Duluth School Board Pays Out $55,000 to Citizen Watchdog

Schools exist to disseminate knowledge and information, right? Apparently the Duluth School Board didn’t get the lesson plan. This week the board of Minnesota’s 22nd largest district by enrollment reached a settlement with a former board member turned citizen watchdog who’d sought  information on Duluth school’s controversial Red Plan, according to the News Tribune. The Duluth School Board on Monday unanimously approved a $55,000 settlement with former member Art Johnston, ending Johnston’s quest for data involving the district’s long-range facilities plan and other matters. “What you as a district would get would be dismissal of this lawsuit,” said Trevor Helmers, the...

Witty Comebacks That Could Have Changed History

Turns out there is a fancy French word, “l’esprit d’escalier” to describe an artful, witty comeback.  It literally means “staircase wit” as in one only realizes their missed opportunity for a great comeback too late, as they are exiting down a staircase.  Writer Joseph Epstein had a fun column in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that suggested a few clever gamechangers. Dan Quayle [was] the victim, in a 1988 debate with Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, of a notable put-down. Mr. Quayle compared his experience to that of John F. Kennedy, to which Bentsen famously replied: “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” I...

Employers look to hire ex-felons trained in technical programs

Many Minnesota employers are struggling to find workers. One place most aren’t likely to look is among ex-felons, who make up about 8 percent of the state’s adults, according to MPR. Things are changing in that respect, however. With Minnesota’s near-record jobless rate and more vacancies than job-seekers, employers are taking a new look at a population that’s historically had a hard time finding work.

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Democratic Senators Move to Disenfranchise Minnesotans

Two Democratic Senators, Charles Wiger and John Marty, have introduced S.F.34, a bill that would enlist Minnesota in the national effort to do away with the Electoral College and decide the presidency on the basis of the “national popular vote,” a journalistic construct with no constitutional significance. The proposed legislation is called the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. States that subscribe to it pledge to choose their electors not according to the wishes of that state’s voters, but rather in obedience to the “national popular vote.” The Agreement goes into effect when it...

Only Two Electric Cars Premiered At Detroit Auto Show

Claims by environmental groups that electric cars would soon be flying off the shelves seem to have missed a key player in making that claim come true: automakers. Rather than a showcase featuring dozens of the leanest-cleanest electric cars on the market, only two plug-in cars were showcased, along with many more SUV’s and gas guzzling trucks. The following article was published by the Associated Press: DETROIT (AP) — Automakers have promised to start selling hordes of electric cars in the next few years, but only two will be unveiled at the big Detroit auto show that kicks off this...

Milton Friedman explains why high taxes deter investment

Taxes are incentives. If we tax something, we get less of it. Indeed, this is what so-called 'sin taxes' are based on. High rates of taxation on income from investment - such as the US had until recently - will reduce investment just as rates of taxation on smoking will reduce smoking (in theory).

Center of the American Experiment Calls on U.S. Supreme Court to Protect First Amendment Rights of Personal Care Attendants (PCAs)

After filing an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a St. Cloud University faculty member, Kathy Uradnik, the Center filed an amicus brief in support of a related challenge, Bierman v. Dayton. The Center’s brief calls on the court to recognize that state laws forcing recipients of government welfare benefits to speak through unions is unconstitutional. It agrees with Petitioners in Bierman v. Dayton that the lower courts have improperly exempted such “exclusive representation” schemes from scrutiny under the First Amendment. PCAs in about a dozen states have been unionized by government unions such as AFSCME...