As I write, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the monumental First Amendment case Washington v Washington Education Association & Davenport v Washington Education Association. The 9 justices will determine whether the free speech rights of union bosses or individual workers take precedence, and much more. The Colorado Attorney General submitted an amicus brief in favor of the rights of states to set policies that require organizations to obtain members' permission before using their money for political campaigns. As I wrote in the Rocky Mountain News a few months ago, this case indeed could have a bearing on Colorado. I have blogged about this case before here and here. At the forefront of the cause of freedom in this … [Read more...]
Ritter’s Education Message Left Wanting
In yesterday's State of the State address, newly-minted Governor Bill Ritter's remarks came with little suspense and offered no surprises. But supporters of freedom and parental choice may demand answers yet. Congratulations are to be given for the positive tone and the ambitious goals, such as cutting the dropout rate in half. But the general outline for how to get Colorado there is where some problems are going to arise. First, what did he say? "We're going to align our educational programs with today's competitive global marketplace. We're going to prepare our students for 21st century industries - 21st century opportunities - like renewable energy, aerospace and biomedicine." Sounds like the preface to this new national report, which … [Read more...]
Colorado Dems Repaying Favors to Union Bosses?
The newly expanded Democrat power base in Denver stands poised to repay the union bosses who joined ultraliberal benefactors Tim Gill and Pat Stryker in helping to buy their recent elections. Introduced this week in the Colorado state legislature is House Bill 1072 by Democrat Rep. Michael Garcia, which would eliminate the requirement that a majority of workers has to cast a ballot to approve a union agreement to create a closed shop and collect agency fees. That's right: in other words, union bosses and their Democrat allies just want to assume the financial support of the average working man without even holding an honest election first. Of course, federal law as it stands now would supersede the state legislation, keeping the majority … [Read more...]
Twin Rocky Columns: Things Looking Up for GOP
Put together, two columns in this Saturday's Rocky Mountain News for Colorado political junkies, both signaling that having reached its nadir the center-right political movement in this state is on the rebound. In one, Peter Blake assures us that indeed Dick Wadhams is serious about taking the helm of the state Republican Party and committing to see it through the next election cycle: So why did he agree when Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany asked him to consider the job? "It looked like a challenge that would be a lot of fun and I'm just dumb enough to think that there's a great opportunity here too." And, of course, we know that there's a lot more behind the decision than what Wadhams is generating for the press. Keep your chin up, … [Read more...]
Bias or Bunkum?: Post Editors Dupes for Education Unions
There's nothing wrong per se with the Denver Post printing this guest opinion piece by Kevin Welner of the Think Tank Review Project. Writes Welner: I co-direct a new project that reviews the quality of reports issued by such think tanks. We just finished our first year of reviews, and the results were awfully depressing. So to brighten our spirits, we decided to make lemonade by issuing the 2006 Bunkum Awards in Education. The Bunkum Awards recognize and celebrate the dubious accomplishments of think-tank reports over the past year. In 2006, 13 such reports were reviewed by independent scholars commissioned by our Think Tank Review Project. These reviewers were asked to scrutinize the reports and write brief reviews for the project … [Read more...]
Erratum
As is standard practice on this blog, for the sake of transparency and integrity, I am willing to acknowledge factual mistakes that are made. In the previous post I closed with a disclosure that said Independence Institute reports were under review by the Think Tank Review Project. I since have been informed that this specific claim is not correct, though the Institute fits the ideological profile of the think tank reports targeted by the union-funded Project. The larger point of the piece's call for disclosure and transparency stands. … [Read more...]
RMA Updates
The Rocky Mountain Alliance welcomes its first addition in a long time: we are very honored to be joined by my internationally-respected think tank colleague David Kopel, Independence Institute research director and Second Amendment Project director. For all the best analysis on gun laws and related issues, check out Kopel's Corner. Also, our good friend and Alliance member Jim has switched domains. Visit Thinking Right's new digs at www.thinking-right.com, and don't forget to update your blogrolls. … [Read more...]
An Education Conversation That Ought Not Be Ignored
Over at Edspresso, one of the very best edublogs out there, is my new column on last month's national report calling for a drastic overhaul of the K-12 public education system and a well-attended meeting last week in Denver to promote its findings. Colorado is at the forefront of this conversation, and appears to be most serious about studying the proposals, discussing them, and working toward implementation. Anyone interested in the future of Colorado or national education policy - students, parents, and teachers - would do well to familiarize themselves with the basic ideas that already have started to be debated here. … [Read more...]
Ben’s Ballot
At the request of some, I have decided to share how I am voting on this year's ballot issues. Below you will find the ballot titles & designations, followed by a brief explanation of my vote and my opinion of the relative significance & likelihood of each to pass. For comparison, I've also added the stated endorsements of two Colorado conservative icons: influential talk radio host Mike Rosen and former state senate president John Andrews. After all, there can be some disagreement about certain issues within the movement. Keep reading for my opinions and predictions... … [Read more...]
High Honors
The Colorado Education Association, carrying the state's largest anti-reform-in-education banner for years, has bestowed on me high honors. The new October-November 2006 edition of CEA Journal included yours truly, the proprietor of this blog, in a select group as "[one] of the most virulent *anti-public education individuals in the state." Incidentally, this appeared in the same issue where union officials also endorsed an astonishing (gasp!) 73 Democrat candidates vs. 6 Republican candidates - oh so clearly not reflecting the political affiliations of their rank-and-file membership. The badge of honor has now assumed a permanent place at the top of the page. I believe I now can say I've truly made my parents proud, and my life's work … [Read more...]
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