I’ve written a new issue paper on my Issues page concerning Impact Fees. After speaking with several members of the Lincoln County Home Builders Association, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing to do about impact fees is to get rid of them entirely. My new article explains why.
Look over to the left and you’ll notice a new item there, "Register to Vote in NC." Clicking this will take you straight to the voter registration page for North Carolina at Congress.org. If you aren’t registered to vote, do so! And remember–you can register Libertarian as well. We’ve done a lot of hard work to give you that option. Just type "Libertarian" in the "Choice of Party" line. (Entering anything other than Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian will result in you being listed as Unaffiliated–also a viable option.) You have until October 8 to register to vote in the November 2 election. So go, register! And vote, too! You do have real options, and your vote does matter!
The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has released a new radio commercial featuring Gubernatorial candidate Barbara Howe speaking against the issue of forced annexation. I like her "It’s the law, but it’s wrong" message. You can listen to the ad here (482k mp3 file).
Some people have taken me to task for saying that school choice initiatives would help benefit our county schools as well as those who take their children elsewhere. They claim that school choice makes the government schools suffer and harms the children who stay there, and the only ones who benefit are the ones who end up going to private school. Well, a new study, reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, demonstrates the benefits of school choice on those who remain in the government schools. Some highlights:
The fact that choice benefits public schools–not just students who switch to private schools–is a key aspect of school choice. Because public schools improve due to competition, school choice benefits reach beyond those students who take advantage of the opportunity to attend a private school with a voucher or tax credit scholarship. Because competition forces both public and private schools to improve, choice is like a rising tide that lifts all boats. Even students whose parents don’t shop around for a private school will benefit because their existing public schools will get better.
It’s true that some studies have shown no productivity gains for public schools when choice is introduced. But these have examined programs where choice is limited to only a small number of students or where the program is too new for effects to be visible. Hoxby, in contrast, looked at those programs that have existed for a while and which are large enough to produce real competition.
In Milwaukee, for example (where children receive vouchers worth up to $5,783), the improvement in the public schools has been impressive. Students in public schools where at least two-thirds of students were eligible for vouchers scored 8.1, 13.8, and 8.0 national percentile rank points higher in math, science, and language, respectively. Although still positive, achievement gains were somewhat smaller for students in public schools, where fewer students were eligible for vouchers.
The story in Michigan and Arizona is similar. In both states, public schools raised achievement in response to competition. The largest achievement gains were in those public schools that faced the most competition.
I attended the July 4th Fest on Sunday, which was set up by the Whit for Congress committee. It was a gathering of over 1500 Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents who all wanted to celebrate our freedom as a nation. It was a huge celebration with a barbecue, skydivers, bands, and several speakers, of whom I was one.
Fortunately, it didn’t rain on us, but man, was it hot! And with a high humidity as well, it was mostly just a battle to stay cool. I survived by telling myself that, when the Continental Congress voted on Virginia’s Resolution on Independence on July 2, 1776, they did it in a room without air conditioning wearing several layers of wool clothes in just this kind of weather. The only one who seemed unaffected was Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, who barely even broke a sweat despite never removing a part of his full suit and tie. His only disappointment was not being able to join in the skydiving, which he loves so much. (He’s a skydiving instructor who can do tandem jumps as well–so he could have been the one jumping with George Bush, Sr. on that day!)
I’m very proud that, out of all the speakers that day, I got the biggest cheers from the crowd. They absolutely loved my speech comparing our government to a game of Monopoly®. As usual, I recorded the speech, but there were some audio problems due to some otherwise very welcome wind, so apologies for those places where the wind hit the mic. It’s all here (2.6MB mp3 file). I’d like to thank Ray Ubinger for the photo.
I have been invited to speak at the July 4th Bash being held (when else?) on July 4th in Mebane. If all goes to plan, I’ll be addressing the crowd around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Wow, what a convention! I was a delegate to the 2004 Libertarian Party convention. We finally managed to nominate a candidate! The three main contendors were Aaron Russo, Michael Badnarik, and Gary Nolan, and in the first vote out of over 800 delegates only twelve votes separated the three of them. They were all fantastic candidates. After five hours of voting and run-off voting, we pared it down to Badnarik, which is very surprising since he was trailing so far behind Russo and Nolan prior to the convention.
No doubt, what turned it around for him was the debate. Even the hardcore Nolan and Russo supporters agreed he won hands-down. I really wantto see him debate Bush and Kerry. He’ll put them both to shame. Give him a few minutes with people and he’ll make them Libertarians.
Before I get too far into this entry, let me make this clear: Richard Dawkins did NOT back astrology.
One Dr. Percy Seymour, author of The Scientific Proof of Astrology (I can’t even say that phrase out loud without chuckling), claims that the Earth’s magnetic field may affect human brain development. I have no idea if that’s true or not. He then goes on to claim that this vindicates astrology, since the magnetic fields of Mars, Jupiter, etc. would also have an affect on us. Poppycock, I say! They’re just too far away. The magnetic field generated by your TV set would have more of an affect on you.
But the real kicker is this claim of his, reported in The Sunday Times of London, UK, in a story entitled "Top Scientist Gives Backing to Astrology:"
Seymour’s theories won qualified support from an unexpected source. Richard Dawkins, professor for the public understanding of science at Oxford University, who once suggested that astrologers be prosecuted under the trades descriptions act, said that although he had not read the book, Seymour’s ideas sounded interesting.
This prompted James Randi to write Dawkins on the matter, and this is part of the reply Randi received:
Jonathan Leake, the Science Editor of The Sunday Times (London) wrote an article on Sunday 16th May about a book that supports astrology. He telephoned to ask my opinion. I said I hadn’t seen the book and could therefore offer no opinion on it. He then read me a paragraph from the jacket notes, about experimental evidence that magnetic fields might influence fetal development. I said (approximately), "Well, that’s all very interesting, no doubt, but what the hell does it have to do with astrology?" The next day I found that Jonathan Leake had quoted me as providing "support from an unexpected quarter" having described the book as "interesting."
Dawkins also said:
I am FURIOUS. Please publicize the truth of what happened.
No problem. Richard Dawkins did NOT back astrology. You can read more at James Randi’s commentary covering the issue.
One more time, just for clarity: Richard Dawkins does NOT back astrology. And neither do I.
I was actually kinda proud of that little mock commercial…but then Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) had to go and one-up me (actually, it’s more like four- or five-up me). His latest song criticizing current US policies is both hilarious and to the point. You can listen to it here (3MB mp3 file) (WARNING: this piece contains a lot of words that some listeners, particularly Republicans, might find offensive. You have been warned).
There’s been a lot of to-do in Charlotte about the speeding scameras. I normally don’t comment on Charlotte issues, since I don’t live there and haven’t worked there in a couple of years. But something about this issue was just too irresistable.
See, the profit-mongers in Charlotte GovCo swear up and down that the new speeding cameras, to become operational next month, aren’t a revenue generation method…but then they turn around and say that the revenues generated will go to the school system. People like that are just begging to be made fun of. So here’s a mock commercial touting the benefits of the speeding cameras (1MB mp3 file).