Daily Archives: April 5, 2012

From my newsletter today: During the Great Depression, Pres. Roosevelt started the Rural Electrification Administration to bring electricity to the rural areas in the country. Though the REA was a stimulus plan that also served as a model for Obama’s green-energy policy, its goal was decidedly different, as far removed as light from dark. AtContinue Reading

To follow up on Michael’s post, when Rubin writes that Allan Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind “rendered the left gobsmacked” — excellent word choice there; le mot juste — “by Bloom’s critique of the downfall of elite institutions (most especially higher education) that had beached themselves on the rocky shoals of relativism,” I couldn’tContinue Reading

Bev Perdue wants to raise your taxes .  Says the GOP budget did not fund schools enough.  The State Auditor tells us today that the Department of Transportation missed collecting $12 million in fines, money that would have gone to – you guessed it – local school systems.  Guess who appoints the head of theContinue Reading

Here is the conclusion of Jennifer Rubin’s Washington Post column. To see how she connected Allan Bloom’s blockbuster 1987 book, The Closing of the American Mind to the Supreme Court arguments over Obamacare, you have to read the entire column. In short, what Bloom spotted more than two decades ago and what NAS documents todayContinue Reading

…you believe that when the CEO of a company pays a lower percentage of his income in taxes than his secretary, the fair thing to do is raise the CEO’s tax rate not lower the secretary’s.

Should judges and justices practice originalism as they interpret the meaning of the U.S. Constitution? Law professors from Northwestern and UNC-Chapel Hill debated that question today in a forum sponsored by the Campbell University Law School Federalist Society and the John Locke Foundation. Northwestern’s John McGinnis is a proponent of originalism. UNC-Chapel Hiil’s William MarshallContinue Reading

I rummaged through the Charlotte Observer’s online Data Center last night and downloaded the latest N.C. government salary database (current as of March 6, 2012).  Here are a few of my discoveries: The database includes over 93,700 full- and part-time employees.  It does not include include public school employees, General Assembly employees, University System employeesContinue Reading

According to those opposing the construction of the Titan Cement Plant in Wilmington air quality in the Wilmington area is horrible but the most recent data shows quite the opposite. In fact, air quality in New Hanover County is darn near pristine according to 2011 data. All of the following information has been obtained fromContinue Reading