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Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:30:00 EDT

Civitas tracks voter registration changes county-by-county Virginia Foxx and Howard Coble blast the health care bill; G.K. Butterfield applauds it State Sen. Katie Dorsett retirement

Rush Limbaugh responds to 'I Will Not Comply'

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:25:00 EDT

Here's what "El Rushbo" had to say during the first hour of his show today: You know, there are a lot of people who are starting to say (John Hood is one from the CarolinaJournal.com) if they pass this using the Slaughter solution -- in other words, literally...

Follow the Leader--no matter what

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:45:00 EDT

The following story leaves me with no choice but to ask the question: "What the h_ll is wrong with these people?"In a Bizarro world-like experiment disguised as a French TV show called The Game of Death, contestants repeat the Yale torturer/electrocution experiments...

Another unintended consequence of Obamacare

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:41:00 EDT

It will deter medical innovation, argues Cato's tireless expert on this, Michael Cannon, in this podcast. Old political story -- a few visible benefits, massive invisible...

Will Etheridge stick with constituents, or stick it to 'em?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:53:00 EDT

Under the Dome reports on a new survey from Public Policy Polling (PDF link) finding that 53 percent of respondents from Rep. Bob Etheridge's 2nd Congressional District don't like Obamacare; only...

Kudos to Bev Perdue (There, I said it.)

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:39:00 EDT

I am pleased that Bev Perdue will continue the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey. If used correctly (or at all), the survey results could improve public education in the...

Cato expert examines one area in which North Carolina has the right policy

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:11:00 EDT

The Cato Institute's Chris Edwards has issued a new report (pdf link here) urging states to follow North Carolina's lead in banning collective bargaining in the public sector. Besides raising compensation costs, unions reduce...

Being of the Green

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:45:00 EDT

In honor of the day, and just for fun, let's recall that being green has an entirely non-political meaning - in some contexts, anyway. Here's one take on that idea:

RomneyCare is failing, so let's take it nationwide!

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:32:00 EDT

Today's Wall Street Journal includes this excellent article entitled The Failure of RomneyCare by Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute. Massachusetts is already experiencing the sorts of unintended consequences that we opponents of Obamacare have been raising, such as increasing difficulty in...

'My Inflation Nightmare'

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:42:00 EDT

The Contrarian Michael Kinsley awakens from a long domancy and writes a terrific column for The Atlantic asking an obvious question: Why aren't more reputable economists scared to death of a new bout of inflation? Not just the low, double-digit variety of the late 1970s/early 1980s, but...

The religious basis for opposing the Wake County school board

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:26:00 EDT

Today, the Great Schools in Wake Coalition will hold a briefing at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh. The briefing will deal with research issues, which I will have more to say about later. I went to the Unitarian Universalist website for information about the briefing and I came across the March 7, 2010 sermon by Rev. Tom...

Obamacare will lower health care costs

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:11:00 EDT

In this Freeman piece economics professor William Anderson explains why this sound bite is false. Lies told for political crusades are the costliest of...

Local government employees are smart enough to save e-mail - I think

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:34:00 EDT

When can a local government employee delete an e-mail that's lawfully a public record? Answer: whenever he or she pleases. That's the gist of a story in The Charlotte Observer this morning. One fascinating anecdote: "Typically once I read an e-mail, I have...

I will not comply - will you?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:17:00 EDT

I got a lot of response yesterday from readers of my Carolina Journal Online column "I Will Not Comply." Many readers asked me to set up a Facebook page so they could sign onto the cause - to announce that they would not comply with any regulations or taxes imposed by any federal health care...

The roots of the housing bubble

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:06:00 EDT

In this American Thinker article Jack Cashill shows that the proximate cause of the housing bubble was the Clinton administration's eagerness to blame a decline in minority home ownership on racial discrimination (and thus reap political dividends by appearing to "get tough" with lenders) when the correct explanation...

Following in Gingrich's footsteps?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:07:00 EDT

That's the suggestion Newsweek makes this week about U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. As for the original Newt, click play below to revisit a key point from his featured remarks at the John Locke Foundation's 20th anniversary dinner in...

Will tackles the inflation temptation

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:06:00 EDT

George Will uses his latest Newsweek column to warn against the false notion that a little inflation might be the best cure for our economic ills: Just 18 years of 4 percent inflation would cut currency's value in half. Furthermore,...

