Here is a story that will get a debate going.
Seems a town in Tennessee arranged with another town to give it fire protection. Then everyone in the town was told to pay $75 per year for fire protection to pay the other town.
So a house caught on fire and the guy had not paid. The Fire Dept responded to keep the neighbors house - who had paid - from catching fire, but did nothing to put out the original fire.
So the debate rages now. Should the fire dept have put out the fire anyway and saved the guys house?
Its a no-win situation. If the Fire dept puts it out, then there is no incentive for any other citizen to pay the fee.
The guy actually admitted that he deliberately did not pay the fee. He said he thought they would come and put out the fire anyway.
This does speak to the role of government. Everyone on their own is not necessarily a good thing.
I think this is why in most most areas taxes are collected from everyone to avoid such a situation.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Cowley College growing
Recent Enrollment figures released by the Kansas Board of Regents show Cowley College to be the fastest growing college in the state of Kansas.
Cowley’s enrollment increased a whopping 21.2 percent from the fall 2009 semester to the fall 2010 semester. Cowley had an increase of 847 students to bring its total to 4,850 students that are taking classes at either the school’s main campus in Arkansas City, its Allied Health Center in Winfield, its Mulvane Campus, or online.
“After what happened to us a couple of years ago with the loss of our Southside Education Center in Wichita, this increase in enrollment was a real blessing and a credit to all of our employees,” Cowley president Dr. Patrick J. McAtee said. “When you have success like this it is the result of hard work done by a lot of people.”
Cowley’s growth was not the norm as eight of the 19 Kansas community colleges saw a decrease in enrollment and only one school (Barton County) besides Cowley saw an increase in enrollment of more than 6 percent.
Overall, there was an increase of 3,237 students at the state’s 32 public universities, community colleges, and technical colleges. This represents a 1.8% systemwide increase for the 2010 fall academic semester over the 2009 fall academic semester. The systemwide enrollment of 187,398 is reported as of the 20th day of classes.
At the seven public universities, enrollment was up by 364 students, or 0.4%. At the 19 community colleges, enrollment was up by 2,609 students, or 3.3%. At the six technical colleges, enrollment was up by 264 students, or 5.7%.
KU football at turning point
After KU's loss to Baylor, there are rumblings in Lawrence about whether or not Turner Gill is the right coach for the Jayhawks. I think its still too early to tell, but it isn't looking all that good. A good showing against K-State would go a long way. So far the team has had a good week followed by a bad week, so .. the cycle would be to have a good week against K-State.
I have posted some links to some columns about the game and the KU football situation on the football blog. which is at www.big12voices.blogspot.com
I have posted some links to some columns about the game and the KU football situation on the football blog. which is at www.big12voices.blogspot.com
Cowley volleyball rolls on
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| Roslandy Acosta slams home a kill Monday night |
The victory improved the Lady Tigers’ record to 20-2 overall and kept Cowley a half game in front of Johnson County for first place in the conference and region. Cowley is currently 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division and 7-0 in Region VI play.
“We had people step up in areas we had been struggling and our offense did well,”
Cowley head coach Jenifer Bahner said. “But, we need to improve on our errors. We gave Independence a lot of points and we have got to make teams earn their points.”
Skinner and Cahill each finished with nine kills in the win.
“Sarah did really well in the middle for us, and Meghan has been working really hard and is a good leader for our team,” Bahner said. “We need her (Meghan) to lead and contribute on the court as well, so it was good to see her do both tonight.”
The Lady Pirates, who dropped to 2-12 overall and 1-5 in the Jayhawk East, battled hard the first two games but could never get over the hump. In game three, Cowley raced out to an 11-2 lead before Independence pulled within 14-8. Cowley would finish the match by scoring 11 of the final 14 points, and got a huge spike from sophomore Roslandy Acosta to cap the team’s 21st straight win at home.
Acosta finished the match with 11 kills and 18 assists, while freshman setter Molley Scanlon added 18 assists and nine digs. Also contributing to the win were Elena Berroteran (10 digs) and Kaitlin Stearns (three aces).
