September 02, 2010

RE: Lefty pundits, Obamacare

Posted by Rick Henderson at 8:08 PM

Mitch,

I think the problem Silver, Chait, et al., share is that they cannot imagine why any sensible person would oppose universal health care. Hence their insistence on dismissing anyone who suggests that the Dems' unpopularity among independents could have any connection to Obamacare.

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Zakaria's move to TIME inspires some criticism

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 4:42 PM

Now that Fareed Zakaria is on his way to TIME, the head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies feels the need to comment. Clifford May writes for National Review that TIME founder Henry Luce "would have been mortified":

The founder of Time magazine believed Americans had a responsibility to stand up to the enemies of freedom and democracy. He saw the 20th century as “the first great American Century.” He would have wanted the United States to lead in the current era as well.

Now Time has hired Fareed Zakaria, who is perhaps best known for The Post-American World, which, he insists, “is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.”

Among those rising: self-proclaimed jihadis and Islamists about whom Zakaria expresses minimal concern. On his CNN show the other day, he noted that a synagogue in Beirut is being restored. Hezbollah, he said, supports the restoration: “Yes, Hezbollah — the one that the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Hezbollah’s view on the renovation goes like this. ‘We respect divine religions, including the Jewish religion. The problem is with Israel’s occupation of Arab lands . . . not with the Jews.’ Food for thought.”

...

It all adds up to this: By defending such terrorist groups as Hezbollah, while simultaneously denouncing those attempting to understand the motives and methods of ruthless jihadis and insidious Islamists, [Joe] Klein, Zakaria, and Time are not just spreading disinformation — serving junk food for thought — they are pursuing intellectual disarmament in the middle of the War against the West.

By so doing, they also undermine those many Muslims who do not want to live under the rule of the Taliban, Khomeinist mullahs, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other militants intent on imposing their oppressive versions of Islam on all of us.

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Do left-leaning politicians have a clearer view than their pundit pals?

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 4:28 PM

Jay Cost thinks so, and he explains why in a new Weekly Standard column:

Nate Silver and Jonathan Chait disagree with my recent assessment that the health care law has been a factor in the political decline of the Democrats. Both of them make essentially the same point: you can't prove it! Well...yeah! Absent a poll asking people if their main reason for opposition to the Democrats is health care, the best we can do is make a circumstantial argument.* This kind of argumentation happens all the time, especially over at FiveThirtyEight: Every time Silver offers up a statistical correlation, he's making a circumstantial argument. Nothing wrong with that. And while correlation does not necessitate causation (and all that jazz), there is a very strong circumstantial argument to be made here. Consider the contrary assertion: The president and the Democrats' numbers dropped sharply between Memorial Day and Labor Day of last year, right when the health care debate heated up, then declined again between November and December as each chamber passed their versions of it; yet while the bills were manifestly unpopular, it was not a reason for the decline. Does that really make sense?

Cost goes on to write that — unlike pundits Silver and Chait — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., "one of the most innovative voices in the health care debate," is working to exempt his state from portions of ObamaCare. By the way, Wyden's up for re-election this year.

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Businessman chosen to lead Wake Education Partnership

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 2:51 PM

According to a News & Observer report, "Steve Parrott*, a former telecommunications executive who now runs an investment company, will be the next president of the Wake Education Partnership."

A businessman will be leading an Wake County educational organization? That is a fascinating concept.


*In 2009, Business Leader Magazine named Parrott as "one of the fifty most powerful people in North Carolina business."

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New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 1:58 PM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Anthony Greco's CarolinaJournal.tv report on one Raleigh neighborhood's opposition to plans for high-speed rail in their backyards.

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Massachusetts continues to lead the way

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 1:09 PM

Future national headlines are written daily in Massachusetts. The left still says the only way to get cost control in health care is with a public option or single-payer system. Evidence shows that patients armed with cash can reduce costs. ObamaCare tries neither approach, just like RomneyCare. A new report from the Center for Studying Health System Change has some unsurprising results from Boston.

• With state policy makers deferring hard decisions in the reform law about slowing the growth of health care spending, costs have continued to increase rapidly, fueled in part by the ability of Boston’s renowned academic medical centers (AMCs) to command higher prices and attract more patients from community hospitals.
• State regulators and health plans have been embroiled in disputes over proposed rate increases for the small group market, even though the major plans faced operating losses as medical costs continued to increase.
• The fabric of Boston’s traditionally strong health care safety net is changing with most community health centers (CHCs) benefiting from coverage expansions and safety net hospitals struggling financially as the state shifts uncompensated care funding to subsidies to expand coverage.

The solution proposed in Massachusetts will also be familiar in the future, as it is to those in Europe: forbid insurance premium increases and cut payments to doctors and hospitals.

