Acclaimed talk radio host Jerry Agar has joined the Illinois Policy Institute while continuing to work
as a weekend talk host for the Chicago radio station WGN AM 720.
Jerry, who writes for TownHall.com as well as his radio
shows, will be blogging and podcasting on the daily issues facing Illinois and beyond.
Check out the latest from Jerry below! Have questions, comments or a news tip? E-mail Jerry here.
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8/23/2010
Despite the threats of layoffs and a bleeding budget, teachers will not forego a raise.
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7/26/2010
Much of what we in the public know is not true.
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7/22/2010
Is a $4 billion dollar "stimulus" project for high speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis worth the cost?
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7/14/2010
The LA Times writes that Canada's economy can teach the U.S. a thing or two. Well, yes. But is it all good?
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6/30/2010
Do we all want the same thing for the nation?
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6/28/2010
At the upcoming G8 and G20 meetings we get to see how silly many of the protesters are.
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6/21/2010
Let's compare government health care to private dentistry in Canada, our canary in the health care mine.
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6/21/2010
Just because money is spent doesn't mean it is spent well.
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6/14/2010
Obama still thinks that his health care bill will save money.
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6/10/2010
The warnings in Canada are becoming louder and more frequent. Are we listening?
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6/9/2010
Increasingly, people demand education reform that decreases the public system.
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5/28/2010
Government will grow. That is what it does.
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5/24/2010
When does political activism cross the line?
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5/21/2010
Politically active people are happy people according to an Illinois study.
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5/20/2010
It used to be private schools that did fund-raisers. Now it is the public.
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5/19/2010
One of Obama's Czars thinks the Internet needs to be controlled.
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5/19/2010
How about just letting us pay what we think it is worth?
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5/14/2010
Are the various levels of government helping or hurting the current economic situation?
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5/12/2010
Here we go again. Now it is global cooling that humans are causing.
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5/10/2010
Chicago is still a union - not a citizen - town.
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5/7/2010
A column I wrote for the Toronto Sun on whether the user of a service should kick in when money is tight.
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5/6/2010
Go on line and experience the thrill of playing with other people's money.
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5/5/2010
Quinn is back to shilling for a back-to-school tax holiday.
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5/3/2010
Home health care workers have filed to get a Governor Quinn executive order rescinded.
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5/3/2010
What good is a health insurance card if you can't get to see a doctor?
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4/29/2010
What will a 1,400 page banking bill do to improve the economy and the nation?
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4/28/2010
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was wrong. Civilization predates taxes.
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4/27/2010
For forty years now we have been told we have less than ten years to stop unavoidable global disaster.
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4/26/2010
Are you ready for a wind farm off the coast of Evanston?
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4/23/2010
There is a disconnect in this report about health care costs.
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4/13/2010
With some Democrats fighting for their political future and the Republicans optimistic about the fall, the health care fight is far from over.
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4/12/2010
The reporting in the media of the Tea Party movement has been dishonest. (And don't let the nuts frame the debate.)
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4/8/2010
More on the continuing series of how the Canadian health care system is a warning to America.
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4/7/2010
A cartoon and a teachable moment for the children.
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4/7/2010
Just when you think politicians could not be dumber.
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4/6/2010
Obama uses a farming analogy to defend health care - and lays an egg.
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4/6/2010
Political argument is not just necessary, it is vital.
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3/31/2010
Collection of Jerry Agar's articles on his up-close perspective on the Canadian health care system.
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3/30/2010
What I like about sceptics is that in good science you need critics that make you think: 'Crumbs, have I made a mistake here?
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3/30/2010
More warnings from Canada's heath care system.
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3/27/2010
Move On.org continues to try to sell us a bill that has already passed. Are they correct in their assessment?
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3/27/2010
Another installment in my series on the failure of the Canadian health care system.
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3/27/2010
Any threat, physical or verbal against another person is wrong - if it happened.
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3/24/2010
More on how Canada struggles with health care.
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3/23/2010
Canada has a problem, but has a hard time admitting it - and they are the canary in the USA's coal mine.
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3/22/2010
Can the federal government force you to buy their health plan?
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3/19/2010
Who will police mandatory health insurance? IRS.
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3/18/2010
Why would Rahm Emmanuel say that one should never let a good crisis go to waste?
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3/17/2010
It wasn't to difficult to flip Kucinich on his principals.
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3/17/2010
The debate continues on what the government needs to collect, as opposed to what they want to collect regarding your personal information.
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3/15/2010
Examples of idiot government decisions.
