The Latest

Here's the latest move to get my state teacher's license. The background is that a few months ago, a friend of mine who is a lobbyist, offered to approach the House and Senate leadership about getting me licensed. He was personally outraged at the vote of the State Board of Education denying my license. I offered to contact Senator Hensley about supporting an effort to have a bill introduced requiring the BOE to license me. I have known Senator Hensley for many years, dating back to when he was a young legislator and I was Mayor of Topeka. He supported many of our local initiatives. Now, Senator Hensley, who is himself a public school teacher, is the longest-tenured member of the Kansas Legislature and a strong advocate for education issues.

I e-mailed Sen. Hensley two weeks ago. He never responded to my e-mail, and I thought the matter was hopeless. Yesterday, the Topeka Capital Journal contacted me and asked me for a comment about Senate Bill No. 487. I had not seen the Bill, but obviously, Senator Hensley thought the idea has merit. I am grateful for his support.

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UPDATE: The Topeka Capital-Journal weighs in on this important issue, finding my pursuit of a teacher's license to be admirable and sincere, and even offering that I am rehabilitated. But, they oppose Senator Hensley's bill, suggesting it is a misues of the legislative process. They may be right.

State of the Union

Tonight President Barack Obama gives his first State of the Union address. It is easily the most important speech he has ever given. His first year in office began with such high hopes for the future of the U.S. and his presidency, but now, after Scott Brown's upset victory in the Massachusetts Senate race last week, President Obama is facing a hostile Congress and and even more hostile American citizenry. Or is that emotion we are feeling one of fear? Consider the thoughts of Michael Ledeen:

They’re afraid of Obama. Afraid of what he’s doing to them, and therefore prepared to change sides.

This fear is extremely broad-based. It is not limited to social class nor to domestic or foreign policies. Banks are not lending, companies are not hiring, because they are afraid of what Obama will do next. Both are afraid of onerous taxes, including new health care burdens, and the banks fear new regulations and the consequences of the recently declared war on evil bankers by the president. Seniors are afraid they will be deprived of medical treatment. Juniors are afraid they are going to be forced to buy health insurance they don’t think they need. Across the board, Americans are afraid they’re not going to find work, and won’t be able to afford a house. And, as the Massachusetts vote showed, Americans are worried about threats from abroad, worried about Iran, afraid of terrorist attacks, and afraid the Obama Administration doesn’t take all this seriously enough. As Scott Brown put it, most Americans think our tax dollars should go to fighting terrorists, not to pay lawyers to defend terrorists.

Will Obama prove to be the leader many thought he would become or will he become Jimmy Carter?

Should we pull the plug on Head Start?

Head Start is the federal government’s largest early education program. For more than 40 years, this pet project has been a sinkhole for taxpayer dollars and an ineffective education program for children. As Congress considers expanding the federal government’s role in early childhood education, the new Head Start evaluation should clearly signal to policymakers the necessity of reforming existing programs – not furthering ineffective models such as Head Start. Taxpayers have been on the hook for more than $100 billion for the Head Start program since 1965. This federal evaluation, which effectively shows no lasting impact on children after first grade and no difference between those children who attended Head Start and those who did not, should call into question the merits of increasing funding for the program, which the Obama administration recently did as part of the so-called “stimulus” bill. But, don't hold your breath waiting for the plug to be pulled on this ineffective program.

Why those Verizon ads are so effective

You've seen the ads...Verizon's 3G map almost covers the entire USA while AT & T's map covers some cities and a few other urban areas. It is true. A picture is worth a thousand words. With a picture, Verizon destroys AT & T's coverage.


Look at the chart in my last post that shows the monthly decline in President Obama's approval rating. That chart says it all, just like Verizon's ads.

Wow! What a year!

One year ago, President-elect Barack Obama was planning his inauguration as President. He was riding high in the polls and enjoying the best wishes of most all Americans. Today, one year later, he is floundering. He has lost his groove. One picture speaks louder than any of my words.

When does the first decade of the 21st century end?

As we near this year's end, we are being bombarded with articles that summarize the past decade..."The best baseball (football, soccer, badminton) players of the decade!"..."The top news stories of the decade!"...etc. But, when does the decade end? December 31, 2009 or 2010?

I am reminded of a question posed to my class by a law school professor in 1970. "When will the century end," he asked. There were two obvious answers: December 31, 1999 or 2000. As we pondered the answers, it became obvious the question had nothing to do with law. It was asked to make us think.

Ultimately, we figured out that in the calendar in common worldwide usage, the first year was "Year 1" and the 100th year was "Year 100." That marked the first century. Each succeeding century, then, began with "1" and end with "00." The twentieth century began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. The first decade of the twenty-first century began January 1, 2001 and will end about a year from now, on December 31, 2010. Save those "all-decade" lists for another year.

A present-day law school professor ponders this same question here. Maybe this is about law?

"Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word."

The Kansas State Board of Education responded to my lawsuit on Dec. 9, voting once again to deny me a teacher's license. Here's the T C-J report. A few points:
1. There are felons teaching in the Kansas public schools today. One of them was honored with a "Teacher of the Year" award 2 years ago.
2. This BOE licensed a felon a few months ago.
3. The BOE must find a felon is "rehabilitated for a period of 5 years" before issuing a license.
4. Six votes are needed from this 10 member Board to obtain a license. Four members voted to license me. Two of the 6 who voted to deny me spoke on the record saying they were satisfied I was rehabilitated. The two did not explain the inconsistency in their vote.
5. My recourse is to go back to Court and ask the Judge to find that the BOE decision is not supported by the evidence. I'll probably do this next week.
6. I feel like Red (the Morgan Freeman character) in The Shawshank Redemption who went before the State Parole Board every year, said the right things, did the right things, patronized them and was denied for parole. Finally, he said what was in his heart, cussed repeatedly, insulted them and, lo and behold, had his parole approved. The scene is worth revisiting.