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The ideological roots of our latest eco-terrorist

Posted by Dr. Roy Cordato at 12:52 PM

The views of James Lee, the eco-progressive that took his ideology to the barricades at the Discovery Channel yesterday--and then gave his life for the cause--are apparently well grounded in environmentalist tradition. Lee seemed to be well aware of his ideological roots. After all, one of his demands was that the Discovery Channel "develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences." Richard Morrison over at the American Spectator has an excellent article  where he demonstrates how Lee, at least intellectually, stands on the shoulders of those most admired by the modern environmental movement.

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Labor Day predictions

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 12:40 PM

From Larry Sabato

• US House: GOP +47 net
• US Senate: GOP +8 net, with an "outside shot" at +10
• Governors: GOP +8 net

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The John Locke Foundation Is History

Posted by Dr. Troy Kickler at 11:59 AM

If you need a break from the present--from Obamacare and Afghanistan and hurricanes--might I suggest the North Carolina History Project? It's an encyclopedia of the people, places, and things that made North Carolina what it is, for better or worse. Among the more interesting characters:

William Dudley Pelley, the self-help guru who dreamed of becoming "America's Hitler"

Robert L. Doughton, the congressman who got into a fistfight with a constituent

William Linkhaw, whose atrocious singing landed him in court for disturbing the peace

And there's so much more!

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Let's Make a Deal

Posted by Dr. Karen Y. Palasek at 10:25 AM

Recent experience shows that private entrepreneurs typically run these services more efficiently (turning losses to profits in many cases), and typically have the good sense not to build municipal facilities at all if they are not warranted by consumer demand, rather than civic fathers' egos. Moreover, market-driven entrepreneurs know when to fold 'em if things just don't pan out. That's assuming there are no foolish but accommodating local bailouts to keep them afloat. The only good news there is that communities are too broke and too overcommited, fiscally, to continue to fund foolishness. Thus they are turning to the private market to turn failures around, or to liquidate as needed. For more on this and other issues, see JLF's recently-released Agenda 2010, our shopping list for freedom-enhancing options across the policy spectrum.

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Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Posted by David N. Bass at 09:32 AM

• U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-1st, and Republican opponent Ashley Woolard to debate Sept. 12.


• The Heritage Foundation is running ads against U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th (scroll down).


• In new ad, GOP'er Ilario Pantano, candidate in the 7th Congressional District, says Pelosi and McIntyre deserted our troops.


• Party label is U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell’s biggest liability against local sportscaster Harold Johnson in the 8th Congressional District.


• Butterfield queried in probe of travel stipends.


• Real Jobs NC is influencing the political dynamics in North Carolina.


• Speaking of Real Jobs NC, they made a mistake in a campaign mailer about Chris Heagarty, candidate in state House District 41 race.


• U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-12th, defends his reputation after ethics probe.

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Byron York explores Democrats' recent missteps

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 08:08 AM

For his latest Washington Examiner piece, chief political correspondent Byron York discusses congressional Democrats' declining fortunes in the polls:

According to new, more detailed Gallup numbers, Democratic advantages on issues like health care, the economy, and handling corruption in government have simply disappeared. Democratic leads that were enormous when the party took control of Congress in 2006 have dwindled to nothing or have now become Republican advantages.

The most striking example is in health care. Back in October 2006, just before Democrats won control of Congress, Gallup asked the traditional question, "Do you think the Republicans in Congress or the Democrats in Congress would do a better job dealing with [the following issue]…" At that time, Democrats held a 64 percent to 25 percent lead on health care -- a 39 percentage-point advantage. Now, after Democrats passed their long-dreamed-of national health care bill, the result is 44 percent for Democrats versus 43 percent for Republicans -- a virtual tie. That is an enormous advantage to have thrown away during four years in power.

The news is just as bad for Democrats on the economy. In October 2006, Democrats held a 53 to 37 lead over Republicans on the issue. Now, after Democrats passed an $862 billion stimulus bill and touted 2010 as the "summer of recovery," Republicans hold a 49 to 38 lead. Democrats have gone from having a 16 point lead to being 11 points behind.

Then there is the question of dealing with corruption in government. Back in '06, a large majority -- 51 percent to 28 percent -- trusted Democrats more than Republicans to deal with the issue. Now, with Democrats facing high-profile ethics proceedings in Congress, Republicans hold a 38 to 35 lead.

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New Carolina Journal Online features

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 06:47 AM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Jana Benscoter's report on the pay supposedly part-time state legislators collected for their work in 2009. 

John Hood's Daily Journal focuses on some relatively good news for North Carolina's state government pension fund.

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September 01, 2010

NPR examines value-added analysis in W-S/Forsyth

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 8:51 PM

It is an interesting and timely interview.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Donald Martin, superintendent of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District in North Carolina, which has been using value-added analysis in evaluating its teachers for the past three years. Martin says the method is only one part of teacher evaluations, and that data collected is for internal use only.

