by Jim Kouri

On Fox News Channel's top-rated Fox & Friends, host Gretchen Carlson would not allow the White House press secretary to do what his ilk to do best: revise history.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, during what he obviously believed was a Tuesday morning spin session, attempted to evade and avoid direct questions about President Barack Obama's and Vice President Joe Biden attempting to take political credit for the current "highly stable" situation in Iraq that is allowing tens of thousands of American warriors to return home.

Most Americans welcomed the announcement that US-led combat operations in Iraq were over, and that the last combat unit was to be sent home. Last night, when President Obama addressed the nation via live television, he obviously counted on the short memories of the American people in his attempt to garner credit.

By Brian Balfour | NC Civitas

Defenders of economic “stimulus” schemes insist that during a recession, government must step in to get idle resources working again. Spending on anything, anywhere will put idle resources such as labor and equipment back to work, so the theory goes.

But such crude, superstitious notions overlook (among many) an important point. As St. Lawrence University (located in New York state) economist Steven Horwitz pointed out recently, capital is not homogeneous. That is, workers are trained to perform certain tasks and most machinery is designed for very specific purposes – to be performed with specific complimentary inputs. As Horwitz noted in a recent “Nightly Business Report” column for PBS:

“One of the gravest sins of modern economics is its tendency to treat resources, both capital and labor, as essentially homogenous aggregates. Capital is more or less interchangeable with other capital, and labor is treated much the same.”

by Jim Kouri

"The astonishing fact that Iran has been allowed to progress unimpeded to this point demonstrates that President Obama has been an abject failure in even his most fundamental responsibility of protecting the American people," said Arizona's U.S. Congressman Trent Franks.

Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear capabilities is unacceptable in the eyes of the U.S. government, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said yesterday, according to an American Forces Press Service report by Army Sergeant First-Class Michael Carden.

"Iran is a particularly difficult issue," Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told local business leaders in Detroit. "Their achieving a nuclear weapon capability is unacceptable and incredibly destabilizing."

By John Hood

RALEIGH – I believe them. Why shouldn’t I?

I believe Raleigh attorney John Wallace and other representatives of Beverly Perdue’s political team when they say there was no intent to mislead voters or evade state law by failing to report dozens of free flights Perdue took during her 2004 and 2008 campaigns.

The Democratic majority on North Carolina’s state board of elections also believe Perdue’s team, which is why the board chose to impose a $30,000 fine for late campaign reporting and end its probe of the matter – rather than holding hearings, putting Perdue’s aides under oath, and investigating whether costlier punishments were warranted for intentional evasion of campaign laws.

I believe Wallace’s explanation that the reason the Perdue team had failed to report the 42 flights was because the campaign kept sloppy records. I believe this explanation despite the fact that, as the initial inquiry by board of elections investigator Kim Strach revealed, the Perdue campaign kept meticulous records of her travels.

by Jim Kouri

Arizona Senator John McCain is enjoying a comfortable lead over his primary opponent J.D. Hayworth, who garnered the support of the Tea Party movement and most conservative organizations.

Many political pundits say they believe that Senator John McCain will win Arizona's Republican primary, after his almost sudden embrace of conservatism and spending millions of dollars fighting former congressman and conservative radio show host J.D. Hayworth.

While McCain enjoys the support of the GOP establishment, the Tea Party groups support Hayworth who, unlike McCain, is seeking tough federal action on the illegal immigration issue.

By David Mofford

Recently the Raleigh News & Observer’s website carried a picture of a man and a woman conversing in front of the Wake County Schools building. The caption identified them by name and explained that the woman was in favor of the current busing policy that the existing board majority is slated to end, while the gentleman was not. While the reader could see the conviction on both of their faces, the two appeared to be enjoying a peaceable, issues-based, civil discussion.

By John Hood

RALEIGH – For years, environmental activists have pushed state and federal officials to enact costly, far-reaching policies to combat global warming. They’ve run ad campaigns and endorsed politicians. They’ve attacked the reputation of scientists who don’t agree with their alarmism about climate change. They’ve produced books, websites, videos, even Hollywood movies to push their agenda.

And they’ve failed.

In Washington, Senate Democrats have just decided not to move a “cap and trade” bill designed to change the structure of energy production in the United States by raising the price of fossil fuels. They couldn’t muster enough votes, despite their large majority, to pass the unpopular bill.

By Rich Lowry




White House economic adviser Christina Romer is off-message. Her offense is nearly as grave as that of White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who let slip that Democrats are in danger of losing the House. Romer's indiscretion is an academic paper arguing that tax increases kill growth ... just as the White House prepares to increase taxes.

Published with her husband in the June issue of The American Economic Review, Romer's paper is complicated and nuanced, befitting the work of a serious academic economist. It surveys tax changes during the past few decades in widely varying circumstances. But here's a crude, two-sentence takeaway: "Our estimates suggest that a tax increase of 1 percent of GDP reduces output over the next three years by nearly 3 percent. The effect is highly significant."

