Download audio here Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets , Pejman Yousefzadeh and Kevin Holtsberry are joined by Andrew Kelly, to discuss Sticks and the Bully Pulpit: Lessons from a Half-Century of Federal Efforts to Improve America’s Schools , the federal role in education, and ways to move past traditional debating points regarding the federal government’s responsibilities in education policy. We’re brought to you as always by Stephen Clouse and Associates . If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show. Related Links: Buy Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit: Lessons from a Half-Century of Federal Efforts to Improve America s Schools on Amazon Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit at AEI Follow Pej on Twitter Follow Kevin on Twitter The hosts and guests of Coffee and Markets speak only for ourselves, not any clients or employers.
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Improving America’s Schools
The House Republican freshman class has ratcheted up pressure on Speaker John Boehner to draw a sharp contrast with Democratic progressives and bring full repeal of the federal estate tax — popularly derided as the “death tax” — to a vote on the House floor. Read the original here: House GOP freshmen pressure Boehner to call vote on ‘death tax’ repeal
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House GOP freshmen pressure Boehner to call vote on ‘death tax’ repeal
By most accounts, Paul Clement bested Solicitor General Donald Verrilli in oral arguments concerning the federal health care law. It sounds like it was more of the same as Clement against crossed swords with the solicitor general in the Obama administration’s attempt to overturn Arizona’s SB 1070. The Washington Times reports: Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said the federal government has limited resources and should have the right to determine the extent of calls it gets about possible illegal immigrants. “These decisions have to be made at the national level,” he said. But even Democratic-appointed justices were uncertain of that. “I’m terribly confused by your answer,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who went on to say that the federal government can always decline to pick up illegal immigrants when Arizona officials call. The Supreme Court is hearing the Obama administration’s constitutional challenge to Arizona’s attempt to crack down on illegal immigration in the state.
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Supremes Seem Unimpressed with Obama Immigration Law Arguments
I’ve written several times on my web site about Judge Janice Rogers Brown , who was nominated to the federal Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit by President Bush. In my view, Judge Brown is one of the best, and perhaps the best, federal judge in America — which is why Ted Kennedy so fiercely (but unsuccessfully, despite an initial Democrat filibuster) opposed her nomination. Judge Brown’s fierce intellect was on full display in her concurrence in a recent court decision in the case of Hettinga v US in which the owner of a few large dairies argued unsuccessfully that a law which impacts only him (but does not name him and could theoretically impact others in a similar situation) was an unconstitutional bill of attainder. The full decision can be found here , but for your review I offer below only Judge Brown’s concurring opinion, which should be must-read material for every high school and college “civics” or law-related class, and in every law student’s introductory materials. (The full opinion has an extra dozen pages, most of which is not necessary to understand Judge Brown’s commentary, though for law geeks like me it is an interesting read, in part because it shows the destructive influence of reliance on bad precedent.) The document below includes the first two pages of the full decision packet, which has the name of the case, the participants, and the first couple of paragraphs of the per curiam decision (in this case the unanimous decision of the three-judge panel) followed by Judge Brown’s concurrence. One can almost feel Judge Brown’s anger at the Supreme Court’s reprehensible stance that decisions relating to economic regulation will be given the Court’s lowest level of scrutiny and generally resolved in favor of Congress rather than those whose rights are being trampled by Congress. (For more on the history of this, read about the 1938 Supreme Court case, made in the shadow of FDR’s Court-packing threat, called Carolene Products , and its infamous Footnote Four, which has done untold damage to our nation by allowing Congresses and Presidents to run roughshod over what our Founders would certainly have considered fundamental rights.) One of the most remarkable things about Judge Brown is that a formerly ultra-liberal (she says she was borderline “Maoist”) daughter of an Alabama sharecropper has become one of the leading pro-liberty minds in America and in our federal judiciary. Sadly for the nation, one of the other most remarkable things about Judge Brown is that she is so frequently a voice in the wilderness, lost among a bunch of judges and politicians whose views would make James Madison shudder in revulsion with what his “constitutional” republic has become, and with how little respect those who should most honor our Founding principles — and who take an oath to uphold them — actually have for them. I urge you to read Judge Brown’s opinion, and to share it with others. I suggest you click the “read fullscreen” button (a square with four arrows pointing out from the center) next to the “Download” button above the document to make your reading easier. Hit the ESC key when finished reading… http://www.docstoc.com/docs/119373466/Judge-Janice-Rogers-Brown-concurrence-in-case-of-Hettinga-v-US
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Janice Rogers Brown Strikes Again (For Liberty)
During his primary campaign, Mitt Romney vowed to balance the federal budget by 2020 and sharply shrink spending by 2016. His pledge to do so without cutting Social Security or Medicare benefits is causing some headaches for his economic-policy team. More here: Romney’s Budget Promise Proves Tough Test
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Romney’s Budget Promise Proves Tough Test