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3/12/2010
Waste comes from abuse, and abuse is built into the system.
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3/11/2010
Your opinion doesn't matter. Your economic situation doesn't matter. Just pay more taxes.
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3/10/2010
More taxes or less government expense. Those are the choices.
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3/10/2010
32 percent of statistics are fabricated.
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3/9/2010
There is no end to those who know how we should live and are willing to use government force to get us there.
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3/5/2010
Power corrupts. An argument against giving up too much power.
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3/4/2010
Canada begins to discuss how their health care system isn't working.
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3/1/2010
From Haiti to Illinois to Canada, meet the new boss; same as the old boss.
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3/1/2010
Don't want health care reform the Obama way? Too bad.
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3/1/2010
What happens if the government decides not to back up its promise?
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3/1/2010
Your government is protecting you from getting your hair braided by someone who failed to go to a school where they don't teach hair braiding.
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2/24/2010
The annual threat to school programs and teacher positions is on again.
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2/22/2010
Expanding on my earlier assertion that people cannot be starving in mass numbers unless the government has failed and/or is corrupt.
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2/21/2010
Can the school system solve the violence problem on Chicago streets - and should it be their job?
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2/18/2010
Do you think government spending is out of control and harmful? Then Time magazine's Joe Klein thinks you are a dodo.
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2/17/2010
More lessons from Haiti for the American economy.
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2/4/2010
Lawmakers in Springfield eye the possibility of reviving the death tax - before it dies.
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2/3/2010
Many people object to the fact that they can't vote for a Republican for one race and a Democrat for another.
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2/2/2010
Slowly, but at a quickening pace, ice forms over the pool of global warming
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2/1/2010
A bill to mandate paid sick leave is up for consideration in Illinois.
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1/29/2010
Obama shows a disconnect with the American people.
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1/28/2010
Did you know all of these. Really? ALL of them?
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1/28/2010
The President tells us that the stimulus has saved jobs. At what cost?
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1/27/2010
Another example of a politician ignoring the real issue and blowing smoke instead.
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1/26/2010
Unemployment has passed 11 percent in Illinois, while government workers enjoy relative security. Is that a good thing?
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1/25/2010
The country does best when the citizens are involved.
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1/25/2010
Can we cut the spin and get to what matters? Can Quinn govern? Can Dorothy Brown run a county?
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1/21/2010
The election in Massachusetts was shocking. Are the right people shocked?
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1/21/2010
Christopher Horner talked about global warming at a recent Institute event.
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1/19/2010
Michigan can't sue Illinois over the Asian Carp. They don't have to.
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1/15/2010
We have made significant progress in opening up
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1/14/2010
Nothing is easier to spend than other people's money.
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1/13/2010
There is a socialist fever in Washington, DC at the moment. Socialism didn't make America great and cannot solve our problems today.
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1/12/2010
John O'Hara of the Heartland Institute
has written a book about the Tea Party
movement.
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1/11/2010
Chavez threatens to seize any business in Venezuela that raises prices. That could not happen in American could it?
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1/8/2010
Businesses are reluctant to employ people when they fear higher taxes.
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1/7/2010
Politicians, like anyone else, like to hear what they want to hear. Whether they like it or not, they need to hear from you.
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1/6/2010
If we can't an across-the-board tax cut, let's pile up the tax breaks.
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1/6/2010
Those of us opposed to the health care
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1/4/2010
'Green' power is possible. Satisfying 'greenies' is not.
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12/30/2009
Even some of the people who gain from pork, see it for what it is; a money wasting game that everyone loses.
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12/29/2009
Are we a nation of beggars or a nation of people who each do what we can to look after ourselves before we go to the government in search of the fruits of other people's labor?
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12/28/2009
The road remains rocky and the obstacles are many, but fighting to maintain freedom is the gift we give the future.
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12/23/2009
Presidents telling banks who to lend to got us into a pickle. It happened only recently. Obama forgot.
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12/22/2009
A list of the heroes and events that led to the freedom we enjoy today.
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12/22/2009
Despite the track the current administration is on, Rasmussen shows that Americans, including Democrats, want smaller government.
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12/21/2009
The people against the health bill are all crazy, dangerous nuts?
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12/18/2009
Climate scientist says peer-reviewed literature is not a true and unbiased sample of the state of climate science. He claims a manufactured consensus.
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12/17/2009
Power corrupts, and it seems to do so with ruthless efficiency in Illinois. We need to put a stop to it, or at least stun the process into a slow-down.