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Despite anti-nukes group's findings, nuclear power is cheaper than solar

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 3:25 PM

The New York Times and other media outlets around the world devoted attention to a recent report from the anti-nuclear power advocacy group NC WARN that contended solar power is cheaper than nuclear power.

Daren Bakst and an Italian colleague from the Istituto Bruno Leoni say the real evidence leads to the exact opposite conclusion: Nuclear power is much cheaper than solar. Daren discusses details of his new report here and in the video clip below:

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New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 2:52 PM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features David Bass' report on the defeat of a Watauga County sales tax referendum.

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Deep-fried beer

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 2:12 PM

Can the State Fair get any better?

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Blame the yankees for Obama's 2008 victory in NC

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 12:03 PM

The American Politics Research journal recently published a fascinating article, "What Made Carolina Blue? In-Migration and the 2008 North Carolina Presidential Vote" by professors M.V. Hood III (UGA)* and Seth C. McKee (USF).

Hood and McKee concluded,

There is no question that the rise in participation exhibited a strong Democratic bias that enabled Obama to squeak out a victory in a state that the GOP owned for more than 30 years. As we have shown in this study, the changing face of the Tar Heel electorate directly contributed to North Carolina going blue in the 2008 presidential election. Nonetheless, we would not be surprised if the state returns to the Republican column in 2012. Our claim is not that North Carolina is now a Democratic state in presidential politics, but rather because of population change through a continuing and substantial influx of migrants born outside the South, these voters are pushing the state in a competitive direction—essentially making it a swing state, or to stick with the color-coded language, we contend that North Carolina has become a purple state in presidential elections.

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Ask the right questions

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 11:14 AM

If you want to expand the number of poor people on Medicaid even though it is worse than private insurance, claim that it will provide universal coverage even though it won't, and claim that anyone opposed to your idea is just mean, you might need an introduction to the concept of economic efficiency. As Steven Landsburg writes, economic efficiency is a great way to cut through bluster and have reasonable policy discussions. He suggests a health care discussion might go like this

Politician: Here’s my program to make the health care system work better by subsidizing health care for the poor.

Economist: Your program costs a billion dollars and delivers half a billion dollars worth of benefits. That’s inefficient.

Politician: So what?

Economist: Well, the “so what” is that maybe you could take that billion dollars and deliver a full billion dollars worth of benefits instead if you spent it a little differently. Why not just hand the cash out to poor people?

Politician: Because I don’t want to help all poor people. I only want to help sick poor people — and this is the only way I can think of to do that.

Economist: Ah. So your goal here is not to make the health care system work better after all. Instead it’s to transfer resources to sick poor people.

Politician: I guess so.

Economist: That’s fine. Now we can have a healthy debate about whether that’s what we want to do.

The Medicaid links above are to Sen. Ben Nelson's critique of a study on Obamacare's costs for Nebraska:

"For example, the Milliman study anticipates 100 percent participation in the expanded Medicaid program under health reform. Medicaid is voluntary and voluntary programs never see 100 percent participation.

“Also, the governor’s new study assumes that about 60,000 people who have private insurance now will switch to Medicaid. Will that happen when private insurance generally is better than Medicaid, which also comes with a stigma for some?

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You might be a progressive if...

Posted by Dr. Roy Cordato at 10:43 AM

...you have no idea why you should be embarrassed by this.

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Pre-K lobbyist: Beware of the John Locke Foundation

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 10:09 AM

From the N.C. Child Care Coalition Update #8 (August 2010) by Roz Savitt, Public Policy Consultant and Lobbyist, NC Child Care Coalition:

Do Elections Matter? You Bet They Do! Here is an Example

Have you ever heard of the North Carolina based John Locke Foundation? It is a leading conservative think tank that espouses the mantra of less government no matter what! They closely follow state politics and state legislation. Many, many public officials read their proposals and agree with them. So, this Fall if you get a chance to ask any candidates running for the NC General Assembly a question, why not ask them if they agree or not with the John Locke Foundation Agenda 2010? Under their ideas in the category of “Child Care and Early Childhood Education,” (Agenda 2010) they recommend:

1. Eliminate Smart Start and other subsidy programs for childcare and preschool expenses in favor of a refundable Smart Start tax credit for preschool children. For a smaller subset of desperately poor preschoolers who lack functioning parents, a carefully designed state intervention may be justified.

2. Limit regulation of daycare operations to health and safety requirements only. Parents should make their own decisions about the trade-off between price and child/staff ratios or qualifications.

3. Have a qualified, independent research firm redesign and conduct yearly evaluations of Smart Start and More at Four. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to determine if state pre-kindergarten programs produce lasting social and educational benefits as children progress through school.

Do Elections Matter? You Betcha!

