Daily Archives: March 16, 2008

School boards as smut spotters?

March 16, 20086:05 a.m.

xxxsign“What’s acceptable in San Francisco may not be in Kansas. Let the school board set the community standard,” state Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, testified to a House committee Thursday, on behalf of a Senate-passed measure under which Kansas teachers would ask their school boards to review outside classroom materials that parents might challenge as obscene. As teacher and Rep. Judith Loganbill, D-Wichita, noted, school boards do not have time to review all materials that teachers might like to use. Teachers might play it safe, and perhaps shortchange students, rather than go through the review hassle. Can’t teachers be treated as professionals and trusted to pick their own materials? Besides, is classroom smut really a problem in Kansas?

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Education | Comments (67)

Open thread 3/16

March 16, 20086:03 a.m.

thread

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (317)

Congress may not feel recession

March 16, 20086:01 a.m.

monopolyAccording to the latest rankings of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the median net worth of members of Congress for 2006 was $1.7 million for U.S. senators and $675,000 for House members. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., was the only Kansan to crack the top 25 in either chamber, coming in as the 17th richest senator with a minimum net worth of just over $10 million. The richest member of either chamber was said to be Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., whose wealth was estimated at $409 million in 2006. And House members saw their net worth rise an average 84 percent from 2004 to 2006. Can a Congress whose members have $3.6 billion between them really write laws for a nation in an economic slowdown?

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Congress | Comments (24)

Only ‘liberal chorus’ against tanker contract?

March 16, 20086:00 a.m.

brownbackAn editorial in the National Review counts Sam Brownback among Republicans “who really ought to know better” than to join the “liberal chorus” against the awarding of the Air Force tanker contract to the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Northrop Grumman. The editorial noted that “just a few weeks ago, Brownback was praising ‘the open nature of this competition,’ concluding that the deal’s critics are acting as if “it’s OK to have a competition — until the other side wins.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Congress, Kansas government | Comments (14)