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12/17/2009
Rasmussen shows us that a movement is gaining ground on traditional parties.
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12/15/2009
Paid to teach, educators fail too often, but rarely take responsibility.
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12/14/2009
Eric Zorn scorns those who would look to hold taxes at current levels.
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12/11/2009
People who think that Obama's low poll numbers are a prediction of failure in the future, need to look to the past.
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12/10/2009
With the federal government on a roll, bailing out autos, banks, etc., here are some additional bailout ideas.
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12/8/2009
Against the lessons of economic history, Obama plans more government spending.
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12/4/2009
Where do your Illinois state taxes go? Now you can find out.
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12/2/2009
Can mandated insurance expenses be compared to slavery?
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12/1/2009
You be the judge. Was the doctor telling the truth, or was he being hateful?
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11/27/2009
Danny Davis of Illinois thinks your money could save the US Postal Service
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11/26/2009
Take bribes. Admit it. Keep your job.
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11/26/2009
An interesting web site gives some surprising answers.
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11/25/2009
You don't know best. Dick Durbin knows best.
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11/24/2009
Are you a woman in your 40s? You may die. The government doesn't care.
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11/23/2009
Fighting city hall, advancing unpopular ideas and trying to engage a busy and sometimes apathetic public is tough work.
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11/23/2009
Lose jobs in a big way. As many as 169,000.
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11/18/2009
15 reasons that government health care
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11/17/2009
Tax payers are told that they have to contribute to society. What about tax eaters?
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11/17/2009
How many Congressional districts do we have?
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11/16/2009
In one day's news we see examples of the ever-expanding size of the federal government.
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11/12/2009
Nothing is free, it just sometimes looks that way.
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11/10/2009
If you like out of control costs and rationing, while hating civil rights, this health care bill is for you.
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11/9/2009
How does Illinois stack up with other states when it comes to respecting parents and children through school choice?
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11/6/2009
One community realizes that government doesn't have to provide our desires. People can, and will.
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11/5/2009
Health care reform is on the way - and we're just sick about it.
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11/5/2009
The Bambenek Putback Amendment is a citizen-initiated amendment to the Constitution of the State of Illinois. Bambenek says it is designed to put the people back in charge in Springfield.
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11/4/2009
Where do your federal dollars go? Some of them go for a little train ride, and get lost in the process.
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11/3/2009
A debate at DePaul over teacher tenure brings up whether tenure's time has come and gone.
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10/29/2009
All politics are local. But some are a lot more local than others, and you have a chance to make a difference.
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10/29/2009
Tuition at Illinois’s state universities is becoming less affordable for Illinois families. From 2002 to 2007, in-state tuition and fees jumped by an average of 56 percent.
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10/27/2009
When failure to comply with taxes, legally or illegally, becomes rampant, government never seems to ask themselves whether it may be in part due to the taxes being too high.
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10/23/2009
Does government policy - which is always declared to be of help to the poor - really benefit ordinary, low-income people?
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10/21/2009
Is each of us willing to make choices and sacrifices to better society, or do we want government to give us everything?
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10/16/2009
Government is supposed to be here to protect us, but not from ourselves.
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10/15/2009
Former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt spoke at an Illinois Policy Institute luncheon in Springfield to explain Missouri's transparency program.
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10/13/2009
Instead of concentrating on government, let's concentrate on what matters; patients.
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10/9/2009
President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Why? Hope! Promise! Self regard. Let's bask in that warm glow by appointing a similarly qualified person in Illinois.
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10/9/2009
Some people just can't get over it when other people do things for themselves.
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10/8/2009
Here is a little primer for those who think capitalism and profit are dirty words.
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10/7/2009
Yet another government entity decides to treat adults like children and to supposedly make the job of the police easier by attacking the rights of the law-abiding.
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10/6/2009
It is easy to assume that Michigan's economic woes are due to he troubles in the domestic auto industry. Is it that simple?
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10/5/2009
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels spoke to a capacity crowd at an Illinois Policy Institute lunch event in Chicago last week, and then sat down with me to talk about controlling spending, health care, and incentives to businesses moving between states.
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10/1/2009
I think it is too bad that with the success we have had lately with our governors we could not just steal one from another state.
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9/30/2009
A guy who apparently merely wants to drive drunks safely home is having a tough time getting Quincy, Illinois to let him do it.
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9/29/2009
Educators say that they can't reject the
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9/27/2009
Finally, we have some evidence to back the claim that adults make decisions about their lifestyle regardless of what activists and politicians try to force them to do. And of course, revenue projections by the do-gooders and elected officials were wrong.
