Budget woes linked to how justices are chosen (Kris W. Kobach in the Wichita Eagle). Explains how with a better method of selecting Kansas state Supreme Court justices, the Kansas budget might not be in such a mess. “The Montoy decision represented a court determined to advance judicial power and the liberal policy of limitless spending on education. Which brings us back to the current fiscal crisis. The reckless decision of the court in Montoy is taking its toll. Kansas’ current budget crisis is largely due to the extraordinary increases in spending ordered by the court.”
Pitchfork Time (Human Events). “We are there” says Pat Buchanan about our journey down the road to socialism. The article explains.
The Public Mischief Of Public Unions (Richard A. Epstein at Forbes). Explains the need for pension reform in the public sector. Tim Carpenter of the Topeka Capital-Journal explains the problems as they relate to KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System in the article KPERS problems compound: Stock market, past decisions strain retirement system. “The economic recession and a legacy of costly mistakes leave KPERS with more than $6 billion in unfunded obligations to future retirees. Current contributions by employers and employees are insufficient to sustain the fund over the long haul.”
Will Obama Stand Up for These Kids? (William McGurn, Wall Street Journal). Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has introduced legislation that will kill the Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. This piece highlights two children who attend the same exclusive private school that the Obama children do, thanks to this program. “And it points to perhaps the most odious of double standards in American life today: the way some of our loudest champions of public education vote to keep other people’s children — mostly inner-city blacks and Latinos — trapped in schools where they’d never let their own kids set foot. This double standard is largely unchallenged by either the teachers’ unions or the press corps. For the teachers’ unions, it’s a fairly cold-blooded calculation. They’re willing to look the other way at lawmakers who chose private or parochial schools for their own kids — so long as these lawmakers vote in ways that keep the union grip on the public schools intact and an escape hatch like vouchers bolted.”
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