Just the Facts, madam

- The Georgia Public Policy Foundation will unveil the 2007 "No Excuses" Schools at a news conference on Tuesday at Rigdon Elementary in Columbus, Georgia. Have you visited the Foundation's acclaimed Report Card for Parents, ranking performance at the state's public elementary, middle and high schools? Check it out at www.gppf.org/default. asp?pt=doc&doc=reportcard.

- "The problem with today's laissez-faire morality is that it encourages people to take everyone seriously. It's only when people adopt the idea that everyone's position has merit that they show an unwillingness to judge anyone. The threat is that by remaining unwilling to dismiss certain ideas and behaviors as ludicrous, immoral, or simply icky we invite people to think all ideas and behaviors are morally equal." - Jonah Goldberg

- Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite. But if they do, blame it on the ban on DDT and other effective pesticides, according to the Heartland Institute, which reports bedbug outbreaks in all 50 states, "infesting not only hotel rooms of all price ranges, but also moving vans, airplanes, bus cushions, and apartment buildings." Source: Heartland Institute

- Virtually home: The National Association of Realtors estimates that 80 percent or more of home buyers start their search on the Internet, a far cry from, say, 10 years ago when a consultation with a real estate agent was the norm. Source: Forbes.com

- "A reader sent the following message, quoting his nephew: 'Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an unlicensed Pharmacist.'" - Thomas Sowell, "Random Thoughts"

- Edufact: School choice programs saved a total of about $444 million from 1990 to 2006, including a total of $22 million saved in state budgets and $422 million saved in local public school districts. In nearly every school choice program, the dollar value of the voucher or scholarship is less than or equal to the state's formula spending per student, meaning states are spending the same amount or less on students in school choice programs. Source: Friedman Foundation

- Georgia is home to 16 of the nation's biggest 500 manufacturers, leading the Southeast and ranking the state 11th on the list of IndustryWeek's 500 Largest U.S. Manufacturers: Manufacturing Giants. Leading the nation is California (56), followed by Texas (52) and New York (42). Also in the top 20 are Georgia neighbors North Carolina (15th, with 12 of the top 500 manufacturers) and Florida (18th, with five.) Source: IndustryWeek.com

- Student enrollment in Georgia's charter schools jumped 23 percent in the 2006-07 school year, one of the most dramatic gains in the nation, according to the 2007 Annual Survey of America's Charter Schools. The number of charter schools in the state increased from 49 during the 2005-06 to 59 during the current school year, a 20 percent increase. A total of 25,882 Georgia students now attend charter schools. Nationally, charter schools increased 11 percent. Source: Center for Education Reform

- Mission creep: "The European welfare states are learning that producers don't leave themselves available for milking forever. Their economies are sluggish, and unemployment is high. Government promises exceed resources, and citizens who were guaranteed lifelong security find their benefits shrinking. Yet this doesn't deter our champions of big government. Even the coming Social Security and Medicare train wrecks don't faze them.... Thomas Jefferson said, 'The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.' It's sad that that's no myth." - John Stossel