Letters on disdain for teachers, Senate ballot, EPA water rule, ISIS strategy, Orman

Showed what they think of teachers

Kansas teachers work for and with children and their parents to give Kansas kids the best chance possible in life. When the Legislature passed Senate Substitute for House Bill 2506, many legislators let teachers know exactly how valuable they felt teachers are.

Additions made in the middle of the night were tacked onto the bill that was supposed to increase funding to public schools. One of those additions revoked state-guaranteed due-process rights for teachers, leaving them at the mercy of vindictive administrators or disgruntled patrons. Another waived required certification for some who teach specific subjects. A third addition gave tax credits to corporations that contribute to scholarships to private schools.

All of these add-ons undermine public education.

For years after the recession hit, teachers taught without raises, some were laid off, and class sizes ballooned. Teachers taught on. Then, when large numbers of them showed up in the Capitol, they were accused of whining and being hostile invaders.

Gov. Sam Brownback wished wistfully that his relationship with Kansas educators were less hostile, as though he had no clue why he was unpopular. Personally, I have no clue why any Kansas teacher would vote to return him to office.

Lack of trust

Now that the U.S. Senate race is finally in place, I can’t say I’m too sorry that Secretary of State Kris Kobach has egg on his face, considering how many voters he has shut out of the voting process. But that’s small comfort when clearly all the Democrats did is prove their party is as capable of the same self-serving political gymnastics as the Republicans.

Anyone paying attention to the race – and please don’t vote if you’re not – does not need a name taken off a ballot to realize that candidate is no longer running. As a Democrat, I would never have pushed the button for someone who had withdrawn, therefore handing the election to Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. But I suppose the Democratic Party didn’t want to give us the benefit of the doubt.

I guess party officials can be forgiven for their lack of trust when we live in a state where the majority of Republicans vote for the very party that is bent on eliminating their services by making sure there isn’t any money to pay for them. So I suppose neither party would lose betting against the ignorance or stupidity of an electorate of any stripe.

Different picture

Karl Brooks, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7, said that science demonstrates the need for greater federal protection of streams, tributaries and wetlands, and he displayed noteworthy concern for our state’s economy, industry and agriculture (“Comment on water rules,” Sept. 23 Opinion). If taken at face value, his thoughts go a long way toward allaying concerns of property takings, more regulatory burdens and renewed economic uncertainty.

But the public record presents a markedly different picture. It indicates that the EPA has not completed an environmental impact statement for the proposed rule, known as Waters of the United States (WOTUS). EPA also has not issued a determination on its environmental assessment, to the glaring neglect of protective procedures found in the National Environmental Policy Act. EPA also has not assessed impacts to small business or governments required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, nor has it performed cost-benefit and analyses of alternatives required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

For those concerned about the impact WOTUS might have on the disadvantaged, minorities and families, the requirements of executive orders 12602 and 12298 have been systematically ignored. What about the potential for Fifth Amendment property takings required to be studied by executive order 12630? No attention whatsoever.

Fight in dog?

Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Another town close to Baghdad was overrun last week by the terror group Islamic State. The soldiers of Iraq fled their positions, leaving behind their weapons – weapons that we paid good money for, along with years of training. Does this not make a person wonder about the size of the fight in the dog?

I am a hawk. I believe that we should do everything we can to help people who truly want democracy. But before we get involved in another Middle East war, should we not consider if this effort is worth their commitment to this same cause?

If our goal is to contain terrorists, then this may be a worthwhile adventure in the short run. But if it is to bring a more inclusive government, as President Obama says, then I believe that our resources would be better spent elsewhere.

An independent?

Now that there is no “Democrat” facing Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., will Greg Orman continue to declare himself to be an indepen-dent? Here is a guy who has contributed to the election campaigns of several Democrats, including perhaps the most partisan liberal anybody can recall, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. If somebody can contribute to Reid’s campaign and call himself a legitimate “independent,” then I hereby declare that I invented the Internet.

This story was originally published October 6, 2014 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Letters on disdain for teachers, Senate ballot, EPA water rule, ISIS strategy, Orman."