The local story that has grown out of the Bruce Randolph School's quest for autonomy from Denver's red tape and union work rules reached the op-ed pages of the New York Times yesterday. Andrew Rotherham, a center-left Democrat reformer who co-runs Education Sector and famously blogs as Eduwonk, writes in the column:While laws like No Child Left Behind take the rhetorical punches for being a straitjacket on schools, it is actually union contracts that have the greatest effect over what teachers can and cannot do. These contracts can cover everything from big-ticket items like pay and health care coverage to the amount of time that teachers can spend on various activities. Reformers have long argued that this is an impediment to effective … [Read more...]
Hillman: The Bitter Medicine We Need
Mark Hillman - the rare person in political life (okay, not at the moment) whom I truly admire - writes in the clearest terms about the dose of bitter medicine America needs:The federal debt is more than $5 trillion — $48,359 per household. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We owe another $5 trillion to federal employees and veterans for health care and retirement benefits. However, the cost of retirement and health care programs for the general public really shafts our children and grandchildren. The unfunded cost of providing Social Security and Medicare benefits to everyone alive today is more than $45 trillion. That’s not the total cost; it’s the cost that cannot be covered by existing revenues. The board of trustees … [Read more...]
Serious Climate Science without the Socialist Scare Agenda
Have you ever wondered what would happen if a group of expert scientists came together to analyze climate change, without the vested interest of socialist governments driving the agenda? Well, wonder no more. It was past time to take a closer look at the oft-touted but seldom-scrutinized "findings" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). If you can wade through the figures, graphs, charts, acronyms, and scholarly references embedded in the vast new report from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), you'll get the answer to three basic questions:The central problems for policymakers in the debate over global warming are (a) is the reported warming trend real and how significant is it? (b) how … [Read more...]
Passion Week: Tuesday
On the Tuesday before His crucifixion, Christ was famously tested by questions from the religious teachers. Two of his dazzling responses that confounded his questioners (both from the New American Standard Bible): Mark 12:17 And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him. Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the prophets." … [Read more...]
$10,000 Apiece Awaits America’s 10 Worst Teachers … What a Deal!
The Center for Union Facts (which brought us such memorable 30-second video gems as this and this) hasn't made a name for itself by being bland, demure, or run-of-the-mill. Therefore, it was hardly surprising to see them unveil the new Teachers Union Exposed website, complete with a sponsored contest that promises "to pay the ten worst union-protected teachers in America $10,000 apiece to get out of the classroom." Of course, $10,000 is a bargain compared to the princely sums sometimes paid to dismiss the worst-offending or poorest-performing tenured teachers. I have many, many friends who currently are teachers - traditional public school, charter school, private school - and I know plenty more who have spent time in the teaching … [Read more...]
DC v Heller Argued Today
Oral arguments are being held today before the U.S. Supreme Court in the truly landmark DC v Heller case about the meaning of Second Amendment rights. My Independence Institute and blogging colleague - and writing mentor - David Kopel is sitting with the plaintiffs today as the case is made for gun ownership as a Constitutionally-recognized individual right. You can visit David's website to find a copy of the Institute's amicus brief filed with the high court. You also can head over to iVoices to tune into David's discussion of the case and his trip to Washington, DC, with Jon Caldara. For a quick and insightful summary of what DC v Heller is (and isn't) about, read Prof. Randy Barnett's column in today's Wall Street Journal. Also, … [Read more...]
A Season-Long Baseball Grudge Match with Hugh Hewitt?
The Detroit Free Press has the scoop in today's sports section: "Tribe, Tigers rivalry already intense." Sure, Hugh will do a lot of blustering between now and September that his Cleveland Indians will repeat their American League Central crown. But faced with the harsh specter of reality, he may well find himself hoping and praying for his team to stay competitive with the offensive juggernaut coming out of Motown. Jim Leyland's Detroit Tigers are hungry for payback, with a bolstered lineup that can deliver ... and then some. … [Read more...]
Obama’s Speech Panned on the Left
Sure, I could sit down this morning and link my readers to a dozen critiques of Barack Obama's Tuesday Jeremiah Wright "damage control" speech from conservative bloggers and other commentators. That wouldn't prove very much, I think. Besides, it would require more time than I have to give a thorough spectrum of responses. Instead, here are a couple of takes from the Left. One not-too-surprising source is Mickey Kaus. On his Slate magazine blog, he highlights the "troubling equivalences" in Obama's speech. One of his more salient observations:In general. Obama's explanations of black anger seem intimate and respectful. His explanations of white anger seem distant and condescending. ("They are anxious about their futures, and feel their … [Read more...]
PJM’s Gettysburg Metaphor Daily Reminder of Bitter Democratic Primary
Today's reminder that the Democrats are engaged in a bitter intramural fight for the presidential nomination: Rick Moran at Pajamas Media compares the upcoming Pennsylvania primary (upcoming as in April 22 ... 40 days or so) to the Battle of Gettysburg for its potential to dictate the final outcome in the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton showdown:A Hillary Clinton win in Pennsylvania – especially a big win – will probably start a movement of Super Delegates in her direction. It won’t be decisive given that a number of Supers will hold off endorsing anyone until the convention. But it will almost certainly allow her to catch up and perhaps even surpass Obama in total delegates. This is hugely important because it will cut into Obama’s … [Read more...]
Civil Rights Initiative Upheld
Good news yesterday for the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI). The Detroit News reports that a federal court has rejected legal attempts to undo the same sort of measure that was recently approved by Michigan voters:A federal judge Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of a Michigan law that prohibits racial and gender preferences in government hiring and public university admissions. "To impugn the motives of 58 (percent) of Michigan's electorate, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances which do not exist here, simply is not warranted on this record," U.S. District Judge David Lawson wrote. Michigan voters approved the constitutional amendment known as Proposal 2 in November 2006. Several groups -- including the NAACP … [Read more...]
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