Daily Archives: February 21, 2012

How the Supreme Court could screw up the Obamacare ruling, and with it, the nation

Written on February 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm, by

Want some bad news this afternoon? Try this on, from FreedomWorks’ Dean Clancy: The Court posted a seemingly minor but potentially portentous administrative change, which suggests it might postpone delivering a final ruling on the constitutionality of ObamaCare until the middle of 2016! Specifically, the high Court increased the time it will devote to hearingContinue Reading

Meanwhile, in the U.K….

Written on February 21, 2012 at 1:31 pm, by

they’re getting what’s known as a “clue.” In recent news, the Daily Caller reported that Prime Minister David Cameron is working to partially privatize the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. Columnist Gene Koprowski writes: Filmmaker Michael Moore glorified the United Kingdom’s National Health Service in his 2007 documentary “Sicko,” making a cult film argument that socialized medicineContinue Reading

Loud, angry government unions

Written on February 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm, by

Even a small decrease in pay or benefits is enough to send the PR apparatus of government unions into full attack mode. Cato’s Chris Edwards writes about the response from the American Federation of Government Employees to such a proposal here. Especially interesting are the comments of one federal worker who understands reality.  

What stifles competition and benefits a special interest group?

Written on February 21, 2012 at 11:14 am, by

Among other things, project labor agreements, the technique by which influential construction unions crowd out competition, drive up costs for taxpayers, and pocket lots of money on government construction projects. Read about them in this article. Naturally, the Obama administration is much in favor of PLAs, since some of the union haul winds up inContinue Reading

Split N.C. Appeals Court favors Lumberton in sweepstakes licensing dispute

Written on February 21, 2012 at 10:10 am, by

N.C. Appeals Court judges split 2-1 this morning in affirming a trial-court ruling favoring Lumberton in its dispute with Internet sweepstakes parlors over privilege license charges. The city enacted a privilege license tax in 2010 that amounts to $5,000 per business location, plus $2,500 per machine. In other opinions released this morning: A unnaimous three-judgeContinue Reading

Collectivism as Apartism

Written on February 21, 2012 at 10:01 am, by

That’s the title of an excellent Freeman column today by Professor Sanford Ikeda. His argument is that while collectivism is supposed to bring people together, it actually accomplishes the opposite. He writes, “collectivism forces togetherness on the masses and in so doing drives people apart who might otherwise have come together on their own.” ReadContinue Reading

Barone says Republicans are fighting the problem Tocqueville described

Written on February 21, 2012 at 8:24 am, by

Michael Barone‘s latest column contends that Republicans are battling problems identified by the author of the 19th-century Democracy In America. Tocqueville, after describing in Democracy in America how Americans avoided the perils of equality by forming voluntary associations, engaging in local government, and believing in religions that disciplined their pursuit of self-interest into a pursuitContinue Reading

Latest dispatches from the campaign trail: Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Written on February 21, 2012 at 8:00 am, by

N.C. Rep. Carolyn Justice, R-Pender, will sit out the 2012 election; no primary against N.C. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick (Star-News) A possible general election battle between Republican Chris Malone (current member of the Wake County school board) and Democrat Lori Millberg (a former member of the Wake school board) is shaping up (WakeEd) U.S. Rep.Continue Reading