Food lines in Venezuela - truly shocking!

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:05:00 EDT

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez doesn't like capitalism. None of us should be surprised to read the following opening to a Business Week article...

Alternatives to the four-year college plan

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:04:00 EDT

The "numbers" page in the latest Business Week features several graphics surrounding a single paragraph of text: College tuition and fees are up 92% since 2000. Is it worth the cost? Highly educated workers earn more, though pay raises have barely kept up with inflation. They have more job security, too. Regular readers of this forum have...

Those evil insurance companies

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:03:00 EDT

Flip through the latest Business Week, and you'll find a Charlie Rose interview of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The article's second page highlights this quote: "The insurance companies have done harm to the...

New Carolina Journal Online features

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:56:00 EDT

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Anthony Greco's CarolinaJournal.tv lead story on the Republican primary in the N.C. Senate District 9 race. Watch the report by clicking play below.

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:30:00 EDT

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th, says he'll vote no on health care reform. McIntyre will face one of three GOP opponents in the fall. Public Policy Polling finds that Cal Cunningham and Ken Lewis are gaining on...

Re: I have one word....

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:30:00 EDT

America has a splendid tradition of civil disobedience to laws that were unjust and immoral. The Stamp Act crashed and burned as a result of civil disobedience. Jim Crow separatism and discrimination was undone in large measure by civil disobedience. I'm with John. If the regime manages to inflict its authoritarian monstrosity on the nation, those among us who value freedom must look for every...

AFPNC leads rally against ObamaCare outside U.S. Rep. Etheridge's Raleigh office

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:29:00 EDT

More than 100 people joined Americans for Prosperity North Carolina for its lunchtime rally against the current federal health-care reform proposals. Click play below for a brief report on the protest

That's Not Elmo!

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:43:00 EDT

Time Warner Cable ran into a slight glitch yesterday. Some preview clips for adult entertainment appeared on two "Kids on Demand" channels. Instead of seeing Dora the Explorer, kids saw something that was, well, not Dora the...

New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:01:00 EDT

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features David Bass' report on N.C. House Republican leader Paul Stam's promise to sue local governments that choose to permit taxpayer-funded abortions. Stam offered his comments shortly after Wake County commissioners voted 4-3 to...

Critical analysis of Obamacare: This is as good as it gets

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:23:00 EDT

I've read hundreds of articles on the legislative abomination known as Obamacare, but this one by David Henderson and Charles Hooper is about as good as it gets. They take a "big picture" approach and observe that Obamacare is a giant step in the direction of a fully politicized health care system. Politicized health care means that you, a...

Canada a better market than America

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:28:00 EDT

Other than the cold and an even worse hockey team, Toronto might be an appealing alternative for Carolinians looking for freedom. Print-to-order book publisher Lulu, based in Raleigh, has chosen to make its initial public...

I have one word for John Hood's column this morning entitled "I Will Not Comply"

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:10:00 EDT

Paul Peterson on charter schools: A must read

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:58:00 EDT

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Harvard University professor Paul Peterson argues that charter school competition is good for district school systems. Twentieth century economist Joseph Schumpeter saw it another way. In his view, it is in the nature of markets that middling...

Proposed health curriculum: FDA tested, FDA approved

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:10:00 EDT

North Carolina Essential Standards Draft 1.0 Health Education- Grade High School HS.CID.2 Essential Standard: Analyze strategies that support health promoting behaviors and reduce the risk of chronic and infectious disease. Assessment Prototype: Evaluate

N.C. Appeals Court rules against DMV in long-running case linked to stolen motorcycle storage

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:56:00 EDT

A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has affirmed this morning a lower-court ruling against the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles in a dispute over payment linked to a business's storage of items seized in the investigation of a motorcycle theft ring. An Iredell County jury had found that DMV owed the plaintiff in this case $575,725. In other

Grant and Reagan

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:11:00 EDT

This morning's News & Observer features an opinion column from Princeton historian Sean Wilentz criticizing a proposal to substitute Ronald Reagan's face for Ulysses S. Grant's on the $50 bill. (It's an idea U.S....

