Wis. Gov. Has Hard Time Living Up To Jobs Pledge | Fox News

Wis. Gov. Has Hard Time Living Up To Jobs Pledge | Fox News: 'A recent report by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance backed up complaints about the national economy dragging down job creation in the state. The report found job growth and unemployment in Wisconsin has been closely tied with the national economy both during recessions like the one that began in 2008, and economic booms like when Thompson was governor in the 1990s.

State officials can change attitudes about the economy, but because it is so closely tied to national and global forces, there's little they can do to affect the actual direction of the economy, said Taxpayers Alliance President Todd Berry.'

Deja Voodoo: Detroit Repeats Big City Rail Mistakes | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary

Deja Voodoo: Detroit Repeats Big City Rail Mistakes | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Although promoters often call light rail "rapid transit," it is actually very slow.

Nationally, light-rail lines average little more than 20 miles per hour. When operating in city streets such as Woodward, they average less than 15 mph. Such slow speeds entice few people out of their cars. The $60 million-per-mile cost of building light rail is enough to build a four-lane freeway. But the average light-rail line carries only about one-fifth of a freeway lane. Since most of those people would have ridden a bus, light rail offers little congestion relief.'

'Nor is light rail good for the environment. Nationally, light-rail operations use slightly less energy, per passenger mile, than the average car. But building light rail requires enormous amounts of energy that will never be repaid by the annual energy savings.'

'Buses can do anything light rail can do except spend lots of your money, but buses are faster, safer, and more flexible than trains. If traffic patterns change, bus routes can change overnight while moving a rail line takes years of planning and construction.

Rail advocates say you need rail transit to be a world-class city. The truth is that cities that use 1930s technologies to solve 21st century transportation problems are world-class chumps.'

Team O's Denial on College-Cost Crisis | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

Team O's Denial on College-Cost Crisis | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Only about 57 percent of people who start four-year programs finish within six years, and most of the remaining 43 percent will probably never graduate. So lots of people will gamble for $1 million, but few will win.'

'The Obama administration has set the goal of leading the world in the percentage of the population possessing a college degree.

But the reality is that we've already got armies of people in college who'll never finish. There's little reason to think we could get even more people in and through.'

Pa.'s Rhyming Justice Pens Insurance Fraud Opinion | Fox News

Pa.'s Rhyming Justice Pens Insurance Fraud Opinion | Fox News: 'Part of his opinion reads: "Sentenced on the other crimes, he surely won't go free, but we find he can't be guilty of this final felony."'

The Back Story: Santa Claus | Fox News

The Back Story: Santa Claus | Fox News: 'Although skeptics abound, the spirit of every Santa Claus is rooted in a real saint; St. Nicholas, a third-century bishop in the Byzantine Empire, or modern-day Turkey. The relics of some of his bones rest in New York's Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

"He was known as a giver of gifts, but he gave them secretly," says Father Mark Arey, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

"He redeemed people from slavery, but he did it secretly. He gave dowry's to women, but he gave them secretly. He helped the poor, but secretly, never to embarrass anyone or glorify anyone but to glorify God."

The stories go that St. Nicholas also dropped coins through windows, some landing in children's shoes or stockings hung out to dry.'

Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation

Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation: 'Even if it were desirable, America is not strong enough to police the world by military force. If that attempt is made, the blessings of liberty will be replaced by coercion and tyranny at home. Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns. Persuasion and example are the methods taught by the Carpenter of Nazareth, and if we believe in Christianity we should try to advance our ideals by his methods. We cannot practice might and force abroad and retain freedom at home. We cannot talk world cooperation and practice power politics.'

Democracy versus Bureaucracy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Democracy versus Bureaucracy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'One provision of the new health care law empowers unelected panels of technocrats to make reductions in Medicare benefits each year in order to hit budget targets. This enables the politicians to claim they are not responsible for the cuts, but someone behind the tree is.'

'Control by the electorate in the United States will continue to diminish as long as the people demand more from government than they (not someone else) are willing to pay for and the economy can support.'

Back to Bush's Big-Government Conservatism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Back to Bush's Big-Government Conservatism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Both Gingrich and Romney have long supported more federal involvement and spending in education. Both backed No Child Left Behind. In fact, both endorsed the same strange idea of having the federal government buy a laptop computer for every child in America.'

'In fact, both are even opposed to cuts in farm price supports or ethanol subsidies. Gingrich was last seen suggesting that anyone who wanted to cut ethanol subsidies must hate farmers, while Romney believes food subsidies are a matter of national security, as if al-Qaeda is going to corner the wheat market.'

'Romney is the quintessential better manager, a "turn-around specialist," someone who can make government run more like a business. And Gingrich's new ideas are nearly all about making government work better. For example, he doesn't oppose a national ID system (E-Verify); he wants it "run by MasterCard or Visa." He doesn't want to get government out of health care; he wants to use "Lean Six Sigma" business strategy to make it less wasteful.

Nowhere in their rhetoric is there a recognition that big government is bad because it makes us less free.'

Let the Boss Decide What to Do | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary

Let the Boss Decide What to Do | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'If the nation's public health mandate is to produce a significantly lower level of obesity in the near term, the use of discrimination by employers is a perfectly logical and defensible instrument to employ in such a war on fat. The painful and inconvenient truth is that any rapid reduction in the number of obese Americans would require the private sector to discriminate against, rather than in favor of, the obese.

Instead of expensive lawsuits, counterproductive fat taxes and endless lists of (ignored) nutritional information, we should allow employers, insurers and other institutions to act toward the obese as they see fit.'

Down Syndrome Genocide | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Down Syndrome Genocide | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"Today, 92 percent of mothers who get a definitive diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to abort, surveys show." These parents are told by their physicians that this child will not live a meaningful life.'

'However, a considerable number of families, instead of killing the child, provide their youngsters with regulated forms of therapy and tutoring. As a result, sizable numbers of these Americans graduate from high school and college and — as my next column demonstrates — enjoy meaningful lives.'