The conservatives on the State Board of Education may have finally done it. By selecting Bob Corkins on Tuesday to be state education commissioner, members of the board majority may have done something so boneheaded that the public will rise up and vote them out of office next year. Corkins has no classroom experience, no education administration experience, no academic training in education and no significant managerial experience. He also has lobbied against more funding for public education. So of course the board put him in charge of K-12 education for the entire state.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
FYI: Our blog Web address is going to change soon, probably this weekend. The new blog will look about the same, and all the posts and comments from this site will be transferred — or at least that’s what the tech people promise me. We’ll post a notice on this site with the new address when the changeover happens. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, likely is sincere in signing the “Hurricane Katrina No Pork Pledge” created by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. But pork has become such a part of the appropriation process — and Tiahrt, himself, is quite skilled at bringing home the bacon — that the pledge is unlikely to curb Congress’ appetite for the other white meat.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Speaking of Todd Tiahrt and cracking down on Katrina waste: The congressman joined a call to investigate the contract between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Carnival Cruise Lines to provide temporary housing to Katrina evacuees. The cost to taxpayers for using the ships for six months is an unbelievable $236 million. It literally would have been cheaper to send the evacuees on a real cruise.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Tom DeLay lacks many things, but he doesn’t lack confidence. On “The 700 Club” last week, Pat Robertson reminded DeLay of the old saying about some grand juries being willing to indict ham sandwiches, and DeLay responded, “This is a ham sandwich with no ham.” But his confidence in his ability to kick this indictment and regain his leadership post may be as misplaced as his judgment was in getting into this and other messes.
Even The Wall Street Journal editorial board let a hint of “good riddance” enter its assessment last week: “As a Republican who came to power after Democrat Jim Wright’s fall as Speaker, Mr. DeLay had to know he too could become an ethics target. He made himself vulnerable nonetheless. Republicans are speaking up for him, in part because they know Travis County (Austin) prosecutor Ronnie Earle’s record. But . . . they also elected Missouri’s Roy Blunt as their new Majority Leader, and Mr. DeLay is unlikely ever to be the same fund-raising resource for GOP Members. The bitter irony is that his ethics problems now jeopardize the GOP majority he did so much to build.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review magazine, raises some reasonable concerns about President Bush’s recommendation to give “a broader role for the armed forces” in national disasters. Lowry worries about the dilution of the military’s primary combat mission. And he argues that rather than fall back on the military, we should fix the problems revealed by Hurricane Katrina — a dysfunctional Department of Homeland Security, poorly trained first responders, lack of coordination between governments. “Don’t look to the military as a cure-all just because it’s an institution that, at the moment, the nation’s political leadership hasn’t botched,” he writes.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Are juvenile offenders at the King’s Camp rehabilitation center better off being educated on-site or at an alternative school in the Goddard school district? That’s a local dispute that state lawmakers are wisely staying out of, despite efforts by Rep. Dick Kelsey, R-Goddard, owner of the camp, to get the Legislature to intervene.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
BUSH APPOINTS BARBARA BUSH TO SUPREME COURT; Presidential Mother Seen as Hard-line Loyalist With No Paper Trail
WICHITA METRO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAUNCHES NEW SLOGAN: ‘GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’; Some Call Latest Pitch Too Aggressive
NEW ARENA TO BE BUILT AROUND OLD MILL TASTY SHOP; Popular Soda Fountain Will Be Main Attraction
PROTESTERS CALL ON DEMOCRATS TO WITHDRAW IMMEDIATELY FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.; Party Has No Clear Mission
COWTOWN ADDS PROSTITUTES, ROTGUT WHISKEY, LOTS OF HORSE MANURE; Cites Commitment to Historical Accuracy
BEL AIRE POLICE OPEN FIRE ON WHOOPING CRANES; Claim Rare Birds Were High on Sunflower Seeds
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It’s one thing if first-time cultural event organizers trip up trying to get through the permit process at City Hall. But when multiple groups — including an event as venerable as the 37-year-old Wichita Black Arts Festival — are fighting their way through City Hall, that’s a problem. At least city staffers seem to understand that the permit process needs to be streamlined. A single application site and single form are in the works, a reform that could go to the City Council early next year. The idea of a collaborative committee of cultural event planners could have multiple benefits, too. These cultural celebrations are part of what keeps life in Wichita diverse and interesting. The city needs to help them not only happen but succeed.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
