There has been a lot of commentary lately on how females are outperforming males in school. We’ve published a couple of them on our Opinion pages, including an op-ed Sunday by Kathleen Parker. The New York Times also recently reported: “Department of Education statistics show that men, whatever their race or socioeconomic group, are less likely than women to get bachelor’s degrees — and among those who do, fewer complete their degrees in four or five years. Men also get worse grades than women. And in two national studies, college men reported that they studied less and socialized more than their female classmates.” The Times also reported this week that male students are becoming such a minority on some college campuses that some schools are starting up football programs to increase male enrollment.
Is male academic achievement a problem that needs fixing — such as by adjusting teaching techniques to better match male learning styles? Or is it, as columnist Rowland Nethaway suggested, “time for American males, who have traditionally run society to suit themselves, to get a taste of their own medicine”?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
An appeals court ruling Friday reinstating Nebraska’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has legal significance in Kansas. A federal judge had tossed out the ban last year, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal-protection clause because it “does not merely withhold the benefit of marriage; it operates to prohibit persons in a same-sex relationship from working to ever obtain governmental benefits or legal recognition.” There was a similar concern with Kansas’ ban, in that it went beyond banning marriage to include same-sex benefits. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Nebraska amendment “and other laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests and therefore do not violate the Constitution of the United States.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Noting the disenchanted Kansas Republicans who’ve joined Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in the Democratic Party, the liberal Daily Kos blog predicted that “Sebelius will be on everyone’s VP short list in 2008.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansas Republicans Rep. Todd Tiahrt and Sen. Sam Brownback have a fascinating idea for helping end ineffective government programs. They want to establish a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies, which would be modeled after the successful Base Realignment and Closure process. Only rather than addressing military bases, this commission would recommend federal agencies and programs that should be closed, subject to an up-or-down vote from Congress. “It is unfortunate that we would need an independent body such as this to help keep government in check,” Tiahrt has written, “but reality leads me to this conclusion.” After all, as Ronald Reagan once noted, a government program is “the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
