Disapproving hisses and supportive slaps of chairs alternated as former senatorial candidate Joe Miller LAW ’95 delivered a speech opposing federal involvement in the American education system Tuesday evening.

The Tea Party politician, who was invited to campus by the Yale Political Union, told a group of about 130 undergraduates in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall that federal involvement in education is unconstitutional and has not yielded good results for the country. Still, the majority of the crowd expressed disapproval of Miller’s position in the debate, and YPU members ultimately voted against his stance by a vote of 31 to 23.

“The government wants to control the masses,” he said in his speech, evoking strong hisses from the audience.

A former U.S. magistrate judge, Miller said constitutional law provides the strongest support for his argument, arguing that education is legally a state responsibility and pointing out that the Constitution has no mention of the words “education” or “school.”

Miller warned that ignoring the country’s constitutional foundation would damage the rule of law, setting a precedent that may result in a “tyranny of the majority.”

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Read More at Yale Daily News By Clinton Wang, Yale Daily News

Should Newt Gingrich turn in a strong showing in the South Carolina primary Saturday and his rivals for the conservative vote drop out of the GOP presidential race, the former House speaker feels confident he can draw a sharp contrast with front-runner Mitt Romney and win their party’s nomination for President this year.

“I have a game plan to win after South Carolina,” said Gingrich, who spoke to HUMAN EVENTS Wednesday morning between campaign stops in the Palmetto State. While freely admitting he is “totally focused on winning South Carolina,” Gingrich echoed the view of Florida campaign chairman Bill McCollum that he can defeat Romney in that state’s primary January 31st.

“And then, we will be competing in the Republican caucuses [to choose national convention delegates] in Colorado and Minnesota February 7 and then the caucuses in Washington State [March 3] and then we’re into ‘Super Tuesday,’ he told us, referring to the voting March 6 in which caucuses and primaries in a dozen states will choose their delegates.

“The one significant mistake we made in the campaign so far was failing to get on the ballot in Virginia [March 6],” Gingrich conceded, but he quickly added that “we learned from that mistake and we just have to work harder in the other Super Tuesday states to make up for this. (He did not mention that he also failed to qualify for the primary ballot in Missouri February 7, but Gingrich backers pointed out to us that the Show Me State primary is a non-binding “beauty contest” and that actual delegates are chosen at a state convention later in the year in which they insist their man will be competitive).

Gingrich’s “game plan” depends on conservative opponents such as Rick Perry and Rick Santorum leaving the race soon and letting him face Romney, whom he dismissed as a “confused Massachusetts moderate.” Referring to a recent appearance by Karl Rove on Fox Television, Gingrich recalled how the former Bush White House counselor concluded that Romney could not win if there was a “consensus conservative vote coming to South Carolina.” Gingrich himself believes “if there was a unified conservative vote in South Carolina, I would defeat Romney by at least 60-40.”

Read More at Human Events By John Gizzi, Human Events

This is what happens when you make the Internet mad.

On Wednesday, a group of technology companies began an unusual form of protest: The firms shut down or replaced the content on their own popular Web sites with protest messages to show their unhappiness with two Internet-regulation bills grinding through Congress. They argue that the bills would impose huge regulatory costs and stifle innovation on the Web.

Around the country, Americans woke up without some of the oddball essentials of online life. No Wikipedia. No Reddit, a compendium of links to stories and funny pictures that draws millions a day. And no I Can Has Cheezburger?, the world’s best-known collection of funny cat pictures.

In Washington, however, Wednesday has another significance.

It culminates a surprising lobbying effort in which technology companies such as Twitter, Wikipedia and Google have used their massive reach into Americans’ daily lives as a political weapon, to whip up support from online users.

Read More at The Washington Post By David A. Farenthold, The Washington Post

HOUSTON – Following the inspiring meeting of conservative Christian activists last weekend, my biggest question about the 2012 election is whether Republicans are ready to meet what I call “the Ron Paul challenge.”

By “the Ron Paul challenge,” I’m not talking about the threat of Paul actually winning the nomination. I’m referring instead to the impressive movement he has built among Republicans, independents and tea-party activists, not to mention disaffected Democrats.’

There’s no getting around it, Ron Paul has a real and growing constituency – one vital to the future of the Republican Party, not only in 2012, but beyond.

Republicans need to recognize some sad facts about this movement:

It is not a passing fad;

It is not a cult of personality;

Read More at WND By Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily

AG Eric Holder is trying to compare the time when forcing African Americans to pay a poll tax, or answer obscure questions about the Georgia constitution – common tactics to deny blacks the right to vote 50 years ago – to voter ID laws today.

Is it possible to be so ignorant of history, partisan, and grossly demagogic all at once? Our hysterical AG is trying his best.

Reuters:

“The reality is that – in jurisdictions across the country – both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common,” Holder, who is black, told hundreds of people attending an annual rally to honor King, the slain civil rights leader, on the steps of the South Carolina state capitol.

“Protecting the right to vote, ensuring meaningful access, and combating discrimination must be viewed, not only as a legal issue – but as a moral imperative,” Holder said. “Ensuring that every eligible citizen has the right to vote must become our common cause.”

The South Carolina law required voters to show a state-issued photo identification card to cast a ballot in an election. Republican supporters said it would prevent voter fraud, but Democratic critics argued it would make it harder for those without driver’s licenses, many of them poor and black, to cast a ballot.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Read More at American Thinker By Rick Moran, American Thinker