Policy Documents

The Heartlander: November-December 2009 (full text)

Diane Bast –
Diane Carol Bast –
November 21, 2009

HEARTLAND CELEBRATES SILVER ANNIVERSARY

On Thursday, October 29 -- after this issue of The Heartlander went to press, but before it landed in your mailbox -- Heartland celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding with a reception, silent auction, and gala dinner at the Hilton Chicago Hotel. If you were able to attend, thanks for joining us on this momentous occasion! You can relive the excitement -- or experience it for the first time, if you weren’t able to join us -- through the online photo gallery and video at http://www.heartland.org/events/Benefit2009

EXPOSING NETWORK NEUTRALITY

Heartland Policy Study #124, “Neutralism: The Strange Philosophy Behind the Movement for Net Neutrality,” can be downloaded in Adobe’s PDF format from Heartland’s Web site at http://www.heartland.org/publications/policy%20studies/article/26061/. An executive summary is available online at http://www.heartland.org/publications/policy%20studies/article/26062/.

In late September, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced he will seek to give network neutrality--a regulatory regime proponents promise will ensure the Internet stays “open” and “free”--the force of law by adopting official rules.

Heartland responded to the chairman’s announcement with a media advisory offering comments from Jim Lakely, co-director of Heartland’s Center on the Digital Economy, and a new Heartland Policy Study that had the Internet and mainstream media outlets buzzing.

In his September 21 media advisory, Jim dissected Genachowski’s proposal and concluded he’s “attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist and will end up harming the vast majority of broadband and wireless consumers in the process.” Jim’s comments were picked up by NewsBlaze, the online news service for journalists, and CXO Today.com, a daily online newsletter for IT decision makers.

Then, in Heartland Policy Study No. 124, “Neutralism: The Strange Philosophy Behind the Movement for Net Neutrality,” Jim reveals the radical agenda of the network neutrality movement, quoting the leading theorists of the movement:

  • “We are not required to agree with the Constitution or the Supreme Court,” and copyright law is “a radical right-wing assumption rather than a traditionally recognized one.” Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation
  • The net neutrality movement is committed to “overthrowing the system of private property in ideas,” and it is time to “wrest from the bourgeoisie, by degrees, the shared patrimony of humankind.” Eben Moglen, author of The dotCommunist Manifesto
  • “At the moment, the battle over network neutrality is not to completely eliminate the telephone and cable companies. We are not at that point yet. But the ultimate goal is to get rid of the media capitalists in the phone and cable companies and to divest them from control.” Robert W. McChesney, founder and director, Free Press

Jim concludes, “‘Neutralism’ is a strange and radical philosophy that stands in striking contrast to the innocuous-sounding Internet ‘freedom’ its advocates call for. Understanding the philosophy of neutralism helps explain why network neutrality would have consequences that are quite the opposite of what its proponents claim.”

Jim was booked on several radio programs, including G. Gordon Liddy, Jerry Hughes, and American Radio Network’s 102-station syndicate. The Washington Examiner (circ. 200,000) accepted an op-ed for publication in late October.

On October 8, Jim discussed net neutrality with Mike Rosen on news radio KOA-AM 850 in Denver. He took several calls from listeners and pounded away at the point that letting the government get its tentacles on the Internet, in whatever benign “neutral” fashion, is a very bad idea.

Also on October 8, the 105-station network American Radio Journal interviewed Jim for 30 minutes. And the Student Operated Press--a news service for college newspapers--on October 6 reprinted the news release announcing the Policy Study’s release.

INFOTECH & TELECOM

InfoTech & Telecom News

The October issue of InfoTech & Telecom News leads with a report on the antitrust scrutiny being imposed on the search engine deal that would unite Microsoft with Web portal Yahoo. The issue also covers disclosure rules for bloggers, texting while driving, cell phone taxes, and more.

The November issue takes on net neutrality, cybersecurity, vehicles miles traveled taxes, cable television, and municipal broadband.

Outreach to Elected Officials

Throughout the month of September, InfoTech & Telecom News Managing Editor Jim Lakely directly contacted hundreds of state and federal legislators, alerting them to his free-market research on issues such as municipal broadband, network neutrality, and cell phone handset exclusivity deals.

On September 2, Jim’s oped, “Fear the Feds’ Takeover of Cybersecurity,” was sent to federal elected officials and staffers. The piece warned of the dangers to liberty if the Obama administration follows through on plans to give a cybersecurity “czar” the power to shut down the Internet in the event of a “cyber emergency.”

On September 9-10, Jim was in Washington, DC to talk to dozens of Heartland donors, allies, journalists, and legislative staffers about his Heartland Policy Study on “neutralism,” a theory steeped in Marxism that provides the intellectual underpinnings for the “net neutrality” movement.

On September 11, Jim released a Research & Commentary about a plan in Longmont, Colorado to get into the telecommunications business. Voters will decide in November whether to allow the city to sell access to its fiber-optic lines for the purposes of commercial and private Internet service. The Research & Commentary summarized why this is a bad idea and included links to several pieces of independent research, including that of Heartland Institute scholars.

