...our friends over at the Institute for Justice hosted a breakfast in preparation for today's Senate hearing on Eminent Domain Reform.

If you plan on coming to DC for the Senate hearings, make sure to stock-up on the hottest new fashions; private property couture is tres chic this season.

For more on Eminent Domain reform check out the Castle Coalition's Kelo White Paper.

25 MacArthur Fellows  Announced by the MacArthur Foundation Today

One call out of the blue - $500,000 - no strings attached

CHICAGO (September 20, 2005) – The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years.

Recipients this year include:

    * a molecular biologist reconstructing the emergence of multicellular organisms from unicellular life (Nicole King)

    * a sculptor integrating architecture and the optical effects of color and light into exquisitely constructed, contemplative spaces (Teresita Fernández)

    * a pharmacist reducing preventable drug and drug delivery errors in the healthcare industry (Michael Cohen)

    * a laser physicist engineering state-of-the-art lasers for novel and important applications in such fields as environmental monitoring, medicine, industry, and communications (Claire Gmachl)

    * a conservation biologist protecting endangered, diverse and previously unknown plants and animals of Madagascar (Steven Goodman)

    * a violinmaker producing new and world-class instruments for the twenty-first century (Joseph Curtin)

    * a clinician/researcher translating findings on the molecular genetics of breast cancer in African and African-American women into innovative clinical practices in the United States and abroad (Olufunmilayo Olopade)

    * a rare book preservationist raising the profile of the book as one of humankind’s greatest inventions (Terry Belanger)

    * a photographer using the personalizing power of portraiture to bring the faces of the world’s displaced into focus (Fazel Sheikh)

    * a fisherman fusing the roles of applied scientist and lobsterman to respond to increasing threats to the fishery ecosystem (Ted Ames)

This is where the private sector really shines.  When released from the shackles of an overbearing government, private citizens and organizations give back to their communities and foster further growth and opportunity. 

Given the freedom to prosper, American ingenuity will flourish. 

But first we must solidify that freedom and stop the slow inevitable creep of big government into our lives through over-taxation, over-regulation, and countless other overs.

To ensure your genius doesn't get squashed by big government, join AFP in our efforts to preserve your freedoms on the local and national level.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to become a genius in America.

From the AP today:

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings plans to announce a major initiative today to address that problem: a commission charged with developing ''a comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education," according to remarks in an advance copy of a speech she is expected to deliver at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte…

The announcement was made amid growing concerns that the relative independence of US colleges and universities -- though a strength in many respects -- can also be a disadvantage in competing with other countries.

Before the US government goes “fixing” higher education, maybe they should take a look at the Top 500 World Universities. 

We’re all for making America’s higher education system more competitive on the world stage, but we’re not sticklers.

Of the world’s top 20 universities, 17 are in the United States.

"’Why shouldn't the people be able to vote on tax increases?’ asks Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, the leading TABOR proponent in Kansas.”

That’s a good question. Why not?

According to the response given in this Wichita Eagle editorial on Sunday, the “people” (re: you) do not have the wherewithal to handle such heady issues.

Says the editorial:

“Voters elect their representatives to attend to complex budget and fiscal policy matters, and decide what priorities are most important for the state.”

Okay, then why be afraid of a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights?

TABOR simply makes the budget process more transparent and sensible. If a tax hike is truly needed, let the representatives explain why; then allow the voters to make the final decision.

Are critics truly afraid that the voters will demolish the schools their children go to, the hospitals their families use, and the roads they use every day?

Such fears are irrational and unfounded.

TABOR creates a clear incentive for government to perform more efficiently and effectively. Our representatives are still vital to this process, as they’re the ones crafting the legislation and presenting it to the taxpayers. They still exercise their comparative advantage as legislative experts to present their constituents with the most important issues; however, the liberties politicians take with the gray areas of the budget process would not longer be acceptable.

For those of you still unsure of your competency in handling such “complex” issues, take a look at our fellow Americans in Colorado. Nobody’s arguing Coloradans are smarter than the rest of us; yet somehow, they’ve been able to handle the “complex” process of voting on tax issues for years now.

Just look at the numbers:

Since TABOR was enacted in Colorado in 1992:

• Colorado ranks 3rd in population growth, Kansas ranks 36th.

• Colorado ranks 3rd in personal income growth, Kansas ranks 41st.

• In 1992 Colorado ranked 18th in per capita income, Kansas ranked 24th.

-In 2003, Colorado ranked 9th and Kansas ranked 28th.

-Per capita income growth in Colorado ranked 6th during this time period and Kansas’ ranked 30th.

• Colorado ranks 3rd in productivity growth since 1992, Kansas ranks 32nd.

Prior to the passage of TABOR in Colorado in 1992, Colorado and Kansas growth was similar.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

We think Kansans are smart and complex enough to vote on how their money is being spent.