School Leaders Unite in Washington Post: Teacher and Choice Reforms Needed Now
The Waiting for Superman debut (coming soon to a theater near you, my Colorado friends) really has super-charged the discussion about the American education system and the need for change. This weekend the Washington Post featured a column by 16 major school leaders — including Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg, former Pueblo City School […]
Amendment 63 vs. the elitist vision of the anointed
Two good letters to the editor in support of Colorado Amendment 63 – health care choice.
Amendment 63: freedom is too “haphazard” for Bell Policy Center
Huffington Post: Bob Semro of the Bell Policy Center writes that Amendment 63 would “move Colorado to a less protected, more haphazard health care system where people pay directly for services rather than having health insurance.” In other words, he doesn’t like when people have the freedom to be paying customers.
NJ Governor Cancels Raildoggle
The big transportation news while the Antiplanner was in Japan was that New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie cancelled a major rail construction project: a planned new tunnel under the Hudson River. Spurred by cost overruns, Christie said “far more than New Jersey taxpayers can afford and the only prudent move is to end this project.” […]
Weld County Re-1 Dispute Raises Questions about Union, Bargaining Issues
Interesting new story out of northern Colorado… Sherrie Peif of the Greeley Tribune reported yesterday on some turmoil in the Weld County Re-1 School District as the local school board considers changing the process of addressing teacher policies:
On Friday, Jo Barbie, the district superintendent, sent an e-mail to teachers telling them that the board was […]
NRA Supports Pro-Gun Democrats, and Many Democrats Support the Second Amendment
Originally published on Volokh.com Earlier this week, I wrote that NRA would be foolish obey the wishes of Republican activists who want the NRA to endorse only Republicans, and especially to not endorse endangered House Democrats. Here are some data on NRA endorsements, and some of the actions that dozens of House Democrats have taken to merit their endorsements: NRA […]
Amendment 63: Denver Post vs. liberty & the U.S. Constitution
Rob Natelson, a Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Independence Institute, writes: The legal whizzes on the editorial board of the Denver Post have spoken: Amendment 63, the Right to Health Care Choice Initiative, is bad because Obama Care is constitutional. Today’s editorial reads: [W]e believe [Obama Care] will survive legal challenges and will […]
Isn’t It Time We Call Ourselves Education Transformers? How Cool Would That Be?
Maybe calling what I like to blog about and advocate for all the time “education reform” really isn’t bold enough. Maybe we need to think bigger, for the sake of many kids my age who face a bleak future of sub-par schooling. Instead of Education Reformers, shouldn’t we call ourselves Education Transformers? You’ve got to admit the name sounds a lot cooler.
Dangers of mandating medical loss ratios
John R. Graham of the Pacific Research Institute discusses the harms of the medical loss ratios mandated in ObamaCare (HR 3590): One of the ways in which ObamaCare will reduce individuals’ and businesses’ choices of health insurance is through regulating the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), a relatively simple concept: Take the amount of dollars an […]
Colorado Amendment 63: Freedom Is Too "Haphazard" for Bell Policy Center
In a recent Denver Post op-ed, Bob Semro of the Bell Policy Center writes that Amendment 63 would “move Colorado to a less protected, more haphazard health care system where people pay directly for services rather than having health insurance.” What Bob Semro called “haphazard” is really personal freedom. The freedom to pay for medical […]
The New Teacher Project Highlights Key Evaluation Principles: Can SB 191 Deliver?
It’s a dreary day outside. Maybe fall has finally fallen. Rather than pontificate and show off my brilliant vocabulary, I decided today just to point your attention to a new report by The New Teacher Project (PDF) on six key design principles for teacher evaluations (H/T Eduwonk):
Annual process
Clear, rigorous expectations
Multiple measures
Multiple ratings
Regular feedback
Significance
Some of these […]
Remember the Imaginary “National Republican Association”?
Originally published on Volokh.com No, I’m not talking about the Paraguayan political party. During much of the last two decades, various gun control advocates, Democratic partisans, and hard-rightists have claimed that the National Rifle Association of America was really just part of the Republican political machine. “NRA” really stood for “National Republican Association,” they said. Some typical examples of the claim: The 2006 […]