On September 21, in the wake of the FCC chairman’s speech advocating net neutrality, Lakely penned an oped titled “FCC Not Competent to Regulate Internet.” The oped was published in several online outlets, most prominently The American Thinker. It also was sent to federal legislators and their staffers.

Victories

The city of Green Lake, Wisconsin was for several months in 2009 contemplating installing a municipal wi-fi system. Local resident and Heartland Senior Fellow Maureen Martin shared some articles from recent editions of InfoTech & Telecom News, and the council “dropped [the idea] instantly once they understood [muni wi-fi] was not needed here.”

In the last week of September, the city of St. Cloud, Florida shut down its “free” municipal wi-fi system, citing budget problems. After the program had been running for three years, city officials finally admitted they “really haven’t recouped all of our investment.” That’s because the wi-fi system wasn’t really “free” but instead cost taxpayers $600,000 a year to operate and maintain. That money is no longer being wasted.

LEGAL REFORM

Two issues of Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly were released in September and one in October as this issue of The Heartlander went to press. Among the stories editor Maureen Martin covered ...

  • The city of Gahanna, Ohio and its police department are being sued by a former officer claiming he was “defamed and harassed” by the department because his wife appeared in a Playboy magazine photo spread in 2008.
  • A Michigan woman who killed her Ford Motor Co. retiree husband by stabbing him in the heart is now suing the company retirement plan after it refused to pay her survivor benefits.
  • A Michigan man shot by a convenience store clerk while trying to rob the store at knifepoint is now suing the store for damages, including $125,000 in pain and suffering and emotional damages.
  • A grandson of former Russian Premier Josef Stalin has filed a libel lawsuit against a Moscow newspaper, claiming it damaged his grandfather’s reputation when it wrote Stalin had ordered Russians to be killed.
  • A property investment firm in the U.K. is under attack by government regulators for discriminating against an employee when it allegedly fired him because he believes in manmade global warming.
  • A class-action suit against Costco may be settled with the class members taking nothing and the lawyers getting $10 million in legal fees.
  • A judge in Queens, New York has dismissed a case because the paperwork was badly stapled.
  • A U.K. photographer was ordered to reimburse $2,000 U.S. to a couple whose wedding photos he botched.
  • An Indiana grandmother was hauled off to jail in handcuffs after buying a box of cold medicine for her husband and one for her daughter less than a week later.
  • Kellogg’s deceived consumers by selling “Froot Loops” cereal because it doesn’t contain fruit, a San Francisco man alleges in a class-action lawsuit.

In the News

The Public Nuisance Wire, an online news source for attorneys, relied on Senior Fellow Maureen Martin on September 9 to explain why Philip Morris has grounds to appeal a Ft. Lauderdale jury verdict awarding $5.3 million in compensatory damages to the family of a former smoker: “The plaintiff’s wife continued to smoke for more than 25 years after warning labels appeared on cigarette packages warning of health hazards. The jury rightfully should have found the plaintiff’s deceased wife 100 percent liable.”

Cheryl Chumley, contributing editor to Heartland’s newspapers, received kudos on September 16 from National Review Online for her investigative work on National Heritage Areas, which Chumley says function as federal zoning boards that restrict the rights of private property owners. NRO enthused, “If you’re interested in the friction between historic preservation and the rights of landowners, it means keeping up with Chumley.”

URBAN AFFAIRS

Chicago’s Handgun Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review Chicago’s gun ban put Heartland on the air following our distribution of a media advisory the day of that decision.

Senior Fellow Maureen Martin talked for 30 minutes October 1 with Brian Wilson of WSPD-AM 1370 during morning drive-time in Toledo. She discussed the issue with nationally syndicated Jerry Hughes on “Straight Talk” October 14.

Local Legislation Manager Ralph Conner was on Chuck Aubrey’s “Knosis” program October 2 on KJLL-AM 1330 in Tucson for an hour discussing the implications and taking calls from listeners.

Also on October 2, the Sedalia (Missouri) Democrat (circ. 13,200) quoted Ralph as saying, “A ruling affirming the Second Amendment applies to the states and their subdivisions will be a major stride toward individual liberty and constitutional freedom, as the false promises of security from gun control policies which disarm law-abiding citizens are replaced by a commitment to observe and apply the tenets of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

The New York University Law Review on October 2 analyzed the constitutional implications of the case and cited Maureen’s friend-of-the-court brief.

On October 8, the Chicago Sun-Times (circ. 312,141) ran Ralph’s letter in which he observed, “In Chicago, armed potential victims know they are lawbreakers, just like the criminals they fear. These citizens can only hope the U.S. Supreme Court will finally place them on the proper side of the law as they seek the protections of the 2nd and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.”

Also on October 8, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News Sentinel (circ. 24,196) quoted Maureen’s analysis, noting “the rates of burglary and aggravated assault [in Chicago] have ‘skyrocketed’ since 1983 when the city first enacted its handgun ban. She says those rates have remained much worse than in the rest of the country.”

In the News

Jurist, a publication of the University of Pittsburgh’s law school, cited Maureen’s opinion that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its recent decision allowing a federal nuisance case to proceed against six major utilities for emitting carbon dioxide. The court said such nuisance cases can be stopped in the courts by federal regulation of greenhouse gases, and Maureen explained why the court was wrong, and that the number of nuisance suits will soar.

