A Snapshot of Kentucky Education Part II

Last week I shared some statistics on this blog provided by the Bluegrass Institute that gave us a snapshot of Kentucky k-12 education. It was less than stellar. Now this week we learn that the University of Louisville is providing us another snapshot, this time of Kentucky higher education and folks it ain't pretty.

As most of you already know, U of L is featuring naked girls in an art exhibit that is supposed to promote healthy body image. How photographs of nude six and twelve year old girls promotes healthy body image is anyone's guess. It is clear however, that peddling child porn on campus doesn't help U of L's image.

Administrators are doing this under the auspices of academic freedom. The question now is, since when did academic freedom become an excuse to squeeze out common sense and cover for activity that is criminal for the rest of society?

Not a pretty picture for U of L.

James Ramsey's U of L refuses to budge on explicit photos of young girls

University of Louisville president James Ramsey's chief lieutenant, Provost Shirley Willinganz, tells the Chronicle of Higher Education that U of L refuses to take down an exhibit that includes explicit photographs of young girls because the First Amendment protects their right, you know, to exploit children and all:

Today at the University of Louisville, an unusual art exhibit called The Century Project will open as part of a week of activities designed to promote healthy body image.

Because the project features photographs of nude women and girls, the university is facing pressure to call off or adjust the exhibit, as the University of North Carolina at Wilmington did last year, when it removed the images of girls as a condition of allowing the program to proceed. But Louisville has declined to demand changes and is standing behind the exhibit, saying that its message has been distorted by critics and that principles of free speech and academic freedom are at stake.

Shirley Willihnganz, provost at Louisville, said in an interview that she has been approached by people in the local community and by state legislators angry about the exhibit. And she said that while she is happy to explain the context of the exhibit, she is not willing to cancel it or to order its modification ...

Read the rest of the sorry saga here.

Snapshot of Kentucky Education

So what is the state of Kentucky public education? According to the Bluegrass Institute: Only 1 of 4 8th graders are considered proficient on the NAEP test; 3 of 10 kids who begin 9th grade are not graduating; Black males who graduate have the equivalent of an 8th grade education; And 45% of Kentucky's college-bound seniors are taking remedial classes their freshman year.

These stats hardly sound like success.

However, there is an effort in the General Assembly to turn these statistics around. HB 63--the public school academies bill would give parents an alternative to schools that are failing their children. HB 63 would create charter schools which essentially cut through the red tape of the educational bureaucracy and give teachers more control in the classroom. Forty-five states have charter schools. If Kentucky is serious about climbing out of the basement of educational proficiency perhaps the first rung on the ladder is passing HB 63.

Gambler in chief criticizes gambling

Who said this?  "When times are tough, you tighten your belts, you don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices."

Answer: President Barack Obama. (speech in Nashua, N.H. on Tuesday). With Pres. Obama  engineering record budget deficits in the federal government, can't a case be made that D.C. has displaced Vegas as the gambling capital of the world? The stakes are higher. They're buying chips on credit. And the sad thing is that long after the high rollers leave town, somebody else is going to pay the bill.

A General Assembly Shakeup?

According to Secretary of State Trey Grayson, more than 230 Kentuckians have filed to run for the 119 contested seats in the state legislature. This could be a record. The Kentucky House, dominated by 64 Democrats, will face 42 GOP challengers. The Kentucky Senate, held by Republicans with a 20-17 majority, has 19 seats up for re-election in which 29 Republicans and 20 Democrats have filed.

So what does this mean? Renewed political interest for starters. People are certainly frustrated with Washington. But they're also frustrated with Frankfort. The special session push to expand gambling last June certainly drew many candidates into the ring. It would be an understatement to say that bribing some legislators with the promise of new schools and holding other legislators hostage with the threat of nixing new schools didn't go over well with the people. Then we have a looming $1.5 billion deficit over the next two years and a governor who wants to fill the shortfall by inviting the casino sharks into the commonwealth to "fix the problem."