New Carolina Journal Online features

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:47:00 EDT

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Sarah Okeson's report about a new Innovation Fund that will steer state pension dollars toward companies with "significant" North Carolina operations. John Hood's

If they can 'pass' a bill without a vote, they can 'win' an election the same way

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EDT

I am appalled beyond belief at the lengths the Democrats will go to seize control over the nation's healthcare system. No Constitutional principle is sacred to them, and no lie is too big to tell. The latest and so far worst example of those, consider that on March 4 of this year (yes, just a week and a half ago):...

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:54:00 EDT

The Gaston Gazette follows the money in local races. Republican House Minority Leader Paul Stam endorses Lou Huddleston in the 8th Congressional District GOP primary. State Sen. Steve Goss, Rep. Cullie...

N&O: Wake board reinstates abortion coverage

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:45:00 EDT

From the Raleigh News & Observer: After hearing intense legal and moral arguments on both sides, the Wake County Board of Commissioners today agreed to reinstate county employees' insurance coverage for elective abortions. With Democrats outvoting Republicans...

Regulatory Reform IV: Statutory Authority

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:49:00 EDT

As I have experienced first-hand, NC agencies stretch the meaning of statutes to try and give themselves the power to issue regulations. Under existing law in North Carolina, the Rules Review Commission (RRC) which reviews regulations before they are finalized, examines whether there is statutory authority for a rule. However, the RRC rarely will reject a rule...

Forcing a crisis

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:48:00 EDT

Robert Samuelson joins the list of commentators who miss the point of Obamacare. The goal is not to improve the system. The goal is to make insurance companies look so evil that people beg for the government to take over. No individual will pay higher direct taxes....

Subsidiarity as a foundation for limited government

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:21:00 EDT

We can support the concept of limited government as a critical check on the misuse of power. But Christopher Wolfe, co-director of the Thomas International Center and emeritus professor of political science at Marquette University, offers a more positive reason for limiting government action. Wolfe discussed that positive reason - the value of subsidiarity - during a presentation today...

Obama's new poverty statistic

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:01:00 EDT

Robert Rector, my former colleague at The Heritage Foundation and co-editor of Steering the Elephant: How Washington Works, exposes Obama's attempt to "fix" the poverty level statistic here. Under the new measure, a family will be judged "poor" if...

Stupak on passage of the health care takeover bill

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:56:00 EDT

A "must read" Mark Steyn column

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:25:00 EDT

Here is one of the best Mark Steyn columns I have ever read. "America's Greek Tragedy" We hard-hearted small-government guys are often damned as selfish types who care nothing for the general welfare. But, as the Greek protests make plain, nothing makes an individual more selfish than the socially equitable...

British Energy Sec. Shotdown for mislealing advertising on global warming

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:26:00 EDT

Two advertisements commissioned by Great Britain's Energy Secretary, Ed Milband, have been banned by Britain's Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA) for exaggerating the potential harm from global warming. According to a report in the Times of London "the ASA has ruled that the claims made in...

JLF releases planning jargon glossary as Raleigh considers document tied to new Comprehensive Plan

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:57:00 EDT

Raleigh residents have the chance to learn in public meetings this week details of a new document tied to the city's new Comprehensive Plan. Since the document is full of planning jargon, Michael Sanera has produced a new glossary of terms. It highlights the degree to which planners hope to take decisions away from private...

National vs. state standards: The adventure begins

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:48:00 EDT

The NC Department of Public Instruction explains how national and state standards work together (kinda). North Carolina has signed on to a consortium of 48 states that is working jointly towards developing and adopting a common set of K-12 standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The K-12 Math Essential Standards and the English II Essential Standards that were adopted...

A great economist you've probably never heard of

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:49:00 EDT

Destrutt de Tracy was an economist whose writings greatly impressed Thomas Jefferson. Sheldon Richman discusses de Tracy's insights in this Freeman piece. Especially notable is de Tracy's clear grasp of the fact that government does nothing to produce wealth or stimulate its production. All government does is to...

A Democrat gets it right on the war

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:36:00 EDT

I wish we'd heard more from this freshman Democrat before the election: Those who regard this war as unjust have the right to say so. Those who regard it as an Executive war may so characterize it when and where and as often as they please. Those who behold our brave volunteers ... falling on the bloody field of battle, and yet believe that they are engaged in an unjust cause,...

Secondary effects of Obamacare

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:17:00 EDT

Here is a sharp Heartland piece on the consequences of Obamacare -- not the glittery, hoped-for, daydreamy ones, but the nasty unintended ones. A sample: "It will force people to pay for waht they don't want and purchase what they don't need....The entire proposal functions not as a method...

