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School lawsuit likely to resume after election
Read more: School lawsuit likely to resume after electionSchool finance lawsuits have been a driving force behind state spending policy for almost two decades in Kansas. The July 28 Kansas Supreme Court ruling only ends the latest and most expensive school finance lawsuit. This decision only creates a brief pause until the inconvenience of the 2006 election is behind us in just over…
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Adjusting the testing gap
Read more: Adjusting the testing gapCharles Murray has a commentary titled “Acid Tests” which describes how the way that the No Child Left Behind program uses test scores is misleading. By adjusting what states use to measure “proficiency,” states can appear to be closing the gap between different groups of students. In Texas, the gap between the percentage of white…
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Kansas Taxpayers Network 2006 legislative vote ratings released
Read more: Kansas Taxpayers Network 2006 legislative vote ratings released“There are 17 Kansas legislators who scored 100% on the Kansas Taxpayers Network’s 2006 fiscal scorecard,” said KTN Executive Director Karl Peterjohn. Legislators were measured on their votes on tax and fiscal issues as well as their votes on reining in judicial activists and judicial appropriations. This scorecard also measured on their votes on correcting…
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Consider carefully costs of a new Wichita airport terminal
Read more: Consider carefully costs of a new Wichita airport terminalAs Wichita considers building a new terminal at its airport, we should pause to consider the effect an expensive new terminal would have on the cost of traveling to and from Wichita, and by extension, the economic health and vitality of our town.
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Wow, City Biggest Investor in Entertainment
Read more: Wow, City Biggest Investor in EntertainmentI cannot recall another city government that has spent so much money on entertainment. The city wanted to make downtown a destination but they but a bland science muesum on the best location. They have bailed out way to many private ventures all in the name of quality of life.
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Remarks to Wichita City Council Regarding the AirTran Subsidy on July 11, 2006
Read more: Remarks to Wichita City Council Regarding the AirTran Subsidy on July 11, 2006You may recall that I have spoken to this body in years past expressing my opposition to the AirTran subsidy. At that time we were told that the subsidy was intended to be a short-tem measure. Today, four years after the start of the subsidy, with state funding planned for the next five years, it…
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Even the New York Times recognizes testing fraud
Read more: Even the New York Times recognizes testing fraudA New York Times editorial titled “The School Testing Dodge” realizes that nearly all states report student achievement scores, as measured by their own tests, that are much higher than what the same students do on the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress exam.
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Reporting on Wichita’s new terminal
Read more: Reporting on Wichita’s new terminalA Wichita Eagle article published on June 29, 2006 explores the need for a new terminal at the Wichita Airport. I have some issues with the reporting in this article, as it is quite biased in favor of those advocating the new terminal. When you combine people eager to spend others’ money with sloppy newspaper…
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What’s Good for Gander Not Good For Goose
Read more: What’s Good for Gander Not Good For GooseHowever, Gander Mountain and its developer, Oppidan Investment Co., argue granting special favors to any one retailer leads down a slippery slope. “If you give [a tax break] to a Wal-Mart, should you give it to Target? If you give it to Home Depot, then should you give it to Lowe’s? And if you give…
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No more smoking laws, please
Read more: No more smoking laws, pleaseThere is no doubt in my mind that smoking cigarettes and breathing secondhand smoke are harmful to health. If a young person asked my advice as to whether to smoke cigarettes, I would strongly urge them to avoid smoking. But it doesn’t follow that we should have laws against smoking, or laws that govern how…
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The advantage of being Warren Buffet
Read more: The advantage of being Warren BuffetThe recent news that Warren Buffet is giving away the bulk of his fortune to charity is good news to me, as I greatly prefer private charity to government spending of taxes. That’s true for me even if Mr. Buffet were to use his philanthropy to support causes that I might not agree with. But…
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I have nothing to offer
Read more: I have nothing to offerOne of the appeals of big government is that is has so much to offer everyone. Those, myself included, who want government to radically reduce its size, intrusiveness, and power have nothing to offer except freedom and liberty. Sadly, those things don’t seem to matter to many people today. Or perhaps people have forgotten what…