House leadership has been particularly hostile to pro-life and pro-family legislation over the past several years. For the last two years they've killed ultrasound legislation that would benefit women in crisis pregnancies. In fact, there have been no truly significant pro-life laws passed since fetal homicide legislation passed in 2004. Public decency, which would restrict strip clubs, has been killed in the House every year since 2000. Add all this up and you get a frustrated electorate; a record number of candidates who challenge incumbents; and quite possibly some significant turnover in the legislature come November. Stay tuned.

When pro-choicers oppose choice

Today marks the 37th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand and ushered in the era of "choice." Since then, Roe's allies assert that abortion should be a last resort. Unfortunately, they have done little to make that happen. Pro-choicers have done even less to further assist women in crisis pregnancies with all the information they need to truly make an informed decision.

Enter SB 38—The Ultrasound Bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 14. This bill requires abortionists to offer a woman the opportunity to see the ultrasound picture of her unborn child and to provide an explanation of the results. It does not force the woman to look at the screen; nor does it force her to hear the abortionist's interpretation. It simply mandates that the abortionist turn the screen (they already do ultrasounds to determine how much to charge) and ask the woman if she would like to see what he already sees. As it is, they keep that picture from the women, and unfortunately, women are kept in the dark.

Where I come from, people would consider SB 38 a choice. But in the Twilight Zone that is called the General Assembly, House Leadership has effectively denied a choice for the same women they purport to be preserving choices for. That they can do it with a straight face is disturbing.

One would think such a bill would unite the "let's keep it safe, legal and rare" crowd with the "one in every three babies dies from choice" crowd. Yet one would be wrong. For the past two years, the Kentucky House has killed ultrasound legislation by assigning the bill to committees where its fate was doomed on arrival. But also killed was a choice for women to have at their disposal medical information that could better help them in one of the most critical decisions in their life.

Interestingly, pro-choice organizations across the nation have labeled ultrasound legislation as "anti-choice" and a threat to "reproductive freedom." And in their Orwellian world, death is life and information is disinformation. So the bill hangs in the balance. Or maybe not.

The political winds are shifting, not just nationally, but also in Kentucky. In last month's special elections, the candidates who favored ultrasound legislation each handily won seats in the Senate and House. House Leadership seems to have gotten the memo and early political maneuvering indicates the bill may have a chance this year. This is good. According to Lifenews.com, 16 other states have similar ultrasound laws on the books. Kentucky could be next.

The emergence of the ultrasound bill has shattered the figurative bunkers between embattled pro-choicers and pro-lifers. Default arguments no longer apply here. If the issue is really about choice, SB 38 should receive hearty support from both sides. If it’s about something else, then a certain political agenda has been exposed. And it’s the pro-choice crowd that might want to contemplate another moniker for their movement.

Beshear is no Amarillo Slim

A group opposed to slot machines at Kentucky horse tracks criticized Gov. Steve Beshear's announcement that he was basing the state budget on gambling revenue that legislative leaders have already said is not likely to happen. "The Governor is rolling the dice with taxpayer money," said Martin Cothran, spokesman for Say No To Casinos.

Cothran said that not only is slot revenue not likely to materialize, it's getting less likely all the time, with votes for such a measure disappearing by the day. "Gov. Beshear is gambling on the financial future in this state by betting on revenue that just isn't there," said Cothran.

"This is a governor who doesn't know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, when to walk away, or when to run," he said.

Cothran pointed to the comments of both House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Senate President David Williams, neither of which expressed support for the Governor's proposal despite the fact that their support would be necessary to pass the bill, making the odds of such a measure very slight.

"The Governor is doing his best impression of Amarillo Slim. But there's a big difference: Amarillo Slim knows how to gamble; Beshear clearly doesn't."

Cothran said the Governor's attempts to take over the Senate to get his gambling bill through failed miserably when, despite his support and the infusion of millions of dollars of political cash, he failed in his recent attempt to seize control of the State Senate by appointing gambling opponents in the Senate to government posts and trying to replace them.

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