Opinion
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13 Zero Tolerance Horror Stories
Opinion -It is a common conceit of many reformers and lawmakers that the problems of society can be solved simply by passing a law--then another, and another. The Volstead Act of 1919 is the best example of such hubris. -
Debunking Friday the 13th: 13 Myths of Urban Sprawl
Opinion -Simply described as the geographical spreading out of urban areas, “urban sprawl” has become the stuff of public policy hysteria. A well-financed movement blames sprawl for everything from a lack of community spirit to obesity. -
Bipartisan Prescription Drug Plan Represents Best of Both Worlds
Opinion -Chicago, IL - According to The Heartland Institute, a national free-market think tank based in Chicago, Illinois, the recent bipartisan agreement reached by several key U.S. -
Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly #2-6
Opinion -Guess $2,500/Hour Just Isn’t Enough The U.S. Senate recently defeated a tax bill amendment that would have limited the amount of money plaintiffs’ attorneys could receive out of the $200+ billion 1998 national tobacco settlement. -
DC Leaders Announce Support for Vouchers
Opinion -A new day is dawning for K-12 education in the nation’s capital. -
Good News on U.S. Reading Scores–Or Is It?
Opinion -The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which examined the performance of 150,000 fourth-grade students throughout the world, found U.S. -
Too Many Students Flunk Writing
Opinion -In response to growing concerns in the business, education, and policy-making communities about the low level of student writing skills, a blue-ribbon panel is recommending a writing agenda for the nation that includes doubling the time most K-12 -
Education Failures Imperil U.S. Manufacturing
Opinion -A looming shortage of highly skilled employees threatens to undercut the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing and weaken the economy, according to a study released in April by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). -
Skill Wars
Opinion -In his 1999 book, Skill Wars: Winning the Battle for Productivity and Profit, management consultant Edward E. Gordon warns America's current economic supremacy could be compromised by poor quality education. -
Disrespectful Students More of a Concern than Testing
Opinion -While some educators and administrators have raised concerns about the testing and accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, there’s no nostalgia among teachers or others for a return to the pre-standards policies of the past, -
The Crayola Curriculum
Opinion -After touring hundreds of early-grade classrooms during the designated reading period a few years ago, education writer Mike Schmoker generally found students sitting in small, unsupervised groups, supposedly involved in learning activities. -
Special Ed Bill Brings Valuable Reforms, No Choice
Opinion -Being the parent of a disabled child can never be an easy task, and the rules governing the federal special education system often add onerous new levels to the challenge. -
Congressmen Seek to Halt Federal Land Acquisition
Opinion -If Representative Sam Graves (R-Missouri) gets his way, the federal government will be restricted in buying up new lands until it takes better care of the land it already owns. -
Decision Nears on Canadian Lumber Imports
Opinion -A 27 percent duty imposed by the United States on imported Canadian softwood lumber is currently being deliberated on free trade grounds by a binational panel established by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The U.S. -
Is Kyoto the Hidden Price of Britain’s Aid in Iraq?
Opinion -When polls showed 80 percent of the British citizenry against America’s military position, Prime Minister Tony Blair stood fast with President George W. Bush. As happened for Bush in the U.S. -
EPA Releases Child Cancer Risk Guidances
Opinion -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on March 3 released for public comment its Draft Final Guidelines for Cancer Risk Assessment and a Supplemental Guidance for Assessing Early-Life Exposure to Carcinogens. -
A Bridge Too Far?
Opinion -Looking out my bedroom window, I see what to me is paradise. Old, mature oak trees scattered amidst rolling pasture. A leisurely, two-lane country road, Ft. Hamer Road, separates my backyard from the cows and horses grazing in Rawls farm. -
06/2003 The Friedman Report: An Eye on the Opposition
Opinion -Those who work in school choice advocacy are undoubtedly familiar with the cleverly written and impeccably researched insider’s knowledge on teacher unions that hits their email in-boxes every week from the Education Intelligence Agency. -
Where Do Public Education Dollars Go?
Opinion -U.S. public education spent a total of $410.6 billion in school year 2000-01, according to Public Education Finances 2001, a March 2003 report from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Census Bureau. Out of each public education dollar spent, 85. -
Senate Committee Wrestles with Climate Change Legislation
Opinion -Responding to concerns raised by colleagues and policy experts nationwide, Senator Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) on April 8 removed from a draft energy bill language critics warned would have facilitated back-door implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. -
A Climate Change Primer: Solar and Orbital Variation
Opinion -In Part One of this three-part series, Lehr and Bennett defined and described the “greenhouse effect”; summarized temperature observations and reported that average global temperature has increased roughly 0. -
‘Livable Communities’ Proposal Would Increase Government Meddling
Opinion -Ignoring the 200-year-old practice of waiting until formally elected, Vice President Al Gore began his presidential duties in January when he issued his blueprint for a more "livable" America in the twenty-first century. -
Enforcement Abuse Alive and Well at EPA
Opinion -Trumped-up charges, tampered-with evidence, and armed police raids--these are just some of the tactics known to be employed by foreign dictators against their own people. -
Western States Challenge Feds on Environment
Opinion -The Wyoming and Utah state governments have learned a lesson from their sister states in the northeast and are increasingly taking their environmental arguments to the federal courts.