Tim Pawlenty's Google Test for government:
We can start by applying what I call “The Google Test.”
If you can find a good or service on the Internet, then the federal government probably doesn't need to be doing it.
The post office — the government printing office — Amtrak — Fannie and Freddie were all built for a different time in our country. When the private sector did not adequately provide those services. That's no longer the case.
Only 24 percent of Americans say their political views are about the same as President Obama's! Dang -- looks I'm finally in a super majority and I can quit worrying about Obama getting re-elected. But then a little farther into the poll report:
High-speed-rail advocate Geoff Paddock reaches for common sense and almost makes it:
Before rail supporters set their sights on a sleek, new rail system to Chicago, they should focus on bringing Amtrak back to Fort Wayne for the first time in more than 20 years, said Geoff Paddock, co-founder of the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association.
Professors William Ruger and Jason Sorens have just released their "Freedom in the 50 States" Index and -- wait for it, drum roll please -- Indiana is one of the five freest states, along with New Hampshire, South Dakota, Idaho and Nevada. The least free were New York, New Jersey, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts.
A 40-year political philosophy professor at Michigan State University has notcied ominous changes in his students in the last six or eight years:
As graduation day arrives, students will say goodbye to their classmates and teachers. And many are departing without a traditional yearbook to preserve those memories.
State budget cuts and the weak economy are causing elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country to either do away with yearbooks or look for more cost-effective publishing options.
The great star-spangled experiment is over at Goshen College. The college has decided to stop playing an instrumental version of the national anthem at sporting events, followed by a peace prayer:
Some were upset with the school's decision last year because the song's lyrics contain references to using war and military might to defend the country.
I'm with you, man:
I can be pretty cynical about "the homeless" and the pollyannaish approach to them by some of their advocates, but this seems pretty harsh even to me:
"It's tough to be a saint" department:
He is the rock legend dubbed 'Saint Bono' for his long-running campaign against global poverty.
But when Bono's band U2 perform at Glastonbury later this month, protesters are planning to accuse them of avoiding taxes which could have helped exactly the sort of people the singer cares about so dearly.
