Daily Archives: April 8, 2006

Open thread

April 8, 200612:07 a.m.
By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (79)

Kassebaum Baker no fan of No Child

April 8, 200612:03 a.m.

Include Nancy Kassebaum Baker among those critical of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates annual testing and achievement gains. The former Kansas senator said at a Kansas University Women’s Club scholarship fundraiser in Lawrence last weekend that she wouldn’t have voted for NCLB, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. One reason was that she knew it would be an underfunded mandate. She also believes that, in the long run, standardized testing isn’t going to solve the nation’s education problems. She said parents and teachers need to instill children with a respect for learning, rather than focusing so much on doing well on tests.
Kassebaum — whose son, former Rep. Bill Kassebaum, R-Burdick, led a revolt in 2004 to get more money for schools, then was targeted for defeat by anti-tax groups and lost a close re-election race in the GOP primary — also said that state lawmakers may need to raise taxes to pay for increased education. “It’s a tough issue, a divisive issue,” she said. “I’d rather raise some taxes, because you can’t do it with smoke and mirrors.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (11)

Bush’s ‘ABC’ strategy too heavy on the ‘A’

April 8, 200612:03 a.m.

In some poor nations of the world, a dollar spent trying to prevent HIV/AIDS by preaching abstinence is a dollar wasted. But that reality has not deterred the Bush administration from stressing abstinence and fidelity more than Congress intended in conjunction with Bush’s $15 billion global AIDS initiative, according to Congress’ Government Accountability Office. Experts like the plan’s “ABC” approach — abstinence, fidelity and condoms. But to de-emphasize condoms for domestic political reasons is to deny the reality that they save lives.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (11)

News flash: Bush takes a tough question

April 8, 200612:01 a.m.

Tough questioning of the president should be a regular occurrence, not a newsworthy event. But because President Bush has been so successful at insulating himself from criticism, a 61-year-old commercial real estate broker’s comments at a North Carolina forum are making national headlines. Harry Taylor got the rare chance to challenge the president:
“You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. . . .
“What I want to say to you is that I, in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by, my leadership in Washington.”
And although Bush managed to avoid responding to many of Taylor’s complaints, at least he didn’t manage to avoid hearing them.
Posted by Melissa Cooley

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (59)