Stop Municipal Aggression!!!

Abraham Lincoln said it, in his "Lyceum" address, in 1838:

At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? — Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! — All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

Our suicide seems to be coming at the hands of out of control city governments.

In the latest installment of "Dialing for (Your) Dollars!", the city of Carrboro "needs" more taxes, do they? Remarkable. A total lack of accountability, and a total lack of understanding that annexation is simply theft, except the thief is government and they happen to have better weapons.

Including lawyers.

An excerpt:

Carrboro's newest residents want out
'De-annexation' bill submitted

Meiling Arounnarath, Staff Writer
CARRBORO - A neighborhood still angry at being annexed last year has found a new ally.

State Rep. Bill Faison has submitted a bill to "de-annex" The Highlands subdivision after 70 percent of its 90 households signed a petition asking to be removed from Carrboro's town limits.

In 2005, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 5-2 to annex six northeastern neighborhoods -- The Highlands, Camden, Highlands North, Highland Meadows, Fox Meadow and Meadow Run -- and some outlying parcels on the west side of Rogers Road.

The annexation took effect Jan. 31, 2006. With it came town taxes paid to Carrboro, along with police and fire protection and garbage collection.

Many of the annexed areas' approximately 850 people revolted. They accused the aldermen of timing the annexation so they couldn't vote in the 2005 election, and of annexing them just for their tax money.

Alderman Dan Coleman responded to Faison's bill Tuesday on local blog OrangePolitics.org. Faison filed the bill last week, but the aldermen found out Tuesday when Town Attorney Mike Brough told them about it.

In an interview, Coleman said Faison could have contacted the town's New Horizons Task Force, which was meant to be a bridge between the aldermen and the annexed residents.

"Or certainly he would've contacted Mayor [Mark] Chilton or possibly the town manager to let them know -- to run this idea by them and have a conversation," Coleman said.

David Lawrence, a professor specializing in local government in UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government, said legislators usually submit de-annexation bills when the local governing board and the affected residents both agree on it.

And, he said, it's usually one or two properties requesting de-annexation, not an entire neighborhood.

"As a practical matter, unless all of the people who represent Orange County in the General Assembly agree on a bill like that, it's not very likely to pass," Lawrence said. "If Sen. [Ellie] Kinnaird is to oppose it, then it's very unlikely to pass, and if the [House] Speaker's against it, that doesn't help it either."

Both Kinnaird and House Speaker Joe Hackney represent Carrboro.

No, they don't! They don't represent the people of Carrboro.

They "represent" the interests of a rapacious and willful state apparatus of repression, theft, and social domination. What good is freedom of speech, when all you can do is talk to other prisoners? North Carolina is in many ways a model state government, at least compared to some other state governments. But our laws on municipal aggression leave EVERYTHING to be desired. Such as accountability to citizen desires, basic due process rights, and rule of law.

Leave us the hell alone, you darned municipal gangsters!

If I EVER have to go to a meeting with something called "The New Horizons Task Force," I might...Well, I probably just wouldn't go. I don't know that my attitude would be constructive or helpful in such a setting.

Kudos to Rep. Faison, whatever else he has done lately. At least he is taking a principled stand here. Thanks!

(nod to Donna Martinez, here)

Chartering a New Course, and "Lost Revenue"

This gem of statist reasoning, from the Raleigh NEWS AND OBSERVER, got me thinking about school choice:

Some excerpts from the story by Samiha Khanna, Staff Writer for N&O, with my most insightful comments in caps:

DURHAM - ...The opening of Durham's eighth charter will expand a $6 million dent in the school system's budget.

Though charter schools are public schools, they operate independently from the local school district. They receive money from the state, and for each student from the Durham school district who enrolls in a charter, a certain per-student allowance follows him. (BUT...BUT...BUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ALSO DOESN'T HAVE TO PROVIDE A SEAT FOR THAT STUDENT, OR SCHOOL BUS SERVICES! AT A TIME WHEN SCHOOLS ARE OVERCROWDED, HOW CAN THIS BE A COST? UNLESS...UNLESS YOU JUST THINK THE LOSS OF CONTROL OVER CITIZEN CHOICE IS A COST, RIGHT?)

This will make difficult several projects coming up for Durham Public Schools, including the opening of a new middle school and three small high schools in the fall. (AGAIN, THEY ONLY NEED TO DO THAT IF THEY ARE OVERCROWDED. AND SENDING KIDS TO CHARTERS RELIEVES OVERCROWDING. FURTHER, CHARTERS SAVE THE STATE MONEY, BECAUSE THEY DON'T PROVIDE LUNCH, OR BUS SERVICE, AND GET MUCH LESS PER STUDENT THAN THE STATE-RUN SCHOOLS.)

