A quick-hit double-link in the form of two recent essays I recommend as timely and relevant reading for thoughtful lovers of liberty: "The Welfare State and the Meaning of Life" by Greg Forster, whose work I have come to know through his excellent research and analysis of school choice issues, but in this case makes a strong moral case against socialism "Ron Paul's Secession Lies on Video" by libertarian lawyer and thinker Tim Sandefur, a college classmate of mine who delivers a remedial lesson in United States history and the Constitution to the Congressman and former presidential candidate ... It's one thing to speak up loudly against federal overreaches and for a renewed respect of the 10th Amendment, it's quite another to call for … [Read more...]
House Education Committee Democrats Killed Spending Transparency… Fast
One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]
The Education Empire (Quietly) Strikes Back at SB 57 School Transparency
Senate Bill 57, the school financial transparency bill, has defied anyone's expectation and made it through one-half of the legislature. From the senate, it's now on to the house. Apparently, but not too surprisingly, the lobbyists for the education establishment are looking for a way to kill the bill without looking like they oppose transparency. The COST blog exposes the details. School districts can use low-cost technology to place expenditures and revenues online in a searchable format; that excuse has been worn thin. So I guess it's time to resort to other ineffective arguments, along with procedural tactics and other technicalities. What about the people's lobby? Will they turn out again to speak out for their right to see … [Read more...]
Gazette Columnist: Democrat Senators Bowing to Plumbers Union Lobby
Last week I brought to your attention an organized labor power play at the State Capitol that shot down a simple effort to make school plumbing inspections more efficient. Today in the Colorado Springs Gazette, guest columnist Daniel Cole tells the story at greater length and offers a forceful conclusion:The unpleasant reality is that Democratic campaigns in Colorado are often financed by unions, so only the strongest Democrats dare defy a union's wishes. Union camaraderie means that a Democrat who votes against a single union can earn a reputation for disloyalty and untrustworthiness. Considering that unions gave [state senators Bob] Bacon and [Evie] Hudak $90,000 for their most recent campaign - [Senator Keith] King's entire war chest … [Read more...]
Teachers Union Spreads Fear and Disinformation about Amendment 47
Michael at Best Destiny, a Jefferson County teacher by day, writes:Yesterday, the union representative at one of my schools came back from a district-wide meeting in breathless distress over this year's ballot. She said that, based on what was told to her in her meeting, there was the potential that the passage of Amendment 47 could mean the "end of teacher representation, and the school district would no longer have to follow any rules about how they ordered you to spend your time." She even went so far as to say that the passage of 47 would be more devastating for schools than the failure of either the Mill Levy increase or of the Bond election. Another anecdote that shows the teachers union - in this case, the Jefferson County … [Read more...]