I’m pretty sure school board member Richard McElrath didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but a motion he made to amend an amendment to the district’s anti-bullying policy sure sounded that way. As originally proposed the revised language read: “All persons on CMS campuses or present at CMS-sponsored events are expected to […]
As if spending $2.5 million to run an ad during the Super Bowl encouraging folks to fill out their census forms wasn’t enough, this week over 120 million households are receiving a letter from the Census Department informing them that they will be receiving a letter from the Census Department. Having not received a letter telling […]
If federal deficits are nightmares, Freddy Krueger is leading the parade for the one headed our way. According to the latest from the Congressional Budget Office, President Obama’s budget would add nearly $10 trillion – trillion, with a T – to the national debt over the next decade. Even more troubling, the CBO estimates that […]
It’s difficult enough trying to hold members of the Charlotte City Council accountable when a majority of them occupy seats sprung from grossly gerrymandered districts that virtually guarantee their re-election every two years. The task would become all the more insurmountable with a move to four-year terms, a switch some councilmembers have advocated. Fortunately, that […]
Despite pouring tens of millions of dollars of public money into uptown to help fuel growth in the private sector, the wildly optimistic dreams and schemes that boosters touted for Center City have fallen woefully short of predictions. When the uptown lunch bunch was huddling over linen napkins and pewter goblets during the boom of […]
It is simply amazing how history repeats itself and how the heroes that supported the cause of American liberty in times past can once again see their words find equal relevance today. Friends, take the advice of Ronald Reagan from this speech. Write your Congressman. Write your Senators. Call them. Email them. Show up at […]
While the uptown paper of record was busy with headlines touting a marginal dip in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ dropout rate, which fell from 5.9 to 5 percent last year, a less flattering assessment of the situation flew under the radar: How many CMS students are actually making it through the system to graduate? Answer: Less than […]
The recent release from the Urban Ministry Center of a survey of the homeless in Charlotte yielded a dizzying array of numbers, some of which contracted themselves, some of which were based on best estimates, and all of which, by the Center’s own acknowledgement, were impossible to judge for accuracy. That said, out of Charlotte’s […]
With President Barack Obama demanding a straight up-or-down vote to ram home a horribly flawed, government-orchestrated healthcare reform package, a few examples floating around the ‘Net about how government has fared with other programs under its control should have folks running for cover and popping heartburn pills by the dozen. To wit: The U.S. Postal […]
Always-vigilant HouseGuest columnist Tom Ashcraft spotted Charlotte popping up in The Huffington Post, which riffed on a fascinating video featuring the Queen City. The stop-action paper animation film, produced by Rob Carter, plays out a futuristic version of Charlotte’s rise and fall. Carter’s critique of Charlotte as “one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, […]