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Barone on Big Units

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 09:45 AM

Michael Barone explores for the Washington Examiner the popular reaction to the Obama administration's ambitious agenda:

Some of the most important things in history are things that didn't happen -- even though just about everyone thought they would.

Recent example: Scads of liberals gleefully predicted that the financial crisis and deep recession would destroy Americans' faith in markets and increase their confidence in Big Government. Many conservatives gloomily feared they were right.

Hasn't happened. If anything, public opinion has moved in the other direction, with most Americans rejecting the stimulus package and the health care bill, denying that government action is needed to address global warming, and expressing negative feelings about labor unions.

How to explain this? One way is to see the public's reaction as opposition to governance by an alliance of Big Units -- Big Government, Big Business and Big Labor.

Remember that Barone will help the John Locke Foundation assess the politcal landscape during an election preview panel discussion Sept. 29 in Raleigh.

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ObamaCare: don't mend it; end it

Posted by George Leef at 09:40 AM

That's the message in this hard-hitting article by Dr. Hal Scherz. Voters should not fall for incumbent pols who promise to vote for bills to "fix" ObamaCare next year.

Dr. Scherz also wallops the deceptive ads featuring aging busybody Andy Griffith.

Here is Dr. Scherz's closing paragraph: "America's doctors have millions of personal interactions each week with patients. We have political power. And we intend to use it by working to defeat those who have disrupted and gravely endangered the best health-care system in the world."

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Gingrich reflects on Labor Day

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 09:38 AM

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich's latest Human Events column focuses on the national jobs picture as Labor Day approaches:

This year’s holiday is a particularly opportune time to reflect upon that message. America’s unemployment rate stands at a stubborn 9.5%.  If you include those who are underemployed (working part-time but seeking full-time work) that number is closer to 18.4%.

Last week, the Labor Department revised second quarter economic growth down from 2.4% to 1.6%.

Sales of existing homes are at the lowest level since 1995. 

The small business confidence survey is at the lowest level since the survey began in 2003. Overall, it has been 31 months since the recession started and the economy is still losing jobs.

This Labor Day, ask yourself: If America’s strength is indeed a product of the strength of the American worker, what does it tell us about America’s prospects when so many Americans are not working?

In other words, can America work if Americans aren’t working?

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A hole in the economics curriculum

Posted by George Leef at 09:26 AM

In this weeks Pope Center Clarion Call Professor Bruce Caldwell of Duke University discusses what he sees as a hole in the graduate economics curriculum and one that's developing for undergraduates -- courses in the history of economic thought.

If you think it deplorable that English students can get their degrees without reading Shakespeare, is it not equally deplorable that economics students can get theirs without reading Adam Smith, David Ricardo, F.A. Hayek and, yes, Karl Marx?

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Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Posted by David N. Bass at 08:00 AM

• Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr up by 5 percent in new Public Policy Polling survey.


• Republican candidate Phil Shepard isn't only running in state House District 15 — he's walking, too.


• Democrat Elaine Marshall’s campaign rips Burr's first ad of the General Election season.


• U.S. House Ethics Committee drops probe into U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-12th.


• TownHall.com discusses the potential for the N.C. Senate to switch to Republican control this year.


• Michelle Malkin highlights North Carolina's 2nd and 7th congressional district races on her blog.


• The Daily Tar Heel recounts his political career during an event sponsored by Young Democrats.


• U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-11th, to begin airing ads.


• A baker’s dozen file for N.C. Court of Appeals job.

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Fineman reading the tea (T.E.A.?) leaves

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 07:08 AM

Why? Boehner could have a shot at a more high-profile job after the November election.

Though Boehner doesn’t generate much enthusiasm among limited-government activists, Fineman’s article does offer some cause for optimism:

Ironically, Boehner was a Tea Partier well before the Tea Party. Once in Washington, he joined Newt Gingrich’s anti-establishment mujahedin, terrorizing insiders by attacking the House bank and other cushy congressional perks. Since then Boehner has compiled one of the most conservative voting records in the House. In many ways, he’s the sum of all that he’s not: He vowed to vote against earmarks and has kept his word. He’s for cutting spending (except at the Pentagon). Like most self-made businessmen, he has a conveniently constricted view of government. He hates taxes—he wants to make permanent the Bush tax cuts for the super-rich—and regulation, and downplays how government can improve people’s lives and help enterprise thrive.

Even that last little dig from Fineman could serve as a nice badge of honor for Boehner, who will likely hear nothing but criticism from Newsweek if he ever holds the House speaker’s gavel.

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What’s wrong with this statement?

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 07:07 AM

Obama’s cautious, late embrace of Volcker was all too typical. He had arrived in office perceived by some as the second coming of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Yet Obama hadn’t acted much like FDR in the ensuing months. Instead he had faithfully channeled Summers and Geithner and their conservative approach to stimulus and reform. Early on, Obama’s two key economic officials had argued down Christina Romer, the new chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, when she suggested a massive $1.2 trillion stimulus to make up for the collapse of private demand. They opted for slightly less than $800 billion. [Emphasis added.]

