Tag Archives: Group: Alabama Policy Institute

Gary Palmer at Education News: In less than three years, the Obama Administration has taken over financial institutions, two car companies, the energy sector and health care. Now, with the help of some Republican governors and school board members, the Obama Administration is on the verge of taking over education.

Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute writes: “Activists such as Elena Kagan have an agenda to restrict our natural rights and force us to conform to the dictates of the government. Whether it is gun control, political speech or our right to decide about our own health care, activist federal judges and justices will take these rights from us when they can get a majority of Supreme Court justices who will go along. When Elena Kagan is confirmed, Americans will be just one Supreme Court justice away from losing some fundamental rights. Many voters are paying close attention to the Kagan confirmation process to see if the Republicans will have the will to fight or whether they will be the same party they tossed out of power in the last two elections.”

Gary Palmer and Harold See write at the Alabama Policy Institute: “This past week, Congress passed a health care act that both supporters and opponents say will put control of important aspects of our lives in the hands of the federal government. It is a mistake to think the uproar is merely about a health care act. Congress has diminished the states, making them in many ways mere instruments of its will, diminishing local freedom to experiment, and producing near fiscal bankruptcy, both to the states and the nation. At least 36 states have introduced legislation against the implementation of the act. These actions, known as nullification, fail to address the major problem and have limited chance of success. Nullification is designed to persuade Congress to alter its action; this Congress appears immune to persuasion. Other states have sued, claiming that the act is unconstitutional. These efforts will likely be futile because of the federal courts’ expansive reading of federal power. Even if they are successful, repealing one act does little to address Congress’s habitual overreaching . . . Patrick Henry wrote, ‘If there be a real check intended to be left on Congress, it must be left in the State Governments.’ A state-initiated constitutional amendment, backed by grassroots support, should be directed at restraining the abuses of the national government, thereby restoring the kind of self government intended by the Constitution.

Gary Palmer writes at the Alabama Policy Institute: “While the Legislature may have killed the chance to get more than $180 million from the ‘Race to the Top’ program, the greater loss for Alabama is in the potential economic and financial impact that could be achieved from a charter school program.”

Gary Palmer writes at The Alabama Policy Institute: “The survey consisted of sixty questions covering the basics of American history, government, foreign affairs, and economics. In the 2006 report, the average scores for the freshmen were 51.7 percent and the seniors were 53.2 percent . . . Given these dismal findings, it is little wonder that so many Americans do not understand how much of the current national crisis is the result of our government functioning outside the limits prescribed by the Constitution . . . Among its major findings, the new study reports that among those age 18 to 24, only 51 percent believe America’s founding documents remain relevant.”

Web Site: ISI

Montgomery Advertiser: “The troops on both sides are arming for a fight over a bill that would allow private casinos to offer the same games as Indian operations until November, when supporters hope an amendment will be on the ballot to allow people to decide if they want to tax and regulate gambling.”

TuscaloosaNews.com: “Gov. Bob Riley will ask the Legislature to pass a charter school law to boost Alabama’s chances at getting some of the $175 million in federal stimulus money that will be competitively available beginning next month.The conservative Alabama Policy Institute backs the idea of charter schools. API vice president Michael Ciamarra is working with the Riley administration on the issue.”

Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute: “U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in December 1995, has issued a ruling that could help bring some clarity to the issue of bingo operations in Alabama . . . The limitations on ‘charity bingo’ outlined in Judge Smith’s opinion should encourage local officials to enforce Alabama’s laws and will hopefully encourage the Alabama State Supreme Court to rule on this issue. Smith’s ruling should also give pause to those pushing for ‘charity bingo casinos’ in other areas of the state who have predictably responded that Smith’s ruling does not apply to them.”

Gary Palmer writes at the Alabama Policy Institute: “In addition to trying to convince the American public that our health care system is bad, Democrats have also promoted the false argument that our choices for reform are limited to keeping the system the way it is now or dumping the system we have entirely and adopting a government-run health care system. Yes, I am aware that the liberal media and some of the Democrats are saying that the public option is not a government takeover of the health care system. But the truth is they all know the government plan will eventually put insurance companies out of business and everyone will eventually be in the government-run system. These are not our only options for reform.”

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, writes: “When school children return to school, most parents return to their school year routines. Once everyone settles into their school year schedules, there are issues that parents will start noticing. One in particular that they should be acutely interested in is the quality of education their children are receiving. Unfortunately, what the public school systems report about the quality of academic outcomes is often inconsistent with what independent groups report.”

Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, writes: “Just as the Constitution gives the President the power to nominate, it gives the U.S. Senate the responsibility to fully and publicly evaluate each nominee’s fitness for appointment as a federal judge before voting either for or against the nominee. In Sotomayor’s case, as with any federal judge or Supreme Court nominee, what Senators are expressing with their votes is their view on issues such as those above.”

Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, writes in the Montgomery Advertiser: “Given that an estimated 157.4 million Americans have private employer-provided insurance, over 108 million people could lose their coverage and be forced into a government plan which cuts fees to doctors and reduces spending on health care technology.”

KEY PROVISIONS OF BILL: The bill requires that anyone sitting on State Supreme Court, courts of civil or criminal appeals be a licensed lawyer for at least 10 years. Circuit court judges will now need five years law license and District court three years law license. The legislation takes effect during the 2010 Alabama election cycle. Current incumbent judges will be exempted.

Alabama Policy Institute: Sixth-grade girls could have to bring information home from school about vaccines against a cancer-causing, sexually transmitted disease, under a proposal in the Legislature . . . We’re just very guarded about privacy issues and about where …

Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute writes: For weeks I have grappled with the question: what is this election really about? My conclusion is that it is a choice between the policies of Franklin Roosevelt and the policies of …

The Alabama Policy Institute has issued this press release: For Immediate Release September 9, 2008 Contact: David Sawyer (205)914-9428 NEW EDUCATION STUDY FIRST TO COMPARE SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL INPUTS vs. OUTPUTS Lowest Performance by Highest Per-Pupil Spending Counties MONTGOMERY, AL—A 119-page report …