On the Road

Ralph staffed a Heartland booth at the annual African-American Fest September 13 in Chicago. The event was attended by several thousand people. Ralph distributed copies of Senior Fellow Lee Walker’s books on black conservatism.

More than 90 people crammed into a meeting room at Sullivan’s Steakhouse on Chicago’s Near North Side on September 16 to debate the question, “The War on Drugs: Success or Failure?” Sponsored by America’s Future Foundation, the confab featured Ralph, Chris Robling of Jayne Thompson and Associates, Collin Corbett of Next Generation Republicans, Jennifer Koener of Sudler Sothbey’s, and Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran. Ralph argued, “By drug prohibition, we increase the value of cocaine and marijuana to a street value that is up to 20 times its real market value, and then allow street gangs working for Mexican and Columbian drug cartels to capture enormous profits. This economy is the primary employer for minority youth in the inner-cities of America. Incarceration of minority youth, celebration of the thug-ethic related to drug-selling, and recidivism have turned minority communities into shooting galleries.”

Outreach to Elected Officials

On September 4-7, Ralph represented Heartland and CORE-Chicago at a booth shared with IllinoisCarry and Second Amendment Sisters at the Chicago African Festival to spread the word about the Second Amendment and the right to carry concealed weapons. Senior Fellow Lee Walker attended and signed his books on black conservatism and Booker T. Washington. Plaintiffs in the Supreme Court lawsuit against Chicago’s handgun ban, Coleen and David Lawson, also participated, as did representatives of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

On September 9, Ralph met with Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer to discuss tax policy, health care, and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Facility project designed to train high-risk youth in development of entrepreneurship skills. Gainer was invited to join the Legislative Forum.

On September 22, Brian Costin, assistant director of government relations, spoke at a rally against red light cameras outside the U.S. headquarters of RedSpeed, which holds scores of government contracts for red light enforcement cameras. Brian highlighted studies that show the cameras make intersections more dangerous, and local officials often place the cameras where no red light-running problem exists. He explained the big moneymaker is right-turn-on-red cameras ... but U.S. Department of Transportation statistics show the average driver would have to drive a distance equivalent to Jupiter and back before being involved in an accident because of an illegal right on red. More than 75 people attended the rally, and Brian was quoted in the Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). He spoke with Illinois state Sen. Dan Duffy about red light cameras and why they are a public safety nuisance.

Smoking Bans

On September 23, Ralph sent the Washington, DC city council a primer on the fallacy of enacting local public policies that have an inordinate negative impact on poor residents. He explained why a ban on the sale of single cigars, proposed in order to stop their use as drug paraphernalia for smoking marijuana, forgets the rights of non-drug users who purchase premium cigars one at a time.

Also on September 23, Ralph sent the mayor and city council of Topeka, Kansas a virtual primer of articles on the costs and benefits of smoking bans. He then called each member to discuss the pitfalls of enacting public policies that discriminate against minorities (smokers).

On September 24, Ralph received an email message from Topeka Councilman Larry Wolgast responding to the smoking ban information. The councilman admitted he supported the smoking ban but said he would appreciate receiving future materials from Heartland.

Also that day, Ralph received an email message from Topeka Councilwoman Karen Hiller, who wrote, “Thanks for writing, Mr. Conner. I appreciate The Heartland Institute’s work in this and other matters.”

BUDGET & TAX

Budget & Tax News

The October issue of Budget & Tax News reports on a proposed high-speed rail line linking Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin and also covers economic development tax incentives, the affect of health care overhaul proposals on taxes, budget crises in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and more.

November 2009 was a scheduled skip month.

March on Washington

On September 12, Heartland co-sponsored the stunning March on Washington, DC, which brought hundreds of thousands to the nation’s capital to register their displeasure and resistance to the federal government’s growing intrusion into all parts of American life.

The huge turnout sent a strong message to the nation’s lawmakers that taxpayers oppose further increases in taxes and regulation. Heartland helped organize the protest, and Budget & Tax News contributed to the building of the movement by regularly running articles on the damage high taxes and regulations do and by publishing articles by or quoting in other stories persons working in the movement to stem the growth of government power and taxation.

The basic AP news report about the march, which cited Heartland as a sponsor, ran in scores of newspapers nationwide. Across the pond, the left-wing Guardian in the U.K. noted, “The organisers of the march represent a ragbag coalition of disparate groups, joined at the hip by their hatred of Obama’s perceived radicalism. They include right-wing think tanks such as the Heartland Institute, small government campaigns like Americans for Tax Reform and Tea Party Patriots, and internet-based protest networks such as ResistNet.” Unlike other liberal media, the paper acknowledged the size of the protest “took city authorities by surprise.”

