New York
1948 Truman – Vice-President, Senator from Missouri
1952 Eisenhower – General of the Army
1960 Kennedy – Senator from Massachusetts
1964 Johnson – Senator from Texas
1968 Nixon – Vice-President, Senator from California
1976 Carter – Governor of Georgia
1980 Reagan – Governor of California
1988 Bush – Vice-President, Congressman from Texas
1992 Clinton – Governor of Arkansas
2000 Bush – Governor of Texas

Before we go judging Sarah Palin’s resume too harshly, it’s worth remembering a governor chosen vice-president a century ago.

A governor who had served less than two years of his first term when he was placed on the ticket as Vice-President.

He had reputation as a maverick with an explosive temper. As a state legislator, he had once threatened his committee members with a broken chair leg. His private life had caused raised eyebrows as well. When his wife died shortly after the birth of their first child, he abandoned his infant daughter to the care of relatives and fled town – not returning for almost three years.

He was only 41, and when he was unexpectedly elevated to the presidency the press and pundits of the day ranged from skeptical to scathing. He was dubbed “His Accidency.”

Nonetheless, Theodore Roosevelt went on to prove the critics wrong and proved quite successful as President. He remains the only US President to have won both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Which one of these looks more like Teddy to you?



– Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)

Ancient history, book reviews

British Museum Ancient Egypt Pop-up Book

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I am a sucker for pop-up books. I confess. My wife, children, and everyone who’s worked for Greenleaf Press over the years can confirm this.

I find them fascinating. They are intricate solutions to design challenges – little machines made out of paper that magically transform from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional as you turn the pages.

I have finally found what I think is the ultimate high-brow pop-up book. After all, it invokes The British Museum on the cover! The Ancient Egypt Pop-Up Book in association with The British Museum.

And it really is wonderful.

There is a marvelous pop-up Egyptian boat.

Complete with a shaduff on-shore, showing how the Egyptians raised water from the Nile for irrigation.

There is the warrior-Pharaoh Rameses II in his fighting chariot at the battle of Kadesh.

There is a wonderful 3-D depiction of Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri

Also included is a 3-D representation of Tut’s gold death-mask, and underneath, cleverly folded, is his mummified head.

The Ancient Egypt pop-up book is $29.95, available directly from Greenleaf Press.

Incidentally, in the background is a wonderful fold-out depiction of life in Ancient Rome, including views of the Senate, the colosseum, and daily life in a Roman villa.


The entire connected scene folds out to four feet long.

Rome: A Fold-Out History of the Ancient Civilization is $17.95, directly from Greenleaf Press.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press