Obama's Faith-Based Boondoggle | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Faith-Based Boondoggle | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "No one denies that private charities, especially faith-based ones, can transform lives and help lift people out of poverty and despair. Indeed, private charities are more effective than government welfare programs in fulfilling those roles. It seems natural, therefore, to want to encourage these groups. However, mixing government and charity risks undermining the things that have made private charity effective."

"Government money never comes without strings."

"Besides, why should faith-based charities eschew proselytizing and strictly religious functions? There is a reason for the "faith" in "faith-based charities." These organizations believe that helping people requires more than food or a bed. It requires addressing deeper spiritual needs. From their perspective, it is about God. Yet, in the end, government involvement transforms private charities from institutions that change people's lives to providers of services - government programs in clerical collars."

" If the history of welfare proves anything, it is that government money is as addictive as any narcotic. Ironically, therefore, given that many private charities are dedicated to fighting welfare dependency, government funding may quickly become a source of dependency for the charities themselves."

"Government funding is antithetical to the nature of charity. After all, the essence of private charity is that it is voluntary. Tax money is based on coercion. There is neither compassion nor love behind a grant of money forcibly taken from taxpayers who may have no desire to support the charity in question."

Head Start: A Tragic Waste of Money | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Head Start: A Tragic Waste of Money | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Head Start, the most sacrosanct federal education program, doesn't work.

That's the finding of a sophisticated study just released by President Obama's Department of Health and Human Services.

Created in 1965, the comprehensive preschool program for 3- and 4-year olds and their parents is meant to narrow the education gap between low-income students and their middle- and upper-income peers. Forty-five years and $166 billion later, it has been proven a failure."

"In fact, not a single one of the 114 tests administered to first graders — of academics, socio-emotional development, health care/health status and parenting practice — showed a reliable, statistically significant effect from participating in Head Start."

"Instead of throwing more dollars at this proven failure, President Obama might consider throwing his weight behind proven successes. A federal program that pays private-school tuition for poor DC families, for instance, has been shown to raise students' reading performance by more than two grade levels after just three years, compared to a control group of students who stayed in public schools. And it does so at about a quarter the cost to taxpayers of DC's public schools."

Campaign Finance Reform: A Libertarian Primer | Robert A. Levy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Campaign Finance Reform: A Libertarian Primer | Robert A. Levy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The Court decided in McConnell that political expression was entitled to less First Amendment protection than Klan speech, pornography, and flag burning. Each of those is constitutionally protected; but if a corporation such as, say, Random House were to publish a book with the words 'Vote for Obama' anywhere in the text, the entire book could be banned. Ditto for any book distributed via Amazon's Kindle that simply named a candidate for federal office within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary."

"Under the post-Citizens United rules, corporations and unions still cannot contribute directly to candidates; and they still have to disclose when they pay for an advertisement — so we will know who's footing the bill. But the ad itself, if it's independent and not coordinated with the candidate, can be broadcast without restriction. Further, corporations and unions will now be able to say 'Vote for [or against] Candidate X.' Before Citizens United, they had to say 'Call Candidate X and tell her you like [or don't like] her views' on a particular issue. Most of us would agree, that distinction makes little sense."

"The Court has been reluctant to grasp the notion that politics is essentially a bargain between candidates and the voters. When a candidate promises to pursue an agenda that a voter favors, it should not matter constitutionally whether the voter's return promise is to vote for the candidate, convince his friends to vote for the candidate, write letters to the editor in support of the candidate, pay for an ad that supports the candidate, or donate money to the candidate so he can pay for his own ad. Nor should it matter if the candidate's end of the bargain includes a commitment to meet with the voter, listen to his views or, to put it crassly, give him access and influence. Each of those acts has the same end in mind: getting the candidate elected. And each act operates through the same means: political speech. The exchange of speech for promises by the candidate is not corruption. It is democracy at work."

"Prohibiting less affluent individuals from pooling resources is a recipe for tilting the playing field in favor of the rich. Currently, there are no limits on how much George Soros or Michael Bloomberg can spend of their own money on political speech. Why shouldn't a few thousand others be able to match them by joining forces through an entity such as a corporation that expresses their policy preferences?"

"Notably, half of our states have minimal campaign finance limitations; yet there's no evidence that politics in those states is more corrupt. Indeed, the real reason for strict laws is not to prevent corruption, but to protect incumbent politicians who wish to be reelected. Restrict political expression and you restrict the ability of upstart challengers to defeat current officeholders.

The proper answer to large expenditures for speech is either more speech or, if the existing system proves unworkable, a constitutional amendment. As for money, it's just a symptom. We have a big money problem because we have a big government problem. By restraining the regulatory and redistributive powers of the state, we can minimize the influence of big money. Restoring the Framers' notion of enumerated, delegated, and limited federal powers will get government out of our lives and out of our wallets. That's the best way to end the campaign-finance racket, and root out corruption without jeopardizing political speech."

