The Daily Grope: If you complain, you’re a terrorist
CNN reports on something that is a bit chilling: “complaining about airport security is one indicator Transportation Security Administration officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists.” Supposedly the complaining has to be “arrogant” to trigger the extra surveillance, so be sure to smile if you object to your 6-year old being subjected to a grope. Published in the Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/watercooler/index.php?blogid=2083
Pay for the teaching, leave the esoteric research behind
Who said the following? “The greater part of the public professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching.” Adam Smith. Yes, that Adam Smith. It’s in his most famous book, The Wealth of Nations But now, says Jerry Boywer, you can learn from the greats without subsidizing the Department of Official Victims, the Fluff Studies Program, or any of the […]
Do children in America’s capitol have better options than those in Detroit?
Thanks to View colleague Henry Payne for pointing out a good feature of the recent budget agreement in Washington, DC: It breathes new life into the DC school voucher plan, giving it a five-year extension. That’s good news all around. The program is popular with district residents, and garners near-universal support from parents who have taken advantage of the program. Debates over school reform often break down into […]
Time for Michigan to embrace educational options and end religious bigotry
Arizona, like several other states, lets people get tax credits if they give money to organizations that in turn give scholarships for children who wish to attend a private school. In fact, Arizona kids can get financial help this way, even if they want to attend a religious school. The ACLU and the public school establishment didn’t like this, so a legal challenge ensued, with […]
Palin, film welfare queen
Sarah Palin and Jennifer Granholm have more in common than you might think. the former Michigan governor once joked that they represented “the cause of hot governors.” And they both signed into law big state tax breaks for Big Hollywood. Sarah Palin? Film welfare queen? Actually the ex-Alaska guv goes Granholm one better: She has personally benefited from the break in her new career as […]
California, Here We Come?
Just how unrealistic is Minnesota’s expectation that its major pension plans will earn an investment return of 8.5 percent per year? Consider this: Of 126 major public plans across the country, only one out of ever ten expects that return. The rest anticipate less. So says the Wall Street Journal, which collected information from two national organizations of retirement plans. The single-largest target, pursued by […]
As Detroit residents flee, CNBC touts city
While doing my morning web browsing I came across an undated slidehow from CNBC, which puts Detroit at the top of a list:20 cities you don’t want to live in … yet. They’ve got the “don’t want to live in” part right, judging by the latest census. How far away is the “yet”? By the way, Flint is #2 http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/watercooler/index.php?blogid=1932