Conservative? Really? Because conservatives have had so many nice things to say about government stimulus measures?

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Newsweek writers back the VAT

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 07:06 AM

What’s wrong with that idea? Roy Cordato is glad you asked. He outlined problems with the VAT in an article published in the latest issue of The Freeman.

“The VAT is a pernicious and insidious tax that promises to fuel dramatic growth in government,” Roy explains. Later, he tells us how he really feels:

From the perspective of the State, this is a near-perfect tax. It touches every stage in every production process, from new homes to hair cuts, and allows the government, because of the required invoices at every point, to keep track of every business’s buying and selling. For a State bent on managing the details of business, possibly to implement CO2 controls or to make sure that politically favored firms (say, unionized ones) are patronized, the information can establish a useful database.

But beyond this, the VAT would be a revenue-generating machine, unmatched by any other form of taxation. First, it guarantees that a percentage of the total value of all goods and services sold in the economy goes to the State. Nothing escapes the tax. Also, because it is levied on such a broad base, very small increases in the rate would bring in large amounts of revenue. While this is also theoretically true of a retail sales tax, the multilayered enforcement mechanism of a VAT makes it almost impossible to avoid.

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New Carolina Journal Online features

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 06:56 AM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Sarah Okeson's report on concerns that Yadkin County commissioners might have violated the state's open-meetings law earlier this week.

John Hood's Daily Journal examines the true meaning of the concept of academic freedom.

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August 31, 2010

Watauga voters turn down sales-tax hike today

Posted by John Hood at 8:50 PM

It wasn’t even close, reports the Watauga Democrat:

Enough is enough."

That was the theme of opponents of a proposed quarter-cent sales-tax increase, who cited the recession and $70 million in new high school debt in mounting their argument against a new tax increase.

With all precincts reporting, the Watauga County sales-tax referendum was defeated, with 4,428 against and 2,705 for, with 62 percent in the majority. That includes early voting, when 1,599 were against and 988 were for the quarter-cent sales tax increase for an indoor recreation center and community center.

Opponents made extensive use of the findings of a John Locke Foundation study of the proposed Watauga tax hike.

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What about this summer's weather?

Posted by Dr. Roy Cordato at 3:43 PM

Recently the United Nation’s World Meteorlogical Organization put out the following statement about extreme weather events that have occurred this summer:

Several regions of the world are currently coping with severe weather-related events: flash floods and widespread flooding in large parts of Asia and parts of Central Europe while other regions are also affected: by heatwave and drought in Russian Federation, mudslides in China and severe droughts in sub-Saharan Africa. While a longer time range is required to establish whether an individual event is attributable to climate change, the sequence of current events matches IPCC projections of more frequent and more intense extreme weather events due to global warming. The Monsoon activity in Pakistan and other countries in South-East Asia is aggravated by the la Niña phenomenon, now well established in the Pacific Ocean.

This claim has been challenged by several different experts. Here is a response by Professor Roger Pielke Jr. from the University of Colorado. Pielke essentially claims the IPCC makes no such projections. The comments below Pielke's blog post are also worth reading.

Also, over at the blog Meteorlogial Musings there is a very good graph showing the relationship between extreme weather events and global temperatures. What the author shows is that such events are just as likely to occur when such temperatures are relatively cool as when they are warm. Another point to note in this blog is that in that while the northern hemisphere is experiencing a warmer than normal summer the southern hemisphere is experiencing a brutally cold winter.

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More ethics woes for Butterfield

Posted by David N. Bass at 3:40 PM

Accepting, and then refusing to return, campaign cash from Charlie Rangel isn't U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield's only ethical hurdle as the fall campaign season gets under way.

The Democrat from North Carolina's 1st Congressional District also faces an ethics probe for potentially misusing taxpayer funds on foreign travel, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Butterfield is one of a half-dozen House lawmakers in hot water over the travel:

The investigation follows a Wall Street Journal article in March that said lawmakers had used daily cash stipends, meant to cover certain costs of official government travel overseas, to cover expenses that appeared to be unauthorized by House rules. An independent ethics board has referred the matter to the House ethics committee.

Congressional rules say the daily travel funds, called a per diem, must be spent on meals, cabs and other travel expenses. But when lawmakers travel, many of their meals and expenses are picked up by other people, such as foreign government officials or U.S. ambassadors.

That can leave lawmakers with leftover money. Lawmakers routinely keep the extra funds or spend it on gifts, shopping or to cover their spouses' travel expenses, according to dozens of current and former lawmakers.

In January, Carolina Journal reported on Butterfield's pricy travel to Copenhagen for climate-change talks. The total bill was $4,406 for food and lodging at the five-star Copenhagen Marriot Hotel.

