Category: Life in America

Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor

via Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012).

Dear Manhattan Declaration Signers, Supporters, and Friends,

Just as Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus, we who are our Lord’s disciples weep at the death of Chuck Colson, our beloved friend and brother in Christ, who passed away this afternoon. We grieve but not as those who do not know that Christ has conquered death. We mourn the loss of a great leader but we confidently entrust him to Jesus Christ who is our hope in both life and death.

Chuck lived the principles of the Manhattan Declaration long before it was drafted. When humbled by his own failings, Chuck was born again in Christ in 1973. Continue reading “Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012)” →

Morning Bell: The Governing Class and Us

How commonplace is this waste? Given the sheer size and scope of the government — which is set to spend $6.3 trillion this year — it’s impossible to say. But just as pernicious as the countless billions that have been squandered is the cancerous attitude that has taken hold in Washington and that is metastasizing across the land. It’s one of thoughtless entitlement in which individuals who live off the bureaucratic beast reflexively take and spend more all while doing less, giving no consideration to those who fuel their appetites.

GSA Scandal Reveals True Costs of Big Government.

Mike BrownfieldApril 19, 2012 at 8:57 am

In a speech yesterday in Elyria, Ohio — a small town just outside Cleveland sitting at the forks of the Black River — President Barack Obama delivered a politically charged speech in which he hearkened back to the country’s roots, saying that his opponents “don’t seem to remember how America was built.” In his view, taxpayers want their money spent in ways that will help further “the larger project we call America.” In other words, more spending and bigger government paid for with higher taxes.

In a city quite unlike Elyria, thousands of miles west, sprawling forth from the desert just east of Death Valley, officials from this federal government provided the latest example of what happens when the president’s philosophy succeeds — when layer upon layer of government grows so big that it begins to serve the interests of a ruling class, rather than the people from whom it derives its power. Continue reading “Morning Bell: The Governing Class and Us” →

Tax Day Facts – Tim Scott, US Congress – SC District 1

Tax Day Facts.

Dear Friends,

True tax reform is something we must move towards, as our current convoluted and complicated system is hurting American families. A flatter, simpler tax code is absolutely necessary to ensure a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been sharing some interesting, and sometimes startling, facts regarding our tax code on Facebook and Twitter. I wanted to take a minute and share those with you here as well. Continue reading “Tax Day Facts – Tim Scott, US Congress – SC District 1” →

Jindal’s Tough Education Reforms – National Review Online

Peanut Gallery: Who could possibly oppose education reform? You guessed it… teachers – whether unionized or bureaucratically entrenched – they keep singing the same song: “Money, money money.” But times are changing….

Jindal’s reforms are smart, comprehensive, and innovative, representing the best of conservative thought on education. Rick Hess, director of education-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, has high praise for the reforms, calling them “both politically savvy and good public policy,” and important both “as an individual event, and part of a trend.” That is, Jindal’s reforms represent a victory for conservative education-reform policies, and represent the growing tide of support for such ideas. The measures are broken down into two bills, and have two major components: significantly increasing school choice, and increasing accountability.

Jindal’s Tough Education Reforms – National Review Online.

Jindal’s Tough Education Reforms
By Patrick Brennan
April 17, 2012 4:00 A.M.
Earlier this month, after a bipartisan majority passed two new education bills in the Louisiana state house, teachers took the day off from work to protest in concert with activists, including the rather obscure Occupy Baton Rouge. In Cajun tradition, they held a raucous “funeral for education reform.” But on the contrary, Louisiana’s school reforms represent a new national birth of freedom for education. This is a huge step forward for conservative policy, especially with the establishment of unprecedented access to school choice.

As Jim Geraghty wrote in National Review last fall, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has enjoyed a spectacular run of success at governing his state, overhauling Louisiana, once derided as America’s “banana republic,” by cutting down corruption, improving business-friendliness, and reforming the health-care system. In fact, Jindal’s efforts were so successful that the Democratic party essentially didn’t bother putting forth a challenger in 2010; Louisiana had gotten so bad that dramatically reducing spending and cracking down on ethics violations didn’t anger the body politic at all. But then, of course, there were still public schools: With sacrosanct spending levels, lifetime tenure, and no accountability measures, they are the Louisiana-like rump in every state, holding back student achievement. Continue reading “Jindal’s Tough Education Reforms – National Review Online” →