Milwaukee Tea Party

Membership Manager John O’Hara led a Heartland contingent that included Corporate Relations Manager Kristine Esposo, Legislative Specialist Robin Knox, and Administrative Assistant Darrell Moore to attend a September 19 Tea Party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity/Wisconsin, drew about 3,000. John was among the speakers, and the Heartlanders passed out supporting literature. Harvard physicist Willie Soon, who has spoken at all four of Heartland’s international conferences on climate change, also spoke. He reported back, “I enjoy the high from the crowds. Hey, it is not every day one can instantaneously reach thousands of like-minds. So, this tea party was memorable.”

In the News

On September 1, Legislative Specialist John Nothdurft explained in an American Spectator article, “Pick Your Poison,” why Obamacare inevitably will lead to higher taxes. John wrote, “Currently there are four main revenue proposals being considered either alone or in various combinations: a surcharge on high-income earners; various ‘sin’ taxes; individual and business coverage mandate penalties, and a value added tax (VAT). Each of these carries its own unique set of detrimental effects.”

John proved prescient September 9 in a letter to the editor of the Ft. Myers (Fla.) News-Press (circ. 92,340), writing, “Florida taxpayers should be forewarned that the huge drop in cigarette sales due to the state’s cigarette tax hike will come back to bite them. These taxes are borne by a small base that gets smaller as the tax goes up, because people quit or, more likely, find ways to circumvent the tax.” Within a month, Florida budgeteers reported revenues trailed projections.

On September 15, the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer (circ. 61,875) ran a letter from John in response to a news story about a 1 cent jump in the state sales tax. Wrote John, “If government continues to take more money out of the pockets of an already heavily tax-burdened citizenry, the state’s economy will suffer.”

John chided the Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern (circ. 26,500) on September 30 for its editorial advocating higher alcohol taxes to reduce abuse. John wrote, “Reducing the number of DUIs and lives lost to alcohol-related incidents is a valid goal but why must taxes be raised to achieve it? We see over and over again taxes being raised to fund such programs, and then the money is raided by legislators for other programs or to fill budget deficits.”

On the Air

On September 15, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric filmed Research Fellow Steve Stanek in the Heartland office about ACORN and its smarmy history of fraud and vote-tampering.

On September 22, Dan Lovallo, popular afternoon drive-time talker on WDRC-FM in Hartford, Connecticut, talked to Legislative Specialist John Nothdurft for 20 minutes about John’s media advisory, “10 Reasons Why Taxing Tobacco Sales Is a Losing Proposition.” That interview prompted the Waterbury Republican-American (circ. 50,000) to run the print version of John’s article on September 23. The Florida News-Press (circ. 98,496) also ran John’s analysis. And closing the circle on September 25, Lovallo wrote an op-ed in the Litchfield (Conn.) Register-Citizen (circ. 8,135) that lamented the departure of a Pratt & Whitney factory to Georgia--a state John noted during his interview was one of two that lowered business taxes this year, making their business climates more attractive to manufacturers.

Outreach to Elected Officials

On September 10, John sent a new Research & Commentary, “Top Ten Reasons Not to Raise Tobacco Taxes,” to 11,095 state and local legislators. He also sent a separate, personalized email to members of the Utah legislature, which is expected to take up a cigarette tax increase proposal next session.

In the Research & Commentary Nothdurft writes, “Some policymakers seem to think taxing smokers is a win-win way to curb smoking and raise revenue, without hurting the economy. In practice, however, these taxes create more budget problems than they solve. As the tobacco tax revenue stream falls short of expectations, which it invariably does, budget deficits grow.”

On September 17, John sent personal emails with his Kansas City Star letter to the editor, in which he questioned Gov. Mark Parkinson’s plan to raise tobacco taxes and ban smoking, to elected officials in the state. He also sent links to more in-depth research on why such targeted tax increases are bad and examples of better ways to balance the budget.

On September 24, John sent personalized emails to North Carolina elected officials calling their attention to the letter to the editor he had published in the Fayetteville Observer. He included links to more in-depth research on why tax increases are bad public policy for a state struggling to recover from a recession.

On September 30, John sent 401 state and local elected officials a new Research & Commentary, “Illinois’ Pension Problem and How to Fix it.” “Without an overhaul of the current, unsustainable pension system,” he writes, “Illinois taxpayers will continue to be burdened by substantially higher taxes to bail out legislators and special interests for their imprudent policies.”

We’re Getting Through ...

The Associated Press quoted elected officials in New York admitting exactly what John had been telling them for months: That raising taxes on the “rich” would cause businessmen to flee the state, taking their capital and taxes with them. “Gov. David Paterson said Wednesday at a gathering of newspaper editors at an Associated Press event in Syracuse, ‘We’ve done that (taxed the rich). We’ve probably lost jobs and driven people out of the state.’” On June 2, John sent a Research & Commentary, “Taxing the Rich Will Bankrupt Your State,” to the New York Legislature. On October 1, his “I told you so” letter to the editor was published in the Albany Times-Union.

FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND REAL ESTATE

FIRE News

The October issue of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate News, a monthly insert in Budget & Tax News, reports that Texas is a model of fiscal stability compared to most other states--with one glaring exception: It’s one hurricane away from bankrupting its state-run wind insurance pool. The issue also addresses proposed changes to SEC rules on insider trading, speculation, property and casualty insurance in Florida, and more.

Outreach to Elected Officials

Finance

On September 3, Legislative Specialist Matthew Glans sent a policy update on Texas’s state-run windstorm insurer to legislators in that state. He explains how the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association creates huge potential liabilities for the state’s taxpayers. The legislature has made some changes to windstorm law, but rates remain artificially low.

On September 8, Glans sent a policy update on Florida’s windstorm insurance woes to legislators in that state. He explained how Gov. Charlie Crist’s veto of the Consumer Choice Bill would affect the state’s property and casualty market and the future of large national insurers across the state.

On September 17, Glans sent a Research & Commentary on the optional federal charter for insurance to legislators in Delaware, Illinois, and Indiana in response to growing interest in insurance regulatory reform in those states.

Insurance

On September 22, Glans sent a new Research & Commentary on Federal Reserve transparency to federal legislators and members of Heartland’s Legislative Forum. He comments on current efforts by legislators to encourage additional transparency within the Fed, including U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill, which is currently being considered in Congress.

On September 23, Glans sent a Research & Commentary Update on unemployment insurance to legislators nationally. He addresses the current debate over expansion of unemployment coverage at the state and federal level and examines some of the fiscal and moral consequences of extending these programs by additional months.

Real Estate

On September 28, Glans sent his Milwaukee Journal Sentinel op-ed about the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae to legislators in Wisconsin and members of Congress. “With the expansion of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae, the government is taking on additional risk. Instead of allowing the private market to correct itself and fix the root causes of the crisis, the government is assuming the risk of individual buyers at taxpayer expense,” he notes.

Victories

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill is co-sponsored by roughly two-thirds of the House membership. The bill is expected to come to a vote with considerable support and likely pass on to the Senate. Glans sent a Research & Commentary on Federal Reserve transparency to members of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Finance committee in response to growing support for the bill.

EDUCATION

School Reform News

The October issue of School Reform News reports on efforts by Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, to shake up the system. The issue also covers Race to the Top, marketing experts in public schools, school choice in Indiana and New Jersey, and more.

The November issue reports on an act of civil disobedience on behalf of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program and covers charter schools, special education vouchers, alternative teacher certification, cyber-stalking, and more.

In the News

I wanted to send a quick note of appreciation to [Heartland Senior Fellow] Robert Holland and your organization for submitting an excellent letter to the editor, in support of home schooling, that was printed in the Anchorage Daily News yesterday, September 20.

It is a continuous uphill battle to promote and uphold educational choice and parent autonomy against the behemoth monopoly of the government funded system. Alaska has excellent homeschool laws but the freedoms we have enjoyed take vigilance to protect. Your letter was a great help in response to current attacks.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Rhonda
Palmer, Alaska

Senior Fellow Robert Holland was in the forefront of the chorus September 3 criticizing President Barack Obama for his recorded television message to K-12 public school students. The Southtown Star in suburban Chicago (circ. 41,868) ran his op-ed under the headline “It’s All About Obama, Not Education,” and Bob concluded, “As the president will say September 8, it is all about personal responsibility. But will he mean it? Or is it really All About Obama?” But in New London, Connecticut, The Day (circ. 34,730) told Bob to “Get a grip,” and added “Why are so many conservatives intent on finding ominous motivations in benign presidential acts?”

On September 8, Bob spoke with Toledo talk show host Brian Wilson for 20 minutes in the wake of President Obama’s address, and on September 9, he guested for a full hour taking numerous call-ins with Pat Snyder on WASU-AM 550 serving central Wisconsin.

Although the Las Vegas Review (circ. 174,341) on September 9 tried to pooh-pooh President Obama’s address as “a ham-handed operation of little or no consequence,” the paper published Bob’s stinging rejoinder on September 14: “Indeed, it was consistent with the Obama administration’s current use of federal stimulus money to blackmail states into adopting national education standards and tests currently under construction by a coalition of academics and Washington lobbyists.”

On September 16, The Washington Times (circ. 200,000) ran Local Legislation Manager Ralph Conner’s letter warning President Obama’s actions speak louder than his words when he promises choice in education reform. Ralph wrote, “He has turned his back on choice and competition when it comes to education” by jettisoning vouchers for 216 Washington DC students.

On September 18, Bob scored the first hit in an Alaskan newspaper that anyone at 19 South LaSalle can recall, in the Anchorage Daily News (circ. 62,893). Bob corrected the paper’s subtle implication that Alaskans would sleep easier if the state required home-schooling parents to file stacks of reports. Bob contradicted the paper’s assertion that Alaska was the only state that allowed home-schooling without notifying governmental authorities: “Alaska is one of 10 states that imposes no burden on parents to notify the state if they want to home-school their children--no paperwork, no phone call, no notice of any kind. Most of the other states have only a low or moderate level of home-school regulation. No state forbids it.”

When U.S. News & World Report online editorialized in favor of what it called a “grassroots” effort to write national standards for teachers, Holland posted back on September 29, “It is of no real significance that the permanent staff of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers took the lead in gathering assorted academics to draft the first set of standards. Once these instruments are bought and paid for with federal money, they will constitute a de facto national curriculum that will be subject to political manipulation by this and future administrations.”