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NC Supreme Court: State Doesn't Have to Reduce "Life" Sentences

Posted by Daren Bakst at 3:25 PM

The North Carolina Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in a case called Jones v Keller.  In a 5-2 opinion, the Court held that a prisoner (Alford Jones) serving a "life" sentence (defined as 80 years) was not unlawfully imprisoned regardless of the good behavior credits he earned.

Facts

- Life sentences between April 8, 1974 and June 30, 1978 were statutorily defined as 80 years. This is the sentence applicable to Jones.

- Department of Correction (DOC) regulations define good time, gain time, and merit time (for simplicity sake, "good behavior") credits as (according to the Court):

"[t]ime credits applied to an inmate's sentence that reduce [] the amount of time to be served" and state that "[g]ood time is sentence reduction credits awarded, at the rate of one day deducted for each day served in custody for good behavior and/or without an infraction of inmate conduct rules."

Analysis

There's nothing confusing about this.  Jones was sentenced to serve 80 years and the length of his sentence was supposed to be offset by these "good behavior" credits.

So how did the Court conclude otherwise: through the use of judicial activism.

1) The DOC argued that the credits were never meant to determine unconditional release dates, but to calculate parole eligibility, and other matters.

Where exactly does it say that in the plain language of the DOC's own regulations?  It doesn't.

2) Even if the law does say that Jones should be released, the Court argued that the state has a compelling reason not to release him because he would endanger public safety (he was convicted of first-degree murder).

The fact that they are even weighing his rights to the public safety is an indication of how weak the Court's argument is regarding the proper applicability of the credits.

The Court apparently believes we can take away fundamental rights if it is in the greater good--a scary proposition. In this case, Jone's liberty interests are being violated (even though he is a prisoner) and the actions amount to an ex post facto law. See Weaver v. Graham 450 U.S. 24.*

In this balancing test, the Court presumes that Jones is having his rights violated and is entitled to be released but the state interest is more compelling. What about other prisoners? Does this mean a criminal sentence is subject to change whenever a government agency thinks it would be best not to release that individual?

Since I don't want to write a law review article on this, I highly recommend reading Justice Timmons-Goodson's dissent.

She sums up the case well when she wrote:

This case arises out of a mistake of law by the DOC that it now seeks to rectify through unwritten, retrospective policy pronouncements some thirty-five years after the fact.

One more excerpt:

Today’s decision offends common notions of fundamental fairness.  For thirty years, Jones has behaved well, participated in prison work release and study programs, and otherwise performed the conditions necessary to earn sentence reduction credits.  Now the State refuses to grant Jones the benefit of his efforts. And although the majority claims the DOC does not have “carte blanche” over the administration of prisoners’ sentences, the rejection of Jones’s fundamental liberty interests in favor of the DOC’s “interpretation” of an unwritten and heretofore unarticulated practice is a departure from established principles. One wonders what other unwritten policies the DOC operates under and whether they, too, are supported by law. Today’s decision condones spontaneous rule-making by the DOC that targets individuals retroactively, thereby abdicating this Court’s role as a protector of Constitutional liberty rights.

This decision may be politically popular but it is precisely the type of case that undermines the legitimacy of the judiciary. The Court is supposed to interpret laws, no matter how ignorant they may be.

Note: Don't read this note unless you want to get into the weeds: An ex post facto law applies to laws enacted after a crime has been committed--it is not absolutely clear how these good faith credits applied when Jones committed his crime.  I didn't find anything in the opinion to suggest that such credits didn't apply at the time of the crime (although the regulations had been changed several times according to the Court). If however the credits didn't apply, then it would make the ex post facto law argument more difficult (if not inapplicable).

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Final spending increased $250 million in FY2010

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 2:32 PM

The final report on fiscal year 2010 revenue and spending only tells part of the story. It does not count $1.4 billion in federal bailout funds for the state. The bailout funds were counted in fiscal year 2009 when $680 million rained down on Raleigh.

Counting bailout money for FY2009 but not for FY2010 makes it look like the governor and legislature were frugal and made tough decisions to save $1.1 billion, though no such thing happened.

With the bailout, the state spent $250 million more in FY2010 than in FY2009, or $19.9 billion of $20.1 billion it had available. It would be nice if the Controller's office recognized this and stopped comparing apples and oranges.

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New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 2:14 PM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features David Bass' report about the N.C. Republican Party's news conference today launching the GOP's 2010 election campaign. 

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New Carolina Journal Online exclusive

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 1:36 PM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Anthony Greco's CarolinaJournal.tv report on Gov. Beverly Perdue's controversial decision to grant a state award to the most high-profile opponent of Wake County school board policy changes.

