Voice For Liberty

Author: Bob Weeks

  • Wichita test scores largely mirror Kansas

    Officials at USD 259, the Wichita school district, and school bond issue supporters are quick to point out that the Wichita schools have an 11-year record of rising test scores. That’s a good thing, as long as the tests are reliable and valid measures of student learning and achievement.

  • Kansas can’t afford a cigarette tax hike

    The Kansas Health Policy Authority’s recommendation to use a 75-cent cigarette tax increase to pay for health costs should be worrisome — not only to smokers, but also to non-smokers and fiscally responsible legislators as well. The approach may seem appealing at first, but such tax increases are notoriously unpredictable and regressive. Funding a high-profile…

  • Wichita Eagle’s Bob Lutz and the Wichita School Bond Issue

    In his column Cochran has succeeded in spreading anti-bond message, Wichita Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz argues for the passage of the Wichita school bond issue. This is the same Bob Lutz who, on learning that the Wichita school board might cut some spending on athletic facilities from the bond issue, became “flustered now about…

  • Goddard City Website Campaigns for Its Mayor

    For about the last week, the City of Goddard, Kansas, has been using its website to campaign for its mayor in her race for the Sedgwick County Commission. The website, located at www.goddardkansas.us, usually looks like a typical city website, holding general news and information, with links to city departments. But around October 21, according…

  • Money in Kansas District Attorney races

    “Recent contribution reports by District Attorney Candidates in Johnson, Shawnee and Sedgwick Counties show Democrats have raised $300,793 and spent $423,857, while Republican candidates have raised only $181,521 and spent $212,670.” Read the Kansas Meadowlark’s full report at Money in District Attorney races.

  • Wichita School Superintendent Martin Libhart: What’s Wrong With “Government Schools?”

    In a recent email from Wichita School Interim Superintendent Martin Libhart to Wichita school employees, he took issue with those who, using his words, “openly refer to public education as ‘government schools.’” It seems as though Mr. Libhart regards the term “government schools” as derogatory. Or at least as something that should be used only…

  • The Wichita School Bond Yard Sign Never Used

    Wichitans may remember that the upcoming election on November 4 regarding a bond issue for USD 259, the Wichita school district bond issue, isn’t the first time this year that this matter was to be voted on. Originally the Wichita school board passed a resolution setting May 6 as the date for the election. But…

  • Some Articles Worth Reading

    Making Social Security More Harmful. From the Foundation for Economic Education. “Consider first that ever since Social Security was enacted in 1935 Americans have been told that their ‘contributions’ are being deposited into their own account to pay for their retirement benefits. … The other fraudulent claim made about Social Security (again, from the very…

  • Wichita Eagle Political Contributions: This Year?

    A Wichita Eagle editorial argues for voluntary disclosure of ballot issue campaign donations, stating: “The groups on both sides of USD 259’s bond election should voluntarily disclose their donations before Nov. 4, rather than hide behind the state’s ridiculous disclosure laws applying to ballot questions.” (“Bond groups should declare donors,” August 28, 2008.) If the…