"We're trying to do a lot of things that require revenue," said Hank Hurd, associate superintendent of administrative services for Durham Public Schools. "Charters are depleting some of the resources that we need to address the student population at large." (STOP DOING THOSE THINGS! THAT'S NOT "REVENUE!" THAT'S MONEY TAKEN AT GUNPOINT FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE DESPERATE TO SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO BETTER SCHOOLS!)

When it opens in the fall, Voyager will serve about 320 students in grades four through seven. Its home will be the 40,000-square-foot former Little River Elementary School in the northern Durham town of Bahama. (NO NEW BUILDING, AND NO STATE COSTS, EXCEPT THE RENTAL. LESS THAN HALF AS EXPENSIVE FOR TAXPAYERS, AND HIGHER QUALITY EDUCATION.)

The school will expand to eighth grade the following year, and eventually cap growth at 500 students, according to a plan the school's board of directors submitted to the state.

As of this week, the school received about 400 letters of interest from parents in Durham and as far away as Hillsborough and Roxboro....(GOSH, SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE THE DURHAM SCHOOLS AREN'T REALLY DOING THEIR JOB. AND THEIR PROPOSED SOLUTION IS...PREVENT PARENTS FROM HAVING ANY CHOICES? IT IS TRUE THAT WITHOUT CHOICES, THE DURHAM SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE MORE STUDENTS. WHY NOT PURSUE THAT A LITTLE FURTHER? IF WE CRIMINALIZE READING, WE CAN JUST USE THE PRISONS FOR SCHOOLS, AND THEN WE CAN REALLY MAKE SOME REVENUE! USE THE SCHOOLS MONEY TO BUILD NEW PRISONS!)

...At Voyager, the emphasis will be on hands-on projects and other interactive activities, said Christy Whiteside, a contractor who worked with the school's board to create its education plan.

Teachers also will focus on character education and public speaking. Directors are still trying to solidify a partnership with the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, Forsyth said.

Parents and students won't know until March 31 who will attend Voyager. If the school gets more applications than there are spaces available, it will choose by lottery. (I'M GUESSING THEY ARE GOING TO NEED A LOTTERY. SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION, AND IT WILL CUT COSTS TO TAXPAYERS.)

Most of Voyager's students are likely to come from Durham, so administrators with the school system can expect to send at least an additional $800,000 to the new school in per-student allowances, plus state resources allotted based on enrollment, Hurd said. (AAARGH! WHERE DO YOU START HERE? IT IS NOT DURHAM'S MONEY TO LOSE! THAT IS TAXPAYER MONEY. CHARTER SCHOOLS JUST LET PARENTS MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICES WITH THEIR OWN MONEY! HOW DARE DURHAM BUREAUCRATS TALK ABOUT "LOSING" MONEY? THEY HAVE LOST THE SENSE THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE THE PUBLIC, THAT'S WHAT THEY HAVE LOST!)

....Durham administrators tried to drive home the point last fall, when enrollment in traditional public schools in Durham increased less than 1 percent and charter enrollment soared by almost 22 percent.

And, remember, charter enrollment is capped by capacity. That's not the number of people who WANT to send their kids to charters. That is the actual number of seats filled by parents who are going crazy with worry about how their kids are treated in the schools runs by teachers' unions and indifferent, revenue-maximzing bureaucrats.

Anything that improves choice, improves education. Charters, and vouchers, are a good start. Let's get started!

Playing with Fire

Had a nice visit with two of LPNC's excellent interns today.

Leigh and Christian came over from Raleigh to meet, have some lunch, and talk some libertarian philosophy. Lots of fun, very smart young ladies.

In the car coming back from lunch, we got to talking about the "is government evil?" question. I said I had always thought of government as being more dangerous than evil. Like electricity or fire: if uncontrolled, or put in the hands of people who don't understand the dangers: POOF!

Leigh came up with a great metaphor, one I intend to use often in my campaign. She said, "Just think of all the times you have been at a bonfire. You stand around, and you may talk but you can't help yourself: You just stare at the fire. Government is the same way. Even if it is scary, it is so fascinating you just stare at it. We are drawn to government, and we can't take our eyes off of it. Politicians are the same way. We know we will get burned, but we just have to try to get close."

Wow. Very cook, Leigh.

And Christian gave a very spirited defense of the "No National ID" position. She isn't very big, but I'd hate to fight her. (The cook staff at the Armadillo put cheese on her burrito. Christian is a vegan, so that is a no-no. She went back and got them straightened out in no time. I would do what she told me, also. No nonsense for Christian). I agree that the National ID push is pretty scary, but we are almost there now, having to use driver's licenses or passports or something else to travel almost anywhere. Still, Christian was hard core. You go, girl!

Mike Munger
(Campaign Website)