Thomas K. Smith, billed as a “former state agency budget and policy director” in this Sunday’s Journal-Sentinel, wrote an opinion piece that was given the headline “Overpaid teachers?  Not even close to what really happens”
Of course, if you know me and my distaste for public schools, that’s the equivalent of the Dan-signal flying high in the skies overhead.  It’s time for some education for reals.
First, let me establish my thoughts.  Yes, teachers are overpaid, despite constantly complaining that they’re underpaid.  Yes, the ENTIRE SUMMER OFF is a factor – someone …

Now that we know they’re trying to give Obama power to control the Internet, I just realized that they’re trying to give him power over what is essentially an abstraction of a system.  If they feel fine doing that, what’s next?  Funny you should ask.

Happiness. Some people are happier than others, and in order to keep the playing field level, Obama will seek to make happy people less happy, though you could argue that he’s already doing this.
Your thoughts. You know “The Secret,” which talks about your ability to get …

Get the bleep out of my internet, Obama. 
Says CNET:
Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called …

The success of Whole Foods – advertising itself as selling “high quality natural and organic products” – is symptomatic of the popularity of so-called organic food.  Of course, like many issues hippies embrace, their beliefs aren’t only wrong, but they actually do a lot of damage.
Hippies believe that organic food is tastier, healthier, and better for the environment.  But let’s take a look at some of the arguments for organic food and take them apart.
“Organic food is tastier than non-organic food.” They’re not, and perceived differences are the result of …

Some Catholics who emphasize social justice believe that Jesus would support things like nationalized health care, so that everyone (including the poor) would have access.  I’m not so sure.
When people say “we need to help the poor,” and then support nationalized health care, they’re making a big leap.  For instance, who says helping the poor has to be a federal issue?  Can’t health care be left to the states?  Just because a bill calls for overhauling health care by placing power in the hands of the federal government means that …

Oh, what a time to be a Bears fan.
Not only do we have a Pro Bowl quarterback now, but the NFL’s All-Time Interception Leader is joining the Minnesota Vikings, sticking it to Packer fans who treated him like a hero for more than a decade and got repaid with what is essentially a “Bleep you, Packers.”
Packer fans are now quick to dismiss the Bears as their second most-hated team behind the Vikings.  So what?  That just makes the NFL’s All-Time Interception Leader’s decision to join Minnesota a bigger slap in …

Doesn’t it?
Forty percent of the messages on Twitter are “pointless babble” along the lines of “I am eating a sandwich now,” according to a study conducted by a US market research firm.
I guess it depends on your definition of “pointless babble.”

I don’t like it when people claim to be politically moderate, as you might remember from my post “Stop Pretending You’re Moderate.”  Political moderates see themselves as open-minded, non-party affiliated, and independent-thinking.  I see them as flimsy, bandwagon-jumping political weaklings with few to no political principles.
Politically, I am guided by some important principles:  life and economic liberty are two crucial ones.  Understanding those principles with my advanced conservative brain helps me understand news that comes my way; for example, when Bush and Pelosi were talking about stimulus in early 2008, …

With all of the government spending and stimulus spending going on these days, this…

…is the program that doesn’t have enough funding.
Not the Send-the-Asteroid-into-the-Earth program.  The Find-Big-Asteroids-That-Could-Collide-with-The-Earth one.
I can already see Obama talking about this at a Town Hall meeting:
“You know, there’s a lot of people out there who say ‘this government isn’t protecting the Earth from major asteroid collisions, so it must want people dead.’  Nothing can be further from the truth.  We simply don’t believe in investing money in a program that has the potential to saves everyone’s lives.”
I’m …

Liberals see conservative citizens angry over their abomination of a health care plan and don’t know what else to assume but the dirty tactics they frequently use: organizing fake protesters, sending in people who incite violence, and giving English pro-Democratic health care signs to people who don’t speak the language. Is it any wonder that the people who think they can manage the nation’s economy into prosperity also think any organic movement like this must have been managed by someone.
They don’t get it.
Americans are this angry over the …