Michael A. LaFerrara's Articles
Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Mandatory DNA Testing for Newborns and Parents would Violate their Rights
Michael A. LaFerrara March 28, 2012
At the behest of “fathers’ rights advocates,” New Jersey Assemblyman Gilbert Wilson (D) has “proposed a measure . . . that would require all newborns—and their parents—to undergo genetic testing to create a record should questions arise about whom the father or mother is.” A justifiably angry NJ Star-Ledger columnist,…
Education & Parenting
Teacher Accountability Follows from Genuine Market Activity
Michael A. LaFerrara March 19, 2012
In her paper "The Teacher Accountability Debate," Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University, took critical aim at a new Chetty-Friedman-Rockoff public school study. The study, she says, purports to prove a direct correlation between teacher quality and the likelihood of student personal and financial success in…
Politics & Rights
“Hate Crime” Laws are Gateways for Censorship and Statism
Michael A. LaFerrara March 5, 2012
A criminal trial stemming from a 2010 incident that drew national attention began in New Brunswick, NJ on February 24, 2012. The defendant, Dharun Ravi, allegedly spied on his Rutgers college roommate Tyler Clementi with another man via webcam, and subsequently distributed the recordings via Twitter. The prosecution claims that Ravi…
Science & Technology
Obama’s “Cruel Disregard” for the Sick—and the Well
Michael A. LaFerrara February 25, 2012
A recent decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made an end-run around an existing ban on compensation for most bone marrow donations. In light of new technology enabling the extraction of bone marrow cells from blood, the court ruled that “marrow cells taken from a donor's blood were…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
How the Catholic Church Paved the Way for the Birth Control Mandate
Michael A. LaFerrara February 15, 2012
Catholics angry at President Obama over the insurance mandate to cover birth control should blame one organization above all others: the Catholic Church. In 1993, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, declaring health care “a basic human right,” released a statement calling for government-imposed universal health care, based upon the…
Politics & Rights
Should a “homosexual contract” be called something other than marriage?
Michael A. LaFerrara February 13, 2012
Following my recent post, Message to Gov. Christie and His Critics: Gay Marriage is a Moral Right, a reader commented: Government should be out of the marriage business; then all contracts between individuals need not be restricted. However, with government involved as it is, and given all the laws that incentivize…
Politics & Rights
The Government Should Extend Freedom, not HARP
Michael A. LaFerrara February 11, 2012
President Obama recently announced an expansion of the Federal Government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This new initiative seeks to help homeowners who can not refinance their mortgages at today’s low rates because their homes’ values have dropped below their mortgage balances. Obama, who places the blame for the crisis squarely…
Politics & Rights
Message to Gov. Christie and His Critics: Gay Marriage is a Moral Right
Michael A. LaFerrara February 6, 2012
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ignited a political furor when he vowed to veto a bill recently introduced in the state legislature legalizing gay marriage because he believed the issue should be decided by popular vote through a public referendum. In so doing, he said "I think people would have…
Politics & Rights, Reviews
Review: American Individualism, by Margaret Hoover
Michael A. LaFerrara November 20, 2011
Michael A. LaFerrara reviews American Individualism—How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party, by Margaret Hoover.
Education & Parenting
Letters and Replies: Health Insurance, Tax Credits
Michael A. LaFerrara answers a letter about tax credits for education.
Education & Parenting
Letters and Replies: Tax Credits for Education
Michael A. LaFerrara May 20, 2011
Michael A. LaFerrara answers a letter about tax credits for Education.
Education & Parenting, Politics & Rights
Toward a Free Market in Education: School Vouchers or Tax Credits?
Michael A. LaFerrara February 20, 2011
Distinguishes between school vouchers and tax credits, showing that only one of these can provide a viable road map toward a free market in education.