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Re: A correlation vs. causation problem

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 1:22 PM

Joe,

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that all politicians who have pushed for increased homeownership have bought into the line that the TIME story seems to suggest — that magical properties transform a new homeowner into a responsible person.

But I do suspect that many who have pushed for homeownership haven't thought very clearly about the links between homeownership and those other worthwhile goals (civic engagement, low crimes rates, etc.)

If you think homeownership is good, you could lower the standards for homeownership. Or you could pursue policies that help promote the conditions that will lead more people to qualify for market-based homeownership standards.

It shouldn't be too hard to guess which option appeals more to the politician looking for a simple solution.

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Fox and Friends' Gretchen Carlson takes Robert Gibbs to the woodshed

Posted by Dr. Roy Cordato at 12:43 PM

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Re: A correlation vs. causation problem

Posted by Joseph Coletti at 12:39 PM

Mitch, didn't Jack Kemp kind of take the "home ownership leads to good things" line? That was why he wanted to turn public housing over to the residents.

Jack Kemp ... continues to advocate the expansion of home ownership among the poor through resident management and ownership of public and subsidized housing

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Go ahead and drink that adult beverage

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 11:44 AM

Courtesy of Time.com:

But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables — socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on — the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who had never been drinkers, second-highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers.

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Good teachers in LA and beyond

Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 11:18 AM

According to a follow-up analysis of value-added scores for Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD) teachers, the district's best elementary school teachers share few common traits.

The [Los Angeles] Times found that the 100 most effective [LAUSD] teachers were scattered across the city, from Pacoima to Gardena, Woodland Hills to Bell. They varied widely in race, age, years of experience and education level. They taught students who were wealthy and poor, gifted and struggling.

In visits to several of their classrooms, reporters found their teaching styles and personalities to differ significantly. They were quiet and animated, smiling and stern. Some stuck to the basics, while others veered far from the district’s often-rigid curriculum. Those interviewed said repeatedly that being effective at raising students’ performance does not mean simply “teaching to the test,” as critics of value-added analysis say they fear.

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Sowell's sayings strike gold

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 10:29 AM

One of the best things about reading a collection of Thomas Sowell's short essays and columns is running across a great sentence that captures the essence of an important truth.

One of my favorites from a previous collection was this one:

Economists may say that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but politicians get elected by promising free lunches.

Now, in the new book Dismantling America, we read:

Whoever called politics "the art of the possible" must have had a strange idea of what is possible or a strange idea of politics, where the impossible is one of the biggest vote-getters.

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This is a must read

Posted by Dr. Michael Sanera at 09:46 AM

Thanks to the guys at Cafe Hayek, "where orders emerge," for this gem from the UK.  I will send this to my favorite liberal, left-wing, but very funny mechanics, PBS's Car Guys, and see if they "get" it. It is the car owner's version of I, Pencil.

I had to buy a new brake caliper for one of my cars the other day. I ordered it online, it came in the post, I took it to the garage and it went straight on with a few bolts.

Nothing remarkable about that. The car is an old 911, the caliper was for a 911 of the same year, so obviously it was going to fit.

But at the same time, it's a matter for extreme wonderment. At least, I think it is, and I think you should too, because if it weren't true, none of us but the very rich would own cars.

Anyone who has ever done any proper metalwork will know that, theoretically, a 10mm diameter rod won't go into a 10mm diameter hole. Either the hole must be a bit bigger or the rod a bit smaller, or maybe a bit of both. But by how much? Fettle away a bit at each part and eventually they'll go together.

In reality, of course, nothing can be exactly 10mm; it will always be 10mm plus or minus something. So your hole might in reality be 10.03mm, and your rod might be 9.92mm, so they will  go together. But that may be the other way around, and then they won't.

....

That something as complex as a car can be owned by ordinary people is, I think, one of the greatest achievements of humanity. It can be attributed to improved standards of living and the relative price of Mars Bars, but it's mainly because the caliper fits the 911.

Bloody marvellous, isn't it?

 

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Ed Schultz, jilted lover

Posted by David N. Bass at 08:05 AM

Ed Schultz is mad. Not because the MSNBC host’s ratings are in the garbage disposal compared to anyone on FOX News. And not because of those evil Republicans and “tea baggers.” It’s because of President Barack Obama and Democrats.

Philip Klein enlightens us in the latest dead tree version of The American Spectator. Klein attended the annual Netroots Nation convention this year, and brought away some fascinating anecdotes from Big Ed:

“I know all of you on the campaign trail busted a** for Democrats,” Schultz hollered, clenched microphone in hand, pacing around the stage like a stand-up comic. “And I know you were told that all we need is 60 votes. Then you got introduced to Ben Nelson.”

The crowd booed loudly.

“Then you got introduced to Joe Liberman.”

More boos.

“Let’s not forget Mary Landrieu.”

Another round of boos.

“And let’s not forget Blanche Lincoln.”

As the crowd continued to boo, Shultz screamed: “Bulls**t! Bulls**t!”

SNIP

Schultz’s critique of the Democrats extended all the way up to Obama himself.

“They must have a war room at the White House,” he mused. “I think they’ve got a sissy room, too.”

His grip of the moment was that the Obama administration had ousted Shirley Sherrod, panicking after Andrew Breitbart had posted an edited video of her speaking that portrayed her as a racist. But a broader grip was that President Obama didn’t give interviews to MSNBC in general and him in particular [David Bass' take: Obama doesn’t want to be associated with a foul-mouthed blowhard who erupts in illogical tirades at whim. But maybe it’s just me.].

“I busted my a** for Obama,” he sadly recounted, like a jilted lover. “President Obama, he don’t come to Ed. He comes to Bret Baier on Fox News — in my time slot.” [DB's take: That's because he wanted someone to be watching].

Attendees of the convention should’ve been thankful that Big Ed didn’t threaten to torch the [bleep]ing place.

In his closing paragraph, Klein makes a poignant observation about the convention and the state of progressivism in general: if they’re not happy with what Obama has given them now, they’ll never be happy, because this is the best it’s going to get for them.

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Latest dispatches from the campaign trail

Posted by David N. Bass at 07:40 AM

• Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has 39-32 lead over Democrat Elaine Marshall among independents, according to a new Civitas poll.


• Some Tar Heel candidates are taking advantage of social media.


• Independent candidate George Shaeffer talks to The Daily News about his bid in state House District 15.


• U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th, challenges Republican Ilario Pantano’s position on free trade in new ad.


• The Hill: Republicans are getting increasingly optimistic about their chances of re-taking Congress in the fall.


• Will U.S. Attorney George Holding, the federal prosecutor in the Mike Easley and John Edwards investigations, take on Roy Cooper for N.C. Attorney General in 2012?


• Burr stays positive in his first ad of the General Election campaign.


• Former N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt stumps for Democratic House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman in Lexington.

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TIME writer not sticking to the script

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 07:01 AM

TIME’s Michael Grunwald must have missed the mainstream media memo that suggested avoiding any mention of other motivating factors behind the stimulus bill:

[T]he battle over the Recovery Act's short-term rescue has obscured its more enduring mission: a long-term push to change the country. It was about jobs, sure, but also about fighting oil addiction and global warming, transforming health care and education, and building a competitive 21st century economy. Some Republicans have called it an under-the-radar scramble to advance Obama's agenda — and they've got a point.

Yes, it is precisely this aspect of the stimulus bill — along with skepticism about its short-run job implications — that has caused a public backlash.

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A correlation vs. causation problem

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 07:00 AM

Early in Barbara Kiviat’s piece, we learn:

A house with a front lawn and a picket fence wasn't just a nice place to live or a risk-free investment; it was a way to transform a nation.

Houses owned by the people who lived in them, we believed, created social and financial stability — more involved citizens, safer neighborhoods, kids who did better in school. No wonder leaders of all political stripes wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.

What strikes me most about the quotation is the notion that homeownership could “create” all of those laudable byproducts. Did any thoughtful person ever believe that idea? Owning a home will magically transform a person into a responsible member of society?

Think carefully about this topic, and you’re much more likely to come to the conclusion that the characteristics that used to be required to buy a home — including having enough money to make a down payment and a livelihood that would enable you to cover monthly bills — tend to correlate well with civic involvement, parental engagement, and a law-abiding lifestyle. In other words, homeownership reflects (or at least reflected) positive character traits; it doesn’t bring them into existence.

That’s why it seems so clear that government efforts to boost homeownership rates artificially were destined to fail.

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Stein pokes fun at ‘Net neutrality’

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 06:58 AM

Senator Al Franken, at the Netroots Nation conference in late July, talked about a dystopian future without Net neutrality: “How long do you think it will take before the Fox News website loads five times faster than Daily Kos?” Hopefully, this will be happen right away. Fox News should load 20 times faster than Daily Kos, because far more people read it. It’s better for society that millions of people get someplace a little faster while the relatively few Daily Kos readers wait a few seconds. This is why not all roads are the same width. And more people go to the Fox News site because it’s got tons of people reporting, balancing and fairing, whereas two of the contributing editors at Daily Kos are named DarkSyde and Angry Mouse.

Later, Stein captures the essence of the debate:

I believe that as great as the Internet is, it can be better. And we shouldn’t create laws that prevent companies from making it better.

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New Carolina Journal Online features

Posted by Mitch Kokai at 06:48 AM

The latest Carolina Journal Online exclusive features Hal Young's report about the increasing use of comic books and graphic novels to boost literacy. 

John Hood's Daily Journal explains that disasters occasionally can lead to positive reforms, as in the case of post-Katrina education policies in Louisiana.

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