KU to choose among internal candidates for new vice provost job

Experience. I agree that there are some deans, provosts and chancellors who work hard and do a good job. There are others who are placeholders who collect a big salary.

I am all for high salaries for these positions to get the best people. The trick is getting the best people, and having accountability standards in place so that the performance of these highly-paid employees can be monitored, and actions taken if they are not performing.

As it is now, appointment of these positions is often more political than merit-based. Also, once one crosses the threshold of being a KU administrator, there is no going back. It is a lifetime job with a high salary and little or no accountability.

This is a recipe for mediocrity.

June 15, 2013 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Shamans, Bible

I think this is a quote from the TV show "House":

If religious people listened to reason, there would be no religious people.

June 14, 2013 at 6:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Shamans, Bible

Venal trickery and fairy tales are religions all. Just because someone believes something does not entitled them to respect. They do have every right, however, to believe in insipid drivel, but they do not have the right to not be criticized for it.

June 14, 2013 at 6:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Officials cheer $10 million expansion of bioscience incubator at KU

This in the same week that Governor Brownback signed the worst budget in the history of the state that slashes state funding for KU and other regent's institutions.

Typical tea party childish notions, having something good without having to pay for it.

June 14, 2013 at 6:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU to choose among internal candidates for new vice provost job

Joining the Deanery, Chancellory, or Provostery is the best sure-fire way to get a big raise and to do less work. Who wants to do teaching, research, and service for little money when you could become an administrator, make big bucks, and do very little with little or no accountability.

It's the KU way.

June 14, 2013 at 4:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Editorial: Privacy lost

Congress passes laws, not the president. In 2001, the Patriot Act passed the senate 98-1 and passed the house with only 30 dissenting votes.

The Patriot Act was re-upped by Congress in 2006 by large margins.

The president is using his legal authority to battle terrorists. At the same time, he is openly saying that this is too much power for a president to have, and is calling for a greater discussion in Congress on the subject. Remember, that Congress that actually passes law.

Yes, he could unilaterally refuse to execute the program. Can you imagine the response this would have gotten from Congress and the media had he done that?

It is clear Obama is calling for Congress to re-examine the law that underlies phone data records and the NSA.

It's time for Congress to act and to begin debate about the Patriot Act and its provisions. If they don't like certain aspects of it, such as phone records going to the NSA, they can pass laws to change it.

I don't like what is happening with phone records, but to blame it on Obama is just ridiculous. It was a law proposed by Bush and passed, twice, by Congress.

June 13, 2013 at 3:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Brownback announces new press secretary: Lawrence resident Eileen Hawley

I do not know Mrs. Hawley, but could it be? A pick from the reality-based community?

This pick cannot please the tea-party dummies in the Kansas legislature.

June 12, 2013 at 4:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Education department challenges 'innovative districts' law

"Public Innovative District" means we don't have to teach anything that conflicts with our christian ideology, such as the science of evolution and climate.

More attempts by the christian right to dumb down science education so that it doesn't conflict with their religious beliefs and so that their children won't be exposed to modern science and its methods and ideas.

Their methods are different than previous attempts at school board take-overs, but their goals are the same. Teach only the science that doesn't conflict with their religious beliefs.

June 12, 2013 at 4:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Roberts votes against farm bill, Moran votes for it

“In this budget environment and at a time when we are looking to make smart cuts to farm programs, I cannot justify a subsidy program that can pay producers more than the cost of production and essentially becomes nothing more than an income transfer program, not a risk-management tool."

?? Hard to see wisdom in this statement. Is he referring to direct payments to farmers, the very thing that he was personally responsible for adding to the farm subsidies programs?

June 12, 2013 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

State board approves new science standards

Willard and Powell seem to be arguing that science not be taught as science, but rather as an exercise that is confirmatory of their ideology. Everything else must be attacked, ignored, or swept under the rug.

The same process that brings us drugs and antibiotics and cancer treatments also brings us evolution and climate science.

It seems like they are objecting to the whole of science itself.

June 12, 2013 at 8:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )