As the national media awake to the Air Force tanker flap, much of the tone mirrors that of the New York Times’ editorial, which concluded: “For Congress to reverse the decision on ‘Buy America’ grounds would be bad for taxpayers: requiring them to pay for aircraft that provide less value for the money. It would also be bad diplomacy and bad business. And that can’t be good for the country.”Meanwhile, the contract is fast becoming a partisan issue, and part of the presidential campaign, because of GOP candidate John McCain’s role in nixing the lease deal in 2004 and setting the rules for the do-over that went Airbus’ way. “Having made sure that Iraq gets new schools, roads, bridges and dams that we deny America, now we are making sure that France gets the jobs that Americans used to have,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill. “We are sending the jobs overseas, all because John McCain demanded it.”
During Winston Brooks’ nearly 10 years as Wichita school superintendent, he proved the right man for the difficult job of managing the big, diverse district out of a public relations nightmare and into a period of self-improvement and community support. That he now has been chosen as the right man to head the Albuquerque, N.M., schools, starting July 1, reflects well on the Wichita district and his two decades of service to it. Brooks deserves congratulations and thanks. That said, his departure can’t help but put a big question mark over the prospects for the May 6 election on a proposed $350 million bond issue. Will voters approve of such an investment without knowing who would oversee it?
From a New York Times Magazine article: “Separating schoolboys from schoolgirls has long been a staple of private and parochial education. But the idea is now gaining traction in American public schools, in response to both the desire of parents to have more choice in their children’s public education and the separate education crises girls and boys have been widely reported to experience.†The article explained: “Among advocates of single-sex public education, there are two camps: those who favor separating boys from girls because they are essentially different and those who favor separating boys from girls because they have different social experiences and social needs.â€
For all the talk of hope and change emanating from the presidential campaign, Kansans seem of two minds about whether America’s best days are a thing of the past or the future. In a recent SurveyUSA poll, co-sponsored by KWCH, Channel 12 in Wichita, 45 percent said the nation’s best days are ahead, as 40 percent said they are over. Oddly, the 35- to 54-year-olds constituted the most pessimistic age group, with 44 percent thinking the good times are history.
Police chiefs and prosecutors from three northeast Kansas counties got together in Topeka last week to promote early childhood education. “If you care about crime prevention, if you care about saving money and ultimately lives, then you must care about high-quality early education programs,†said Lenexa Police Chief Ellen Hanson at the event sponsored by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. The crimefighters cited studies favoring greater investment in high-quality early childhood education, asserting that every $1 spent on such programs for at-risk kids saves $16 later on law enforcement, corrections and the like. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius included $30 million more on early childhood programs for at-risk kids in her budget proposal, a tough sell in the current economic climate. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity-Kansas proposed as part of its “model†state budget that lawmakers eliminate prekindergarten spending, because “a parent is a child’s most important educator†— which sounds good but ignores the many Kansas parents who are not.
As the national media awake to the Air Force tanker flap, much of the tone mirrors that of the New York Times’ editorial, which concluded: “For Congress to reverse the decision on ‘Buy America’ grounds would be bad for taxpayers: requiring them to pay for aircraft that provide less value for the money. It would also be bad diplomacy and bad business. And that can’t be good for the country.”Meanwhile, the contract is fast becoming a partisan issue, and part of the presidential campaign, because of GOP candidate John McCain’s role in nixing the lease deal in 2004 and setting the rules for the do-over that went Airbus’ way. “Having made sure that Iraq gets new schools, roads, bridges and dams that we deny America, now we are making sure that France gets the jobs that Americans used to have,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill. “We are sending the jobs overseas, all because John McCain demanded it.”
