Neglecting the Basics
Portland is proud of being a livable city. Sure, its streets are crumbling, city buildings are neglected, and its schools are crappy. But don’t worry; it’s a livable city. A building so ugly that Willamette Week newspaper uses the “ugly” tag for any article that refers to it. The Antiplanner noted last February that the […]
Activities for Gun Appreciation Day
Originally published on Volokh.com Saturday, January 19, is Gun Appreciation Day. Americans are urged to “go to your local gun store, gun range, or gun show” and to show their support for Second Amendment rights. The blog Shall Not Be Questioned, which has long been one of the most influential and thoughtful pro-RKBA blogs, endorses Gun Appreciation Day, but raises […]
Colorado, Be Wary of Reading Too Much into Cyberschool Critiques
One of the education proposals giving me the 5-year-old equivalent of heartburn as Colorado’s legislative session gets rolling is the attempt to add regulations to the state’s full-time online schools. For those who have been following the scene for any length of time, that probably sounds like a broken record (“like a damaged MP3 file” […]
Can the President Raise the Debt Limit Unilaterally? Hell no! — Part II
The claim—partly silly, partly dangerous—that President Obama may raise the debt limit unilaterally without the approval of Congress is again being raised. I addressed it previously here. Now it has been further debunked in a Wall Street Journal op-ed authored by David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey. Under the Constitution, only Congress may incur […]
Confusing Inputs with Results
Why do liberals confuse inputs with outputs? Matthew Yglesias raves about how wonderful Los Angeles is for building more rail transit, even though the city’s last burst of rail construction resulted in a 17 percent decline in transit ridership. A Los Angeles attorney named Robert Garcie provides an antidote to Yglesias’ rantings. He notes that […]
Video Begs Question: What Would Union Leaders Like Tax Hike to Pay For?
A couple days ago I brought to your attention the looming heartburn the Colorado legislative session portends for those who support parental choice, school accountability, and the transparent, effective use of tax dollars in K-12 education. If you want to keep tabs on your needed antacid intake by checking the status of introduced legislation, you […]
The Transit Overtime Scandal
The Oregonian reports that drivers for TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, are taking so much overtime that many get little sleep. Paying for overtime costs taxpayers a lot of money and the lack of sleep creates hazardous situations. This TriMet light-rail train crashed into the bumpers at the end of the line because, investigators found, the […]
Amy Oliver Show: Petitioning for Transparency in Thompson
Guest host Ben DeGrow talks with Loveland’s Nancy Rumfelt, citizen director of Liberty Watch. Rumfelt explains the petition she is circulating for the Thompson School District to operate more transparently and to stop underwriting union activities—common problems in Colorado.
Teacher Evaluation Debate Kicked Up by Gates Project Hits Colorado
If a person asked why he is doing something gives the response, “Because everyone else is doing it,” that usually won’t pass muster. If that person happens to be 5 years old, even if an accomplished blogging prodigy, you’d cut them a little slack… right? Today, it seems like everyone out there has something to […]
NY Governor scared of his eco-left flank
For the last four years, the state of New York has imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing supposedly to give Governor Andrew Cuomo time to study the process before making a decision on whether or not to lift it. Four years seems like a long time to study a process that has been around for […]
Is ObamaCare’s medical-loss ratio mandate increase health insurance premiums
“[T]here are few signs that health care will become more affordable as a result of the law. Indeed, it increasingly looks as if the opposite could be true — that ObamaCare may be causing higher premiums rather than preventing them.” Continue reading
End Gas Tax? Yes! Pay for Roads with Sales Tax? No!
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wants his state to be the first to end the gas tax. The Antiplanner supports that idea because gas taxes are an imperfect user fee. However, McDonnell proposes to replace the gas tax with a 0.8-cent sales tax that he says will generate more revenue than the gas tax. If your […]