Remembering August 1945

By Dr. Paul Kengor

This week marks 65 years since the United States dropped the atomic bomb. On August 6, 1945, President Harry Truman delivered a “rain of ruin” upon Hiroshima, Japan, with Nagasaki hit three days later, killing 100,000 to 200,000.

Truman’s objective was to compel surrender from an intransigent enemy that refused to halt its naked aggression. The barbarous mentality of 1940s Japan was beyond belief. An entire nation lost its mind, consumed by a ferocious militarism and hell-bent on suicide. Facing such fanaticism, Truman felt no alternative but to use the bomb. As George C. Marshall put it, the Allies needed something extraordinary “to shock [the Japanese] into action.” Nothing else was working. Japan was committed to a downward death spiral, with no end in sight.

“We had to end the war,” said a desperate Marshall later. “We had to save American lives.”

By John Hood

RALEIGH – Gov. Beverly Perdue remains one of the most unpopular governors in recent North Carolina history. But lately she’s been toying publicly with some ideas that could help boost her political bottom line a bit – while also boosting the state’s fiscal position.

As the Associated Press reported over the weekend, Perdue made two interesting statements while signing some 2010 legislation into law. After affixing her signature to the General Assembly’s latest, ill-advised attempt to prohibit video gambling, the governor indicated that she might be willing to rethink the idea of legalizing it during a future legislative session.

THE RICH LOWRY COLUMN
By Rich Lowry

The great Democratic revolution of 2008 is entering its pitiful stage.

If Nancy Pelosi had a guillotine, Robert Gibbs' head would be rolling around in a basket. His offense? Uttering perhaps the most unassailably accurate statement of his tenure as White House press secretary: that there is "no doubt" Republicans might take back the House.

By John Hood

RALEIGH – Almost everyone agrees that improving the quality of the educational workforce is an indispensable element of any program to improve school performance.

I use the term “almost” because there is a significant player in North Carolina’s school-reform debate that doesn’t agree: the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state’s largest teacher union.

Oh, I know that the NCAE and its allies say they favor measures to attract and retain good teachers. But as a practical matter, they oppose virtually all policies that would accomplish the goal – from ending tenure and paying for performance to parental-choice measures that would give parents more freedom to choose schools based on the quality of teachers and academic programs.

By John Hood

RALEIGH – During the past couple of years of recessionary budgets, revenue collections have repeatedly fallen short of projections. For North Carolina lawmakers and budget officials trying to avoid major reductions in spending that would anger their constituencies, one of the few bright spots in the revenue picture was a series of surprising gains in corporate-tax receipts that somewhat offset other losses.

The new revenue didn’t come in because of higher profits. Rather, the Department of Revenue implemented changes in how it computed and collected corporate taxes, including the handy tool of a special penalty on firms that, in the department’s view, had deliberately rearranged their finances to evade their tax liability.

By Charles Walsh | NC Civitas

Under the current system, state legislators can decide what businesses deserve a break from taxes and those which don’t qualify. In this “mother knows best” manner, the government can “protect” North Carolina citizens from “dangerous,” profit-seeking businesses.

A potential problem with widespread tax cuts for businesses is the current state of the budget. The deficit continues to grow and this hardly seems the time to be cutting taxes. However, if the government stymied the amount of money it is spending to “encourage economic development” and never took it from North Carolina businesses in the first place, all businesses - not merely a select few - would have the potential to grow.

The Rich Lowry Column | By Rich Lowry

The legal case against the Arizona immigration law is unassailable.

The Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union argue that the law impermissibly "conflicts with federal law and enforcement priorities," in the words of the ACLU suit. And who can disagree? Clearly, Arizona's priority is to enforce the nation's immigration laws; the federal government's priority is to ignore them as much as possible. Case closed.

By Andrew Henson | NC Civitas

RALEIGH - Just recently the North Carolina House of Representatives passed their anxiously awaited budget for fiscal year 2010-11. As many had expected, the content of this year’s budget mirrored the tribulations of North Carolina’s economy, as many critical programs suffered sizeable budget cuts to reconcile the state’s $1 billion budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year. Among the many programs targeted for large budget cuts was public education ($282 million). In the midst of many vital and effective programs tightening their belts, however, a striking inconsistency appeared as the House budget included a $25.5 million appropriation for Prisoner Education at community colleges.

The Prisoner Education Program (PEP) has been around for over 30 years and has recently been scrutinized by state lawmakers scrambling to raise money to combat impending budget shortfalls. Funding amounting to $33 million was appropriated to the PEP in 2009-10 on a non-recurring basis, with funding for 2010-11 contingent upon the results of a study of the program’s effectiveness which was completed earlier this year. The House’s proposed $25.5 million expenditure would reflect some minor changes recommended by the study.

by Frank Williams

Over the past couple of weeks the media has made much of NBA star LeBron James' free agency and subsequent decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. When I look at this situation from the perspective of a public relations counselor, several things jump out at me.

First, let's consider some background and context.

Prior to last night, LeBron James had been a Cleveland Cavalier for his entire professional career. When he joined the Cavaliers, they were at the bottom of the NBA. For the past four years, they have been legitimate contenders for an NBA title. James made Cleveland a championship contender -- an important fact when you consider that the last time a Cleveland professional sports team won a championship was in 1964. He brought hope to a city of sports fans that feels it has been cursed since 1964.

By John Hood

RALEIGH – A long-running dispute over control of hydroelectric plants, lakefront property, and the flow of the Yadkin River mutated a few days ago into a momentous test of the freedom of the press.

It’s a test that most North Carolina politicians, Democrats and Republicans, failed miserably.

Sen. Fletcher Hartsell is a Republican who maintains close ties with the Democratic majority and thus chairs a Senate judiciary committee. Hartsell has been a key supporter of a plan for the state to assume control of four dams and 38,000 acres of land owned by Alcoa in Davidson, Davie, Montgomery, Rowan, and Stanly counties.

The Rich Lowry Column
By Rich Lowry

Eva Moskowitz has become an expert at being hated.

It started a few years ago when the "bleeding-heart liberal," as she describes herself, served on the New York City Council as chairwoman of the education committee. In an excess of public spiritedness, she subjected the contract of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), as well as the contracts of the principals and custodians, to critical scrutiny at public hearings. Her life would never be the same.

By Jason Sutton

RALEIGH - With the goal being to control the sale of liquor in the state, the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABC) was originally created to impose morality on the citizens of North Carolina. However, the system still exists because it is an entrenched interest employing thousands of state workers. For the purposes of increased efficiency in the liquor market, the expansion of private enterprise and ceasing the imposition of morality by the state of North Carolina, the ABC System should be totally eliminated.

In December 2008, the Program Evaluation Division or North Carolina published a report calling the ABC System “outdated” and in need of “modernization.” The report outlines issues such as the systems failure to keep pace with economic and demographic changes in the state and the lack of a clearly defined mission for local boards.

By John Hood

RALEIGH – From Brussels and London to Washington and Raleigh, politicians are debating about how governments should respond to persistent economic woes.

There are far more than two identifiable opinions, I’ll grant you, but they can be grouped into two general categories. If you want to wax philosophical, you can affix a variety of labels to the two teams: Keynesians vs. free-marketeers, authoritarians vs. libertarians, Left vs. Right.

Being the cheeky champion of advertising that I am, however, I’ll suggest slightly different labels: Tastes Great vs. Less Filling.

By Rich Lowry

The BP spill won't destroy Barack Obama's presidency. It won't even significantly dent his standing in polls, if current trends hold. But it should mark the end of a period of unbridled liberal presumption that began with his rise in 2007.

In his new book, "The Icarus Syndrome," author Peter Beinart writes of "hubris bubbles" that infect American foreign policy after successes. In the domestic arena, liberalism has been riding its most expansive hubris bubble since Lyndon Johnson modestly declared on the cusp of the Great Society, "These are the most hopeful times since Christ was born."

By Jason Sutton | Civitas

RALEIGH- Bills introduced during the 2010 would expand the already unmanageable bureaucracy in North Carolina, waste millions of your valuable tax dollars and push a “green” agenda that is nothing more than a veiled power grab and an attempt to supplement revenue. For those who thought former Vice-President Al Gore had cornered the market on climate change alarmism, meet North Carolina’s Green Team global warming alarmists.

Gore’s Groupies

Reps. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Alice Graham Underhill (D-Pamlico) and Winkie Wilkins (D-Durham) are the primary sponsors of the House Bills listed below. The Senate counterparts to the bills introduced in the House are sponsored by Josh Stein (D-Wake) and co-sponsored by Charles Albertson (D-Duplin). For their efforts to push Gore’s Green agenda and solve a problem that may not even exist, Harrison, Underhill, Wilkins, Stein and Albertson have earned the dubious title of “Gore’s Groupies.”

By John Hood

RALEIGH – I admit it. I’m confused. North Carolina politicians are confusing me.

Which state politicians are confusing me? The leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly, for starters. Their position appears to be that allowing private citizens to set up and play video-gambling machines at legal establishments would be morally abominable, even if the resulting business would throw off tens if not hundreds of millions of tax dollars into state and local treasuries.

North Carolina governments shouldn’t be paying their bills from ill-gotten gambling revenues, they say.

But these same legislative leaders thought it was okay several years ago for the government to set up its own gambling enterprises, under the purview of the state lottery commission, and take an active part in encouraging North Carolinians to gamble to generate tax revenue.

by Jim Kouri

Is Attorney General Eric Holder more interested in bullying Arizonians over immigration enforcement than in protecting Americans from nuclear, biological or chemical weapons?

A report released by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of the U.S. House of Representatives, reveals that almost nine years after the 9-11 terrorist attacks Attorney General Eric Holder does not have a coordinated plan to respond to the threat and use of weapons of mass destruction.

The use of weapons of mass destruction, whether by a hostile nation, a terrorist group, or an individual, poses a serious threat to the United States, yet the GAO report suggests that anti-WMD policy does not sit high on Holder's "to do" list.