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9/25/2009
Never more than today does the phrase
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9/24/2009
If a leading scientist's opinion changes in Geneva, would the media hear it?
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9/23/2009
The main argument many people seem to have for government control of health care, banks, auto companies, etc. is that they feel corporations are greedy and government is benevolent.
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9/22/2009
When the only idea a politician has is to raise taxes on higher income earners, that politicians is a danger to the future of the state.
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9/18/2009
Schools in the Chicago area are among those accepting free presentations from a group offering to teach kids about global warming. Do they teach science, or do they some other agenda?
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9/17/2009
Two convictions on liquor license violations offer insight into how much the government thinks they need to protect us from ourselves.
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9/17/2009
Durbin and Burris still support ACORN, claiming a few bad apples were the only problem.
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9/16/2009
Gasoline for $2.19 a gallon in Missouri got me thinking.
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9/16/2009
I am tired of being called anti-government, anti-poor people, anti-immigration. I'll show you anti-government.
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9/15/2009
The main argument against government control of anything is that elected officials and their appointed representatives often believe that they alone posses sufficient knowledge to run everything.
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9/15/2009
Is there any reason for governments to build and maintain sports facilities? Should publicly owned facilities control ticket costs?
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9/11/2009
A once-every-four-years contest and celebration of the finest sports has to offer. A politically corrupt city. These two things do not belong together.
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9/10/2009
Can we believe what President Obama told us last night in his most recent health care speech?
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9/8/2009
Parents are being forced to make an economic choice in their child's education - and it is one they should not have to make.
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9/4/2009
Labor day isn't for most of us, even if we do enjoy the day. It is for unions, which are less and less a part of the solution in America.
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9/3/2009
The national ACT test shows that home-schooled students scored, on average, above others this year.
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9/3/2009
What would Old Ben say if he were alive today? John Armor thinks he knows.
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9/1/2009
Why not? How much more silly could the kid be?
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9/1/2009
John Fund of the Wall Street Journal came to Chicago to speak at the Illinois Policy Institute about how Chicago influenced Obama and how he has taken that to Washington.
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8/31/2009
George Leef points out that it is not the various aspects of Obama's health plans that are important.
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8/28/2009
If something that goes beyond basic services, loses money, should government finince it?
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8/27/2009
Every day, looking through the news sites, it is so easy to see where our government is off track.
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8/26/2009
I return today to a favorite saying of mine: A trained monkey can come up with raising taxes as a solution. Is it too much to ask that people who claim to be leaders rise to a level just a bit above the monkey?
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8/26/2009
Garrison Keillor and today's Must Reads offer a great lesson on America's political divide.
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8/25/2009
While Gov. Quinn tells us that we have cut the budget tax payers continue to be first in line to pay and last in line to catch a break.
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8/20/2009
Vice President Biden came to Chicago to stump for health care reform. He - and those on his round table - talked mostly about electronic record keeping, but the event was not without political arrogance, fuzzy thinking and slamming of ordinary Americans.
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8/19/2009
Do we need an income tax increase in Illinois, or more oversight of the money we already send the legislature?
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8/18/2009
Is it reasonable to fear that the government will ration health care?
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8/14/2009
I asked whether there is constitutional authority for the health bill, car vouchers and the takeover of banks and auto manufacturers. Readers responded with a big NO.
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8/14/2009
Jon Sanders talked to me about who and what he saw at the rallies he attended, opposing health legislation. He says that participants are being smeared by politicians and the media.
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8/14/2009
The Illinois Policy Institute was a sponsor of the Chicago edition of the Heartland Institutes health care round table discussions.
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8/12/2009
Does the government, local, state or federal, need to do all the things it does for us?
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8/12/2009
President Obama charges that family care doctors are colluding with surgeons to let us get sick enough to need amputations.
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8/11/2009
What is the constitutional authority for the massive power the federal government has given itself?
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8/10/2009
What if we got our groceries the same way we get our education; from a monopoly government operation?
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8/7/2009
Mayor Daley and Midwest governors announced plan to fast-track high-speed rail and they made some extravagant claims in the process.
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8/7/2009
Dan Hynes, Illinois Comptroller, say he is running because
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8/5/2009
Having health insurance does not guarantee health care, as nations with socialized systems already know.
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8/5/2009
Is pre-school early education such as Head Start effective or is it just babysitting paid by taxpayers in Illinois?
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