House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) discussed the need for school choice reform in the United States during his speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday afternoon.
Eric Cantor stresses the need for school choice reform during CPAC speech
By Charlie Vidal /// March 16, 2013
FCC plan for ‘free,’ nationwide Wi-Fi is not so free
Recently the Federal Communications Commission rolled out a plan to create a “free” nationwide wireless Internet networknternet network.
The Wi-Fi network would offer broadband quality Internet for free in virtually every major metropolitan area and many rural neighborhoods. Many technical issues are raised. Local television stations would be forced to sell parts of the spectrum that they own in an eminent domain-style takeover. The new networks could also interfere with television and cell phone signals.
By Charlie Vidal /// February 19, 2013
Government steps in to regulate new smartphone-based taxi cab service
It all happens like clockwork: a new product or service uses advances in technology to make life more convenient for customers, threatening the traditional business model of the longstanding giants in the industry. The entrenched interests don’t take kindly to these new competitors, and flex their longstanding relationships with regulators and local governments to inhibit this competition.
This has been happening recently in the cab and car service industries, as new companies are using mobile apps to allow smartphone users to digitally “hail” cars to their location, instead of using the traditional stand-on-the-street-and-wave method. And leave it up to the government to get involved and make things more expensive and complicated for the consumer.
By Charlie Vidal /// October 30, 2012
Democrat website jokes on Romney tax plan, ignores Obama’s own lack of transparency
The Democratic National Committee recently created a clever little website which purports to allow you to see the details of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s tax plan. When the user moves his mouse over the button that reveals the plan, the button moves away, implying that Romney and Ryan are attempting to hide the details of their tax plan.
Of course, the irony is that they DNC expects us to forget that Barack Obama encouraged lawmakers to not reveal too many details about their plans prior to the 2010 elections and that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi insisted that we had to pass Obamacare to find out what was in it.
By Charlie Vidal /// October 23, 2012
The Left’s Failed Attempt to “Trash” Romney
The Left will stop at nothing to trash Mitt Romney, and their latest attempts to do so involve supposedly damaging testimony from Romney’s garbage collector and a handful of weak arguments about the plight of service workers.
Yesterday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) introduced us to Richard Hayes, Mitt Romney’s garbage man. In a video on their website and an article on the Huffington Post, AFSCME attempts to paint Mr. Romney as insensitive toward and out of touch with blue collar workers like Mr. Hayes. AFSCME, of which Hayes is a member, has come out in support of Mr. Romney’s presidential election opponent, Barack Obama.
Hayes is attempting to tarnish Romney’s character, pointing out that unlike his neighbors, Romney does not come out to shake Hayes’s hand, thank him, or offer him water or Gatorade. Ignoring the fact that it is fairly ridiculous to expect somebody who has been running for President professionally for six years to be on a first name basis with his garbage collector, Hayes also touched on an economic fallacy that people can improve the lives of service workers by tipping them or giving them free goods and services.
By Charlie Vidal /// October 2, 2012
Obama’s Confusing Stance on Charter Schools and Voucher Programs
In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday, President Barack Obama defended both Chicago Teachers and Rahm Emanuel as having an appetite for reform, despite the teachers’ reluctance to move away from maintaining one of the nation’s shortest school days (for a large school district). He suggested that both structural changes and more resources, aka, taxpayer dollars, are needed to improve America’s school system.
Obama called himself a “big proponent of charter schools” in the interview, but when he presented a 2013 budget, he cut funding for a program that allowed residents of Washington, DC to use a voucher to attend charter schools. This program targeted low-income children, many of whom will now be forced back into failing public schools. Joe Biden has famously told people “Show me your budget, and I will tell you what you value” referring to Paul Ryan’s budget proposals. According to Biden, Obama’s budget reveals that he doesn’t value one of the best ways to give parents the power to take real initiative in their children’s education.
By Charlie Vidal /// September 27, 2012
Obama’s Plans for College Affordability To Face Serious Political and Economic Challenges
Barack Obama does not like reality. He likes to imagine that he is a god-like figure who transcends the laws of the universe and can magically roll back the oceans and heal the wounds of our scarred planet. And once again, Obama’s hubris has been fired up, and this time it has to do with college education funding. An article on CNN this week indicates that Obama’s plan to make college both more accessible and cheaper will face political challenges. Additionally, Obama’s plan faces another roadblock: it’s out of tune with the economic reality of supply and demand.
Obama famously wants more people to enroll in college. He also wants costs to be kept down. He also doesn’t want new colleges, such as for-profit colleges, popping up. He also wants students to be able to use federally funded student loans. Essentially, Barack Obama wants to increase demand for a product and keep the supply constant, yet hopes to find ways for the price to go down. If American voters buy this nonsense, they should be going to college in greater numbers and taking economics classes.
By Charlie Vidal /// September 19, 2012
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Loving the SuperPAC
If you haven’t been able to tell from my columns here, I love freedom. Freedom is a wonderful thing, and one of the most basic rights in this country is the freedom to use your resources to speak your mind. Unfortunately, many Americans do not share this sentiment, possibly out of a mild resentment for those who have the resources to be louder than most.
The concept of unlimited-expenditure only political committees (SuperPACs) is extremely unpopular, with almost seven in ten Americans wanting them to be banned. Numerous commentators have pointed to a small minority of wealthy individuals who have spent lavishly on this election and decided that these individuals are the ones attempting to purchase candidates or the election.
By Charlie Vidal /// August 24, 2012