Cowley will put its winning streak on the line when they take part in the Central Nebraska Tournament Friday and Saturday in Platte, NE. On Friday, the Lady Tigers will square off against No. 10-ranked North Platte Community College (16-7) at 3 p.m., before facing second-ranked Iowa Lakes Community College (19-4) at 7 p.m.
Cowley will wrap up play in the tournament on Saturday by taking on Central Nebraska at 10:30 a.m. and Neosho County (5-18) at 12:30 p.m.
Bahner is looking forward to having her team take on a pair of schools ranked in the top-10 on Friday.
“This weekend will present a good test for us,” Bahner said. “It will be good to be challenged a bit. If we keep working hard our offense will flow from there.”
Monday, October 4, 2010
Freedom of speech issue
Interesting story out of the Netherlands this morning.
AMSTERDAM — Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders went on trial Monday for alleged hate speech, even as his popularity and influence in the Netherlands are near all time highs.
Prosecutors say Wilders incited hatred against Muslims with remarks comparing Islam to Naziism and by calling for a ban on the Quran. Wilders argues he has a right to freedom of speech and his remarks were within the bounds of the law.
Here are links to a couple stories. This is more about politics than anything. Wilders is gaining a lot of ground in the Netherlands. Even prosecutors are saying that if they win a conviction, they will recommend no penalty. Still, it raises interesting questions about freedom of speech.
Here is one story from Reuters
and here is another, this one from AP
I also ran across some interesting political stories this morning.
One is about elitism.. Just who are the elitists ??
and another about the failure of the two-party political system
AMSTERDAM — Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders went on trial Monday for alleged hate speech, even as his popularity and influence in the Netherlands are near all time highs.
Prosecutors say Wilders incited hatred against Muslims with remarks comparing Islam to Naziism and by calling for a ban on the Quran. Wilders argues he has a right to freedom of speech and his remarks were within the bounds of the law.
Here are links to a couple stories. This is more about politics than anything. Wilders is gaining a lot of ground in the Netherlands. Even prosecutors are saying that if they win a conviction, they will recommend no penalty. Still, it raises interesting questions about freedom of speech.
Here is one story from Reuters
and here is another, this one from AP
I also ran across some interesting political stories this morning.
One is about elitism.. Just who are the elitists ??
and another about the failure of the two-party political system
Saturday, October 2, 2010
9-11 conspiracy theorists
Here is an AP story about how many in the muslim world believe the U.S. was behind the 9-11 terrorist attacks, and how even some Americans believe the theories. Bush done it ! sort of thing.
Here is the link
The thing that is interesting to me is just the whole idea of conspiracy theory.
People believe what they want to believe. Several theories involved in the shooting of JFK. There are theories - and websites - showing how the moon landings never happened.
Here is an quote from the story about 9-11
It does get in the way of rational discussion about issues, as the article points out.
Here is the link
The thing that is interesting to me is just the whole idea of conspiracy theory.
People believe what they want to believe. Several theories involved in the shooting of JFK. There are theories - and websites - showing how the moon landings never happened.
Here is an quote from the story about 9-11
"All this, of course, would require hundreds if not thousands of people to be in on the plot. It speaks volumes for the determination to believe something," said David Aaronovitch, the British author of "Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History."Conspiracy theories run wild in AC too. Why do people want to believe these theories.
"Conspiracy theories exist in the realm of myth, where imaginations run wild, fears trump facts, and evidence is ignored. As a superpower, the United States is often cast as a villain in these dramas," the site says. (the U.S. Govt site)
It does get in the way of rational discussion about issues, as the article points out.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Cowley volleyball rolls
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| Photos by Morgan Arnce/Campus Photographer |
With Longview Community College entering Thursday’s match at No. 1-ranked Cowley College with a record of 11-4, it appeared the Lady Lakers could present a challenge to the Lady Tigers. That turned out not to be the case as Cowley continued its dominance with a 25-11, 25-18, 25-14 victory.
Arkalalah queen finalists
Finalists named for Queen Alalah
After four days of online voting, the following five women were selected by Cowley College students, faculty, staff, and administration as finalists for Queen Alalah LXXIX, to be crowned during the annual Coronation at 8 p.m. Oct. 29.
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