Victories

For the past 17 years, California has run a public school interdistrict choice program, which allows public schools to accept students from outside their districts. The program has been extended several times over the past two decades; the last extension expired July 1. The legislature renewed and expanded it in September.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to let outside parties--including charter school chains--bid to take over up to one-third of its public schools in order to improve education.

On September 8, the first act of school choice civil disobedience was committed when several advocates blocked the entrance to the U.S. Department of Education headquarters, demanding that President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan answer questions about why they are so intent on killing the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. And on September 30, a rally was held to support the voucher program.

In an effort to draw teachers to lower-performing schools, Indiana is for the first time tying teacher pay to students’ test scores.

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions in September released a school choice survey showing Kentucky parents would rather send their children to charter schools than their local government-run schools--even though Kentucky currently does not allow charter schools.

Under a new state law in Minnesota, teachers can now start their own schools, govern themselves, and run their own curricula--a concept they call “charter light,” since they have much of the autonomy of a charter school but run under a district umbrella with unionized teachers. The idea has already taken off in Boston, Chicago, and New York, and Colorado passed a similar law in 2008.

A study released by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows alternative certification programs are just as effective as traditional teachers colleges and fill a critical need.

The world’s first tuition-free online university opened in September with a class of 178 students from around the globe. This is an example of positively disruptive technology that School Reform News reports on regularly, reaching national and state lawmakers who have the power to regulate such innovations and potentially hamper or prevent them from creating greater choice in education.

More than 10,000 students are using an EdChoice scholarship to attend private school in Ohio this year--12,685. This is a 20 percent increase over last year in the state-funded program that lets students escape the state’s lowest-performing public schools.

ENVIRONMENT

I just read, on page 14 of the [October/November 2009] Heartlander, the article about the Kundu Project. It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to see an ignorant, pompous bureaucrat exposed, particularly when they are in a position that influences the education of our children. Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Carl

The October issue of Environment & Climate News reports that dredging of the Hudson River--a project five years behind schedule and $320 million over budget--has caused a dramatic increase in PCB levels in the river. The issue also addresses aquatic weeds, renewable power, and global warming.

The November issue reports on wind and solar, styrene, the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, and paper vs. plastic.

Book Distribution

We distributed 122 copies of the Spanish edition of Unstoppable Global Warming to Spanish-speaking influentials in the Southwestern United States with the help of the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix, Arizona-based think tank committed to expanding free enterprise and liberty.

We distributed 253 copies of Climate Change Reconsidered: The 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) to an international list of climate skeptics who have attended Heartland’s three conferences on climate change, experts who reviewed or contributed to the production of Climate Change Reconsidered, and scientists listed in the legislators’ and journalists’ Guides to Global Warming Experts.

At the request of Dr. Fred Singer, president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project and coauthor of Climate Change Reconsidered, we have sent dozens of copies of the book for distribution to members of Parliament in Belgium and the United Kingdom, and for distribution to other influential audiences in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.

Joanne Nova, author of The Skeptic’s Handbook on global warming, reports receiving “an offer from a Heartland connected person to do a Japanese translation. The word is spreading.” The publication already has been translated into Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, and Swedish. Translations are “on the way,” Joanne reports, in Dutch, Spanish, and Turkish.

On the Road

On September 2, Senior Fellow James M. Taylor spoke to about 200 members of the Capitol City Republican Club in Tallahassee, Florida on the myths versus the realities of global warming.

On September 14, James briefed 75 members of the Orlando Republican Club on global warming issues.

On September 26, James and Special Correspondent Paul Chesser were among the headline speakers in rain-soaked Lafayette Park, across the street from the front door of the White House, for a Green Tea Party to confront the issue of global warming. Organized by Truth About Green, a Maryland-based non-profit, and co-sponsored by Heartland, the Green Tea Party attracted about 100 people who doubt global warming has reached crisis levels and oppose cap-and-trade legislation that the U.S. Senate will take up in coming months. The Washington Times’ (circ. 200,000) “Inside the Beltway” columnist previewed the event on September 22.

Also on September 22, James analyzed the current science and economics of global warming for 150 members of the Tampa, Florida branch of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 group. How’d it go, James? “I received three standing ovations, handed out nearly 100 business cards, and had three people inquire about speaking at other groups they belong to.”

In the News

Wyatt Kanyer, a sophomore columnist for the Texas Christian University DailySkiff.com, wrote on September 9 that he “found that it’s assumed that environmentalist and liberal are synonyms, and that’s just not true.” He continued, “Although The Heartland Institute’s common-sense environmentalism might be a stab at the partisan argument that the topic has become, it has the strategy and action to back up its words. It doesn’t utilize propaganda to shock people into action. It doesn’t act as if it’s entitled to be the environment’s hero, because it knows it can’t do it alone.” Kanyer’s column was distributed nationwide on Uwire.com, a news service for university journalists.

On the Air

On September 1, James talked to morning drive-time listeners of WFLA radio in Tallahassee about global warming science versus alarmism.