Health Care bill

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:27:00 EDT

Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute has this to say about the Senate health care bill that is being considered in the House. This week will be the last stand for Obamacare, and the trickery that Speaker Pelosi is concocting to get the 2,700-page Senate...

Alternative to Economic Incentives: Regulatory Reform

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:20:00 EDT

If North Carolina wants to attract businesses to the state, it doesn't have to provide special "goodies" to politically-connected businesses. This approach, with its long-history of failure and taking money from citizens and small businesses to help a few big businesses, is also conducive to political corruption. Instead, North Carolina needs to focus on changing the business...

Obama's Spock transmuting into Kirk - fake karate chops to the neck and all

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:57:00 EDT

So argues Chris Stirewalt of The Washington Examiner in this column. Remember the media comparisons between Obama and Mr. Spock from the original series Star Trek - his cunning mind, his precise logic? Now, Stirewalt writes the president is acting more like the...

Geo Will on Barack Wilson Obama

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:57:00 EDT

George Will says here that Obama has more in common with President Wilson than Lenin or Mao. Note the Obama quote below. Professor Obama, who will seek re-election on the 100th anniversary of Wilson's 1912 election, understands, which makes him...

Steve Ford on Wake County's diversity policy

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:27:00 EDT

Death of Kathy Taft ↓ Taft worked to improve public schools ↓ Taft was a member of the State Board of Education ↓ The State Board of Education met in Halifax County this month ↓ Judge Howard Manning declared Halifax the scene of "academic genocide" ↓ State poured aid and resources into Halifax County...

Barone analyzes the impact of Tea Party activists

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:15:00 EDT

Michael Barone's latest article for the Washington Examiner offers his assessment of the potential long-term impact of Tea Party activists. In terms of...

Boudreaux on national standards

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:35:00 EDT

An on-the-mark letter sent to the New York Times: While applauding government-imposed national standards for schooling, you give no credence to the argument that each set of parents - rather than government - is in the...

Obama set to replace No Child Left Behind

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:22:00 EDT

President Obama announced plans to overhaul No Child Left Behind. Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, remarked, "We are disappointed." That is a promising start. It is an interesting proposal but includes a few flaws. For example, the program would use attendance and...

Joe Klein returns to his first love

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:51:00 EDT

After months of straining to defend President Barack Obama's policies, TIME's Joe Klein must have been glad to this week to return to his true passion: Bush-bashing. Karl Rove's new memoir

The freedom to fail

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:49:00 EDT

The new TIME also includes an interesting article from Megan McArdle on the importance of failure within our system of free enterprise and entrepreneurship: America allows its...

Bad news for those with the vision of the anointed

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:48:00 EDT

The latest TIME tells us we have entered a "post-trust era" in which elites no longer enjoy the type of respect they've had in the past. Writer Christopher Hayes says this about the corruption and incompetence of "nearly every pillar institution in American...

Fortune highlights the Ryan plan

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:47:00 EDT

The latest Fortune magazine includes a three-page feature on Rep. Paul Ryan's plan for shoring up the federal government's finances. While labeling the idea "radical" in the article's subheadline, the article generally...

New Carolina Journal Online features

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:38:00 EDT

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features David Bass' report on the Prosperity Project, a business-related effort tied to the 2010 election campaign. John Hood's

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:30:00 EDT

Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat running for re-election, pays $3,950 fine for improper campaign donations. Larry Kissell's Democratic challenger, Nancy Shakir, argues she's a better choice than the...

AFPNC takes to the airwaves to fight ObamaCare

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:38:00 EST

Americans for Prosperity North Carolina is airing the following television commercial in its effort to fight the current health-care reform proposals in Washington.

Are evangelicals mad at the Tea Party?

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:29:00 EST

Social conservatives are not joining the tea party. They reportedly are really upset that the Contract From America does not include abortion or gay marriage. But those weren't in the 1994 Contract with...

Paddle vs. the business end

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:10:00 EST

Forget about a proposed spanking ban for N.C. public schools ... The U.S. Department of Education has bought two-dozen 12-gauge shotguns. That'll motivate...

New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:03:00 EST

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features David Bass' report on the latest development in Wake County commissioners' debate over taxpayer-funded abortions.

