Remembering Gordon S. Wood and the idea of America
This week, America lost one of the foremost historians of the American Founding with the passing of Brown University professor Gordon S. Wood. For half a century, Wood helped shape how scholars and ordinary people understood the Revolution, the Founding Fathers, and the ideas that united 13 British colonies into one nation. Through his work, ...
Why a fund for young innovators is challenging California’s intrusive reporting mandate
There are thousands of venture capital firms competing to find promising tech startups, but remarkably few cater specifically to young college dropouts. In 2015, Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman cofounded 1517 Fund with a specific mission in mind: to invest in young, renegade dropouts and "sci-fi scientists" developing tomorrow's breakthrough ...
AL.com : Alabama wants to license birth centers as hospitals. That’s absurd.
Here's a bureaucratic puzzle: What do you call a small, home-like birth setting staffed bymidwives, designed specifically to offer low-intervention, low-cost maternity care to healthy mothers with low-risk pregnancies? If you're the Alabama Department of Public Health, apparently the answer is: a hospital. That's the absurd regulatory position a ...
One mother’s fight to restore merit-based admissions in NYC’s Specialized High Schools
Every November, students vying for a spot at one of New York City's eight Specialized High Schools take the admissions exam that will determine their academic trajectory. The notoriously rigorous Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) spans three hours and assesses a student's abilities in English language arts and mathematics. Admissi ...
National Review : Time to End Race and Gender Preferences in Government Contracts
Imagine losing a federal contract — despite submitting the lowest bid and the strongest proposal — because of the color of your skin or your sex. Most Americans would call that discrimination. The Constitution calls it unconstitutional. And yet, for decades, this is exactly what the federal government has been doing: It's allowed to engage in p ...
In New Jersey, a PLA cost taxpayers $153,000 more for the same road
Earle Asphalt Company has been building the infrastructure that holds New Jersey together since 1968. The company has grown into one of the state's most established heavy civil contractors, with a workforce of 650 employees and a portfolio that includes major public projects like the New Jersey Turnpike. The company was recognized as a New Jerse ...
American Heroes : Is a doctor’s call a crime? Listen to this week’s American Heroes
Could it be a crime for a doctor to speak with their own patient across state lines? In California, yes. In this week's American Heroes, Kathy Hoekstra sits down with Dr. Sean McBride, a nationally recognized radiation oncologist who is taking on California's telehealth restrictions. This case is about whether doctors in one state can spe ...
A historic home birth in Nebraska
On April 26, former PLF client Hope Lindstrom gave birth to a healthy baby girl at home under the care of certified nurse midwives (CNMs). It was the first legally authorized CNM-assisted home birth to ever take place in Nebraska. Hope made history, but she never thought she'd have to fight so hard for a right as personal as where and how to giv ...
New Orleans social worker continues fight for her right to earn a living
In the fall of 2023, New Orleans entrepreneur Ursula Newell Davis received disheartening news: The Supreme Court had declined to hear her case, signaling the disappointing end to her legal battle against Louisiana. For years, Ursula had been fighting for her right to open her business—Sivad Home and Community Services—to offer in-home respit ...