FOXNews.com - Tracking Your Taxes: Earmarks to Nowhere

FOXNews.com - Tracking Your Taxes: Earmarks to Nowhere: "There was the $50 million Congress handed out in 2004 for an indoor rainforest in Iowa at the behest of Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a self-described fiscal conservative. As the local newspaper in Coralville joked, for that much money, 'we could send the whole town on a rainforest vacation.'"

"Another project that crashed and burned came out of San Diego, Calif., where an entrepreneur convinced another politician he had the idea of a lifetime: a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) troop-carrying airplane. The military didn't want it, but Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., did. Year after year, Washington went along, appropriating more and more million-dollar earmarks. Finally, after 20 years and $63 million taxpayer dollars, the farthest the DP-2 Vectored Thrust Aircraft ever got was two feet off the ground."

"Another $70 million of taxpayer money was blown on a wind tunnel in Montana. The MARIAH project wasn't requested by the Pentagon or NASA, but Congress funded it for more than a decade, usually with a $7 million earmark requested by the Montana delegation.

'The Air Force, (the) leader in hypersonic testing and technology, lost interest in 2004, so appropriators moved the program to the Army,' said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.. 'The Army has no official requirement for this capability and published a report in 2005 stating their (lack of interest) in the program. To date, the Army has no plans to fund the MARIAH wind tunnel effort, as they have stated in their budget documents. That hasn't kept Congress from pouring more than $70 million into it, with no discernable return.'

If a project doesn't make economic sense, how does it survive year after year? The answer often lies in the power of the sponsor, and over the last 50 years there has been no more powerful appropriator than West Virginia Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd. By some accounts, Byrd himself has spent $3 billion dollars in taxpayer money. More than 40 projects in West Virginia that have been paid for with tax dollars are named after him."

"So far, taxpayers have invested almost $2 billion in the massive highway, which ends in a field. Virginia has no plans to ever actually connect a companion highway to West Virginia's 25-mile stretch of concrete, leaving the monster as yet another monument to waste, or one of the more expensive examples of how Congress works."

Baldwin Bulletin Baldwin Wisconsin: Ashley Furrer receives the Girl Scout Medal of Honor for Life Saving

Baldwin Bulletin Baldwin Wisconsin: Chamber hosts annual awards banquet: "Ashley is a 6 year old first grader at Greenfield Elementary. She is a Girl Scout in the Daisy Troop in Baldwin. On October 10, Ashley and her mom went to the neighbor’s to sell the Girl Scout fall product. While she was there it became apparent the neighbor was not doing well. They soon found out that Joni, her neighbor, was a diabetic and having a diabetic reaction. Ashley helped get her juice. Ashley’s mom called the ambulance and Ashley assisted in watching for the ambulance. She also stayed with Joni while her mom went to meet the ambulance."

FOXNews.com - Obama Calls for Partnership With Business

FOXNews.com - Obama Calls for Partnership With Business: "'As president of the United States, my interest is to reward or at least not disadvantage companies who are creating more jobs and doing more business within the borders of this country,' Obama said. 'That's not antibusiness, it's pro-America, and I don't apologize for it.'"

Then fix the corporate tax code. Taxing foreign profits disadvantages U.S. based companies.

Congressman Ron Kind : On the Road - Blog : Protecting Consumers: February 22, 2010

Congressman Ron Kind : On the Road - Blog : Protecting Consumers: February 22, 2010: "The law, which Congress passed last year, will end unfair industry practices often leading consumers to pay more than they reasonably expect."
Changing the rules usually just changes which practices are used.

A midday nap markedly boosts the brain's learning capacity

A midday nap markedly boosts the brain's learning capacity: "Those who remained awake throughout the day became worse at learning. In contrast, those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn."

The Internet can make you smarter, experts say | Digital Media - CNET News

The Internet can make you smarter, experts say | Digital Media - CNET News: "'Google will make us stupid and intelligent at the same time,' wrote Dutch Futurist Marcel Bullinga. 'In the future, we will live in a transparent 3D mobile media cloud that surrounds us everywhere. In this cloud, we will use intelligent machines, to whom we delegate both simple and complex tasks. Therefore, we will lose the skills we needed in the old days...But we will gain the skill to make better choices...All in all, I think the gains outweigh the losses.'"

FOXNews.com - Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll at CPAC

FOXNews.com - Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll at CPAC: "Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas known for his libertarian views, ran for president in 2008 but was never a serious contender for the GOP nomination."

That's funny considering he got more delegates than Giuliani, who was considered a "serious contender" and didn't get any delegates.