On September 2, James appeared on satellite television network One News Now and discussed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ongoing efforts to regulate carbon dioxide as a health hazard. James noted, “With EPA getting involved, you have the potential for all sorts of mischief, as well as the potential for all sorts of legislation, and the potential for all sorts of economic disruption ...” The show’s producer emailed back, “Another great interview.”

On September 8, Paul stirred up the troops with an article in the online version of American Spectator exposing the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) and its panicky message to high school students that Earth is on the verge of a “planetary emergency” due to global warming. The alliance, thanks to hefty funding by a builder of wind turbines, promises a “high school assembly experience that will activate, educate, inspire, your school to create a future safe from climate change.”

Popular Baltimore talk show host Ron Smith of WBAL brought Paul on the program to expand on his findings.

A week later, the Examiner chain’s two print publications, the Washington Examiner (circ.150,000) and the San Francisco Examiner (circ. 200,000), ran Paul’s op-ed expanding on ACE’s strategy. A Chicago version of the article appeared online in the Chicago Daily Observer September 18.

Jerry Agar, who does double-duty in Chicago as a popular talk-show host on WGN-AM and blogger for the Illinois Policy Institute, published a lengthy online Q&A with Paul about ACE’s attempt to infiltrate the Naperville schools.

On September 9, James discussed climate change with Adrian Goldberg on London talk-radio program talkSPORT. James was booked for a 15-minute segment, but callers from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland were so numerous and James’ responses so interesting, Goldberg kept James going for more than an hour.

On September 15, James talked with Milwaukee’s No. 1 news-talker Charlie Sykes on WTMJ. James ridiculed a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report that morning that asserted climate change would make Wisconsin like Missouri within a couple decades.

On September 29, Science Director Jay Lehr spent 30 minutes with Chuck Harder on the TalkStar Radio Network discussing the shortcomings of cap-and-trade legislation.

Outreach to Elected Officials

On September 3, Local Legislation Manager Ralph Conner sent a San Jose city councilmember’s chief of staff a set of links to articles about the fallacy of banning plastic bags at big-box and grocery stores. The staffer sent for Conner’s review recent legislation in response to articles explaining why plastic bags are more green than paper bags.

On September 16, Conner learned that former Alaska state Sen. Eugene Therriault had been appointed energy policy advisor for the new governor, Sean Parnell. Conner told the new energy czar’s aide he would arrange an exclusive interview with James M. Taylor, managing editor of Environment & Climate News. The aide requested more information, and Conner sent additional data and referred him to James.

Congressional Briefing

As the world focused October 8 on President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, a quintet of determined global warming skeptics, recruited by Heartland and several co-sponsors, briefed key Senate staff members in Washington, DC.

For 75 minutes, the four presented evidence backing their claim that the slight rise in global temperatures in the second half of the twentieth century doesn’t represent a crisis, and climate change is not caused primarily by human activity. The team also discussed the economic harm that would be caused by the kind of cap-and-trade scheme being considered by Congress to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Heartland stalwarts Dr. Fred Singer, president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project; Dr. Roy Spencer, University of Alabama principal research scientist; geologist Dr. H. Leighton Steward; economist Dr. Ken Haapala; and journalist/blogger Marc Morano of ClimateDepot.com led the discussion for 45 staffers and journalists.

Victories

Under pressure from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and conservationists, BrightSource Energy scrapped its plan to build a 5,130-acre solar power farm in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Conservationists claimed the project would deplete too much water and would disrupt bighorn sheep. Environment & Climate News frequently calls attention to the environmental degradation caused by solar power, particularly its large ecological footprint and its depletion of large amounts of water. A September 2009 ECN article (delivered to readers in August 2009) called attention to the Mojave Desert proposal.

The California Legislature rejected a proposal to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles and other containers used by young children. Studies conducted by government agencies and independent scientists in the United States and Europe have found no link between BPA exposure and human health problems.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) announced plans to hold a public debate on global warming. Herbert, who replaced former Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) on August 11 when Huntsman accepted a position as ambassador to China, has publicly doubted the alleged need to restrict carbon dioxide emissions.

A state budget agreement being finalized by Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and legislative leaders would slash funding for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection by 25 percent and allow natural gas production for the first time on hundreds of thousands of acres of state lands.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care News

October was a scheduled skip month for Health Care News. The November issue reports that citizen protests--including the September 12 March on Washington--have caused the White House to reconsider their support for a controversial “public option” plan in the national health care overhaul bill. The issue also addresses Medicare, the H1N1 vaccine, prevention, and more.

On the Road

Senior Fellow Greg Scandlen spoke September 19 to about 100 attendees at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on a panel presented by Americans for Free Choice in Medicine. Between September 22 and September 25 he was in Michigan with the Mackinac Center making presentations on health care reform in Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, and Holland. Returning to his DC-area home, he participated on September 28 in a panel discussion on consumer-driven health care at St. Mary’s College in Maryland and moderated a panel September 30 at the Consumer-Driven Health Care Congress in DC.

In the News

The September issue of American Spectator carried an explanation by Peter Ferrara, author of a recent Heartland Policy Study, of why health savings accounts can save the U.S. health care system. Ferrara quoted colleague Greg Scandlen.

