Justice Stevens Announces Retirement

Much to no surprise to anyone who follows the SCOTUS on a regular basis, Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, said Friday he is retiring, giving President Obama his second high court opening to fill.  Stevens said he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July.

Although Obama will obviously replace Stevens with another Liberal, this is still a good news item for Conservatives.  Stevens was close to Justice Kennedy and swayed him frequently to the wrong side (left side) of a number of decisions.  We are all hopeful that Justice Kennedy will begin to show some moderate, and even right-leaning, behaviors in his decisionmaking.

Univ. of Dayton Captures NIT Title

RC Blog's alma mater, University of Dayton, defeated North Carolina last night to capture its third National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title. 

UD, defeated four top tier conference teams (Cincinnati from the Big East, Illinois from the Big Ten, Mississippi from the SEC, and UNC from the ACC), all away from UD Arena, to win the title.  Congrats to Coach Brian Gregory and the UD Flyers!

Heritage WebCast with Rep. Paul Ryan This Afternoon!

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), a leader in the fight for principled conservative solutions on health care and other issues, will offer his thoughts on the next steps for conservatives in the wake of Obamacare's enactment. Heritage President Ed Feulner will deliver brief introductions. Ryan's remarks are presented by the Dallas/Fort Worth Committee for Heritage.

Watch the event live online on MyHeritage.org.

http://events.vcall.com/VCall/ParticipantLogin.aspx?BID=1&room=105830

Please Support Virginia AG Cuccinelli's Efforts!

Here is the latest from Virginia AG Cuccinelli...

Fellow Americans,

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a healthcare bill of historic proportions. That bill includes an individual mandate on Americans that declares that they must buy health insurance or face penalties. This overreaches the authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause and is therefore unconstitutional.

Buying health insurance can be said to be an act in commerce. However, if someone doesn't buy insurance, they are by definition not engaging in commerce. This legislation greatly oversteps the Commerce Clause.

Please join in Virginia's fight to overturn the individual mandate on health insurance. I ask that you indicate your support by signing the petition below. Please also forward this to your friends.

Sincerely,
Ken Cuccinelli
Attorney General of Virginia

Click here to read and sign the petition

Petition in Support of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's Suit
to Overturn the Health Care Individual Mandate

WHEREAS, the health care bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama includes a mandate requiring Americans to purchase health care insurance, and

WHEREAS, federal officials claim that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution gives the federal government the authority to force citizens to purchase health care insurance, and

WHEREAS, by definition, a person who refuses to purchase is NOT engaging in interstate commerce, and

WHEREAS, a citizen who is not engaging in commerce may not be compelled to engage in commerce by the federal government, and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Congress may not regulate non-commercial activities using the commerce clause, and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia has passed a law protecting Virginia's citizens from this unconstitutional mandate,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned citizens of the United States support the lawsuit brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia to declare the health care individual mandate unconstitutional.

Click here to read and sign the petition

Fuzzy Math

Washington, D.C.'s Education Department says it spends $17,542 per student annually, but hidden costs bring the true price tag to $28,170, or approximately two and a half times the median cost of sending a kid to private school in the Washington area, the Cato Institute says.  By listing spending for construction, pensions, debt service, and other items in separate accounts, the 18 school districts studied by Cato could claim they spent an average of $12,500 per child, even though the actual amount was $18,000, according to the report titled, "They Spend WHAT?"  the Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, says it spends $10,053 on each of its 737,000 students, but its accounts show the real per-kid cost as $25,208.