Standards: state, national, or both

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:28:00 EST

I don't get it. Why should North Carolina revise state standards in English and math if DPI and the State Board of Education plan to adopt national standards? It seems like a big waste of time and...

In case you missed him ...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:02:00 EST

Terry Stoops shared his thoughts with News 14 Carolina about the state's participation in a project involving national education standards. Watch the video clip from Ilin Chen's report by clicking play below.

Renewable energy, non-renewable money

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:50:00 EST

Poorly designed subsidies created a solar power bubble in Spain. Inspires confidence in North Carolina's green power efforts that are already driving up prices, doesn't...

ObamaCare splits supporters

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:32:00 EST

There's something schizophrenic in the support for ObamaCare. Insurance companies are evil profitmongers, so we're going to force millions of people to buy even more expensive products from them. The government cannot afford its existing...

This weekend on Carolina Journal Radio

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:50:00 EST

We've seen some interesting legal developments in recent weeks regarding imprisoned former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black and retiring N.C. Sen. R.C. Soles, D-Columbus. Rick Henderson responds to those developments in the next edition of Carolina Journal Radio. We'll also hear Roy Cordato's...

New Carolina Journal Online features

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:39:00 EST

This week's Carolina Journal Online Friday interview features Donna Martinez's conversation with CJ Managing Editor Rick Henderson about the possibility of bailouts for the newspaper industry. Roy Cordato's guest

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:31:00 EST

Environmentalists claim Democrat Marc Basnight, running for re-election in N.C. Senate-1, is responsible for delaying a bridge construction project. Jeffrey Brommer, Republican candidate in N.C. Senate-28, has a history of

How competitive are N.C. federal races?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:57:00 EST

Pundits are making much ado about close federal races in North Carolina this year. But is the situation really that competitive? A report in CQ Politics raises some reasons it might not be: [W]ith the candidate filing deadline...

Good WSJ letter compares Greece and US

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:27:00 EST

Today's Wall Street Journal has this letter that compares fiscal irresponsibility in Greece and the US. Avoiding the Greek Experience The economic bedlam in Greece as described by David Malpass in "The Euro's Greek Tragedy, and Its Lessons for America" (op-ed, Feb. 27) is an extreme version of a fiscal virus that periodically plagues all western democracies. The problems start with...

An excellent letter to the News & Observer

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:31:00 EST

Count it up One of the things I hear is how few people voted to put the four new Wake County school board members into office. The complaint is that the diversity policy is being changed because of a small number of voters. The four new board members received 18,266 votes...

GOP becoming hip?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:14:00 EST

David, That Harvard poll may be a confirmation of what Michael Barone suggested when he was here in October: Conservatives (and maybe even Republicans, if they don't blow it) have an opportunity to capture the imagination and passion of young adults if they can convince youthful voters that a freedom agenda can release them from what...

John Roberts: Obama's criticism of Supremes 'very troubling'

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:07:00 EST

The Los Angeles Times reports: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told law students Tuesday that he found it "very troubling" to be surrounded by loudly cheering critics at President Obama's State of the Union address, saying it was reason enough for the...

Bonded term limits and U.S. House cleaning

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:30:00 EST

Carolina Journal is one of the few media outlets to give ink (and bandwidth) to the topic of bonded term limits. Anthony Greco has a great report in CJTV on two Republican candidates in the 6th Congressional District who have pledged to surrender a considerable amount in personal assets if they break their three-term pledge. Last year, I

New Carolina Journal Online features

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:48:00 EST

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Sarah Okeson's report about an advisory committee that's helping State Treasurer Janet Cowell determine how to invest the state's pension fund. John Hood's

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:30:00 EST

Jack Hawke, adviser for Pat McCrory's gubernatorial bid, parts ways with Tim D'Annunzio, Republican candidate in the 8th Congressional District. The reason: a blog post. Republican candidates in N.C. House-61, currently held by three-term Republican Laura Wiley,

Poll: Young voters flocking to the GOP?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:27:00 EST

And I thought Barack Obama was the only political force that could turn out my generation. A wrecked economy and no job prospects must be having an impact, too, to judge by a new poll from Harvard University's Institute of Politics. From The Christian Science...