On September 23, Forbes (bi-weekly circ. 23.4 million) ran Ferrara’s op-ed, “Obama’s Calculated Deception.” He cited the president’s insistence that his health overhaul plan includes no Medicare cuts, but would eliminate “unwarranted subsidies in Medicare that go to insurance companies--subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don’t improve the care of seniors.” Peter then exposed the president’s misinformation: “What Obama is talking about here is $177 billion in cuts for Medicare Advantage--the private insurance options that almost one-fourth of seniors have chosen for their coverage under Medicare.”

The Motley Fool, a popular investment advice Web site, opened a discussion September 16 for its members on health care and began with a series of links to articles written by Milton Friedman, including his still-pertinent 2001 article (reprinted in the May 2003 issue of Health Care News) “Rethinking Health Insurance.” http://www.heartland.org/publications/health%20care/article/12157/

On the Air

On September 8, Policy Advisor Dr. John Dale Dunn conducted a radio interview with One News Now, a national online network, to discuss a bill pending in Massachusetts that would give public officials and law enforcement complete control over citizens if swine flu becomes a pandemic.

President Barack Obama’s health care address to a joint session of Congress put Heartland senior fellows and policy advisors in demand on the air.

Senior Fellow Greg Scandlen was a guest September 3 on Brian Wilson’s Toledo drive-time talk show On Demand on WSPD to fact-check the assertions by President Obama as he stumped for his health care overhaul program before the address. Market-leading ABC Channel 7 in Chicago asked Government Relations Director Peter Fotos on September 9 to preview the address.

The speech kept Greg busy for a week, with interviews September 8, on CBS Radio Network; September 9, WFLA NewsTalk during morning drive-time in Tampa Bay; Mancow on WLS in Chicago; September 10, 30 minutes on the David Bose Program, a 50K-watt talker in Seattle; September 13 on Backbone Radio, the John Andrews Program on KNUS in Denver; September 15 with Frank Beckmann on WJR in Detroit; and September 17 on Jerry Hughes’ nationally syndicated Straight Talk.

Health Care News Managing Editor Ben Domenech was interviewed September 9 on Bob Conners' Morning Show on WTVN in Columbus, Ohio. He did Jerry Bott’s WISN morning drive program that same day, and returned on September 10 for an encore.

Ben spent 30 minutes on WVON-AM 1690 in Chicago September 22 with black conservative Charles Butler discussing implications of competing health care bills in Congress.

Peter was the target of vitriol from many audience members October 8 at the Chicago History Museum, which presented a panel on reforming health care. Fellow panelists were polite and respectful, and even the very liberal moderator was professional. But, boy, those senior citizens and their single-payer goal! You can hear the whole thing here: http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=37308

Health Care Roundtables

On September 16, Heartland held a Health Care Roundtable meeting on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The meeting, cosponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Americans for Prosperity - Michigan, was attended by almost 100 health care providers, insurance brokers, and concerned citizens. Local Legislation Manager Ralph Conner invited members of the Detroit City Council and the Board of Commissioners of Wayne County to attend.

On September 24, Conner sent the mayor and city councilmembers of San Diego, California links to Heartland materials on health care reform, in anticipation of a future Health Care Roundtable for the West Coast venue.

LEGISLATIVE FORUM

As part of the Government Relations Department’s membership drive for the Legislative Forum, Peter Fotos, Brian Costin, John Nothdurft, Matt Glans, Ralph Conner, and Robin Knox have been making phone calls to selected state elected officials from across the United States, following up on letters they recently sent inviting them to join the Forum.

Six state legislators joined the Legislative Forum in September, and we’re delighted to welcome them aboard!

Rep. Dwight Wrangham (North Dakota)
Rep. Addia Kathryn Wuchner (Kentucky)
Rep. Lawrence G. Miller (Connecticut)
Rep. Paige Kreegel (Florida)
Rep. Steve Precourt (Florida)
Rep. Bobby Reese (Georgia)

Membership in The Legislative Forum is open to any elected official, former elected official, and legislative staff member who shares The Heartland Institute’s commitment to free-market solutions to social and economic problems. More information is available online at http://www.heartland.org/about/legislativeforum.html.

WEDDING BELLS!

On Saturday, October 17, Kevin Fitzgerald, Heartland’s vice president for programs, married Vanessa Rodriguez, a curly-haired Web content manager for McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply, at St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Chicago, Illinois. They danced the night away in the company of friends and family just off Michigan Avenue, then made their escape to the warmth of the Mexican Riviera where the fairskinned couple had a marvelous time and miraculously avoided sunburn.

We are pleased to introduce Lauren McCann! On Friday, September 25, Lauren Chrissos, Heartland’s vice president for development, married her high school sweetheart, Ryan McCann, a content manager for a global financial research firm, at a vineyard overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, Virginia.

On Saturday, June 20, Government Relations Director Peter Fotos married Maura Conway, an associate with Huron Consulting Group’s health care practice, at St. Giles Catholic Church in Oak Park, Illinois. The reception took place on the Chicago River Walk at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers in downtown Chicago. Peter and Maura honeymooned at various locations throughout Greece.