And the right wing’s absurd attempt to blame the subprime mortgage crisis on borrowers
By Rob Schofield
Next month, one of Raleigh’s market fundamentalist “think” tanks will hold an event in Charlotte at which it will charge attendees $60 to hear from George Will. For the sake of those in attendance, let’s hope they’re serving a pretty good meal. […]
Politicians and “free market” think tanks sacrifice principles for political expediency on immigration
By Rob Schofield
North Carolina’s ongoing debate over immigration and, in particular, the admission of a few hundred undocumented students into our community college system has produced a significant amount of hot air of late. As noted recently in this space, this should come as no particular surprise. Raising fears about “the other” has always been a surefire way for cynical politicians and public figures to motivate and mobilize constituents – especially when the tide of events is turning against them on the core issues that really make a difference in people’s lives. more…
By Rob Schofield
On Friday November 9, State Representative George Cleveland of Onslow County sent a document to all “exchange users” of the North Carolina General Assembly email system (i.e. all legislators and legislative staff) entitled “Interesting Statistics.”
Cleveland, you may…
North Carolinians need to keep their heads when it comes to immigration
By Rob Schofield
Recently, the North Carolina Justice Center sent out its weekly on-line newsletter, NC Justice News. Among other things, the newsletter featured four very brief articles about current…
The press release you didn’t see on the latest poll on health care
By Rob Schofield
The J.W. Pope Civitas Institute released its latest “News Makers Poll” this week. As is usually the case each month, the “spin” that accompanied the poll…
Deciphering the Far Right’s Hot Air on Global Warming
By Rob Schofield
There are two schools of thought in the progressive community about the far right’s persistent campaign to deny the existence of global warming. Many argue that the best approach is…
The Right Tries to Usurp the Words “Life” and “Family”
By Rob Schofield
It has long been understood that things like packaging and labeling are important in politics and the societal “battle of ideas.” Theodore White’s bestseller The Making of the…
The Far Right’s Half-Baked “Pork Barrel” Scorecard
By Rob Schofield
Wasteful spending is (and always has been) a significant problem for just about every large human institution – public or private. Combinations of sloth, inefficiency, greed, and any number of a…
By Rob Schofield
One of extreme right’s tried and true tactics for hoodwinking the media and much of the general public in recent years has been, what might charitably called, “the bold misstatement.” Why mess around with details or shades…
By Rob Schofield
Raleigh’s right-wing think tanks have been busy of late, churning out an even steadier than usual stream of alarmist reports, events and commentaries about the evils of dastardly environmentalist plots like global warming and any proposals that attempt…
Of the Duke Lacrosse Case and Taxes on the Rich
Sometimes you can’t help but feel as if the Republic is being dragged slowly, but surely, through the looking glass into a place where up is down, in is out,…
Far Right Should Work to Improve Charter School Law Rather than Defending a Flawed System
By Rob Schofield
The Senate and House Minority Leaders devoted the second half of their weekly press conference today to attacking a recent report on North Carolina’s experiment…
Ideologues Attack Sex Education
By Rob Schofield
“Almost all Americans have sex before marrying.” This is the key finding of a study released earlier this year entitled Trends in Premarital Sex in the United States, 1954- 2003, which appeared in the January-February 2007 issue of Public Health Reports. The researchers report that, by the age of 20:
By Rob Schofield
Raleigh’s far right lobbying/think tank apparatus conducted another of its coordinated hits on the General Assembly this week. This time the subject was charter schools. At the same time that the group that calls itself Americans for Prosperity…
By Rob Schofield
Periodically, the essence of the debate between two competing philosophies is crystallized in an exchange over a particular topic of public policy. Such moments have occurred on a regular basis throughout the course of American and North…
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