You know we have entered the silly season when a major national debate gets underway over whether people should be given something for free that they could easily pay for out-of-pocket. Take the decision of the Obama administration to force Catholic universities, hospitals and charities to provide health insurance that includes free contraceptives. The reaction was poignant and hyperbolic, but (what can I say?) completely deserved:

With each passing year, the difference between America's prisons and America's public schools becomes smaller and smaller. 

As you read the rest of this article, you will be absolutely amazed at some of the crazy things that school children in America are being arrested for.

When I was growing up, I don't remember a single police officer ever coming to my school.  Discipline was always handled by the teachers and by the principals.  But today, there are schools all over the country that have police officers permanently stationed in the halls. 

Numerous states currently struggling in the midst of steep education budget cuts may have more fiscal problems than they realize. Though 45 states rushed to adopt Common Core standards in the past two years, many have not taken the time to evaluate what the adoption of these standards will cost them. States that jumped on the Common Core bandwagon in hopes of securing Obama administration grant money may find themselves increasingly strapped for cash in the next few years as implementation costs begin to accumulate. Most Common Core changes are expected to be in place by 2014, leaving states little time to back out of commitments they cannot afford.

• Americans overwhelmingly object to the individual mandate — most because they believe it is an over-reach of government powers and also because they believe the mandated insurance will be too expensive.
• A majority also thinks the Supreme Court should rule the mandate unconstitutional.
• Another interesting finding: Three in ten of those surveyed think a Court ruling against the mandate effectively will mean the end of the entire law, but a majority (55%) understands that parts of the law still will be implemented even if the Court strikes down the individual mandate.

Mitt Romney adviser Norm Coleman, a former senator from Minnesota, reinforced those fears this week when he predicted ObamaCare won’t be repealed, even if a Republican wins the White House in November.

Once upon a time, a reader was someone who could say the words on a page.  

Readers didn’t leave out words that were there, or add words that were not there. Nor did readers make wild guesses or weird substitutions. Lastly, real readers never read words backwards.

These bizarre actions, which very nearly equate to mental illness, were not even conceivable (except in the youngest or least intelligent students).

President Obama's student-lending reforms promise dramatic changes to the way students pay for college. And while some believe the new system will help the millions of students and graduates whose student loan debt now outpaces national consumer credit card debt, others are wary of the legal, social, and financial consequences of the President's reforms.