Southern Domination (almost)

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:38:00 EST

State Overall Results from the 2009 State Teacher Policy Yearbook published by the National Council on Teacher Quality Score Key (Grade)

Cal Thomas tackles the American political scene

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:39:00 EST

Author, columnist, and Fox News analyst Cal Thomas brought his wit and wisdom to Wilmington Tuesday for a John Locke Foundation Headliner speech. The general topic was the American political scene. In the video clip below, Thomas adapts an old story to modern times.

N.C. unemployment hits 11.1 percent in January

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:49:00 EST

With nearly a year of double-digit unemployment on the books, North Carolina leaders ought to look for ways to encourage business owners and entrepreneurs to start creating jobs again. One strategy would involve scrapping government policies that inflate energy costs for families and businesses. Joe Coletti describes the impact of North Carolina's

George P. Bush joins the N.C. GOP chairman for his latest news conference

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:15:00 EST

N.C. Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer welcomed George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, for a morning news conference about the 2010 election campaign. Click play below to watch the 18:19 briefing.

Greece and America: the welfare state is to blame

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:21:00 EST

In this column Sheldon Richman argues that the financial crisis that has hit Greece and the one that is looming over the US stems from the inherent instability of the welfare state. Once the state gets into the business of handing out money, democratic politics ensures that the tax consumers will eventually devour the tax payers (those who...

Cancer drugs as an election issue

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:18:00 EST

In this terrific Reason.tv video, my friend and former boss Virginia Postrel recounts her experience as a kidney donor and breast cancer survivor, and how her recovery reinforced her principled objections to "universal" health care and convinced her of the necessity to overhaul the flawed, employer-based...

Artificial stupidity

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:47:00 EST

That's what we increasingly get from our education system, argues Thomas Sowell in this column. Quite right. Teachers and professors often devote time to regaling captive students with their views on what's wrong with the world, overwhelmingly to create the impression that we need more coercion by...

Dems primary Bart Stupak in Michigan

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:32:00 EST

Speaking of Bart Stupak, his pro-life opposition to Obama's health care monstrosity has elicited a primary challenge from Democrats. The Washington Free Press

Stupak: 'Why would I do it now after all the crap I've been through?'

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:57:00 EST

Yesterday, Rick blogged on Bart Stupak's growing optimism about a health-care reform compromise, pro-life objections not withstanding. But The Weekly Standard here gives some context to Stupak's statement: Michigan Democrat Bart...

Wake Education Partnership: hazy thinking

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:35:00 EST

Tim Simmons of the Wake Education Partnership believes that community assignment zones proposed by the school board majority is "still a hazy concept." Let the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools...

Rick Martinez column on Wake County Schools

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

I highly recommend Rick's News & Observer column on recent Wake County school board decisions. All options need to be on the table, even ones that affect sacred cows. Should the new superintendent have the power to fire a poorly performing school's teaching staff,...

Nathan Glazer reviews "...Why There are No Bad Schools in Raleigh"

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:36:00 EST

Nathan Glazer reviews Gerald Grant's "Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There are No Bad Schools in Raleigh" for the new issue of Education Next. I find Glazer's review disappointing. His focus on sociological factors slights relevant

Cutting out unnecessary medical procedures

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:03:00 EST

What happens when the government foots most of the bill for medical care? For one thing, government gets to decide which medical procedures it will cover, and which will be labeled "unnecessary." You don't have to fear death panels to see where that path leads. Read Sharon Begley's latest Newsweek

Amazing discovery from Newsweek: Good classroom teachers make a difference

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:01:00 EST

The latest cover story in Newsweek focuses on the negative impact teacher tenure has on student performance in public schools. Authors Evan Thomas and Pat Wingert must have been hanging out with colleague Jonathan Alter, a frequent critic of the role teachers'...

You know government spending is a real problem …

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST

… when even a by-the-numbers liberal columnist such as Newsweek's Jacob Weisberg (who calls conservatives "hysterical" in his latest work) takes President Obama to task for failing to recognize the danger of government excess: Obama says...

Newsweek editor reacts to a Charlotte radio appearance

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:59:00 EST

Newsweek editor Jon Meacham uses a recent appearance on Charlotte public radio as the launching point for a column about messiness of democratic government. Among the more amusing details is the description of a listener's reaction to Meacham's thoughts...

New Carolina Journal Online features

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:47:00 EST

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Michael Lowrey's report on a recent N.C. Court of Appeals ruling that clarifies the amount of information local governments must provide nearby property owners about new subdivision plans. John Hood's