Legislative Republicans are taking heat over the 12:45 a.m. veto override vote of a bill that prohibits the payroll deduction of dues of members of the N.C. Association of Educators. John Locke Foundation President John Hood discusses the bill and the politics of the move. Then we turn to one of the most well known libertarians on TV, John Stossel of Fox News. Stossel documented his transformation from left-leaning television consumer-affairs reporter to libertarian thinker during the featured speech at the John W. Pope Foundation’s 25th anniversary dinner. You’ll hear highlights from those remarks. Next is a look at one of the most contentious policy debates in recent memory. North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act remains in place, despite legislative efforts to change the 2009 law substantially. State senators voted this month to override a gubernatorial veto of those changes. You’ll hear both sides of the argument as Sens. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, and Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, debated the measure. That’s followed by a look at federalism. A successful federal system of government requires some degree of humility. That’s the assessment of Kyle Scott, visiting assistant professor of political science at Duke University and author of a book on the theory and practice of federalism. Scott explains the links between federalism and humility. And finally, John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies Terry Stoops analyzes changes to the state’s K-12 education that will occur in 2012. Stoops discusses the proliferation of new public charter schools, new standards and tests, and the change that could come if November’s election produces a Superintendent of Public Instruction from the Republican Party.
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