Yes to school choice for military families (Jan 25): This is National School Choice Week, and one of the better ideas along those lines comes in a bill introduced on Jan. 24 by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) to give education savings accounts to military families.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) .
The U.S. armed forces strive to provide decent education for service members, but as with any large bureaucracy, sometimes parents believe the quality isn’t up to snuff. And sometimes children have special needs or heightened abilities that cannot best be served by a large, institutional program….
Christian cake artist persecuted again for exercising choice about what message to promote (Jan. 26): Yet another Colorado court decision against Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips showed again how U.S. Supreme Court reticence can have awful real-world consequences, such as condemning a good man to years of additional persecution.
It also suggests that, somehow and someway, Congress might be wise to create legally enforceable penalties for lower court judges who thumb their noses at Supreme Court guidance….
Ted Cruz’ radical term limits bill would take choice away from voters, among other defects (Jan. 24):
A constitutional amendment for term limits offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is nothing more than demagoguery masquerading as a serious proposal. Unless substantially altered, it merits oblivion.
The amendment would limit senators to just two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms. It is the latter provision that shows this is a proposal meant for show rather than merit or for any real chance of passage. It also is a symptom of a bad disease infecting today’s Republican Party, whereby so-called conservatives now reject the supremely conservative insights that experience produces wisdom and promotes statesmanship. … This is absolutely not to say the very idea of term limits is necessarily bad. Candidates who pledge to self-impose reasonable term limits are giving their district’s voters the chance to weigh in on the matter….A mere six-year maximum for House members, though, isn’t a reasonable outer limit; it’s a recipe for chaos. The simple reality is that many newly elected people enter Congress with barely a clue about the legislative process, much less how Congress intersects with administrative agencies. Sometimes, the sheer ignorance of new members is staggering. …
