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Columns

Column: Disclosure Laws Can Stifle Free Speech Through Intimidation

Friday, May 24, 2013

Revelations about the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups have raised important questions about the Obama administration’s commitment to the First Amendment. Yet there is ample evidence to suggest that the culture of intimidation in which these tactics were allowed to flourish goes well beyond one agency or a few rogue employees. For years, administration officials have used the power of the federal government to isolate their opponents. Meanwhile, the …

Column: We’re Not Prepared for the Era of Big Data

Friday, May 24, 2013

A t some point in the not-too-distant future, for the first time in the history of the world, almost everyone on the planet will become part of a single, man-made system. Via cell phones and the Internet, people in every corner of the Earth will be linked together, able to impact each other’s lives in ways that produce consequences we can only begin …

Column: Grading Charter Schools Isn’t as Easy as It Would Appear

Thursday, May 23, 2013

On June 4, 1991, Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson signed into law a bill that set in motion one of the most significant — and controversial — education reform movements in modern history. Minnesota’s charter school law allowed educators and other concerned individuals to apply to the state for permission to operate a government-funded school outside of the public education system. To obtain and …