Freedom to Teach

by Tiberius Gracchus on February 10, 2016

I have a memory, one of my few from my early school years, of a Science lesson. It was one in which we students were encouraged to make a speech about a subject of particular interest to us; I think we were being graded on our presentation skills. I got up and spoke for about […]

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Snorting for Truffles

The 2016 session of the South Dakota Legislature is well underway and we are already seeing hoards of well-funded representatives from interest groups arriving in our state capital. They fly in to Pierre Airport on those private jets that are normally strangers to our runways. They walk through Mustang Aviation and head off to their […]

Read the full article → January 13, 2016 by Tiberius Gracchus

Blue Ribbon Bust!

“First, we want a quality system of schools focused on student achievement. Second, we want a workforce of great educators. Finally, we want an efficient, equitable funding system that supports those goals… We need to understand where teacher shortages are occurring and what can be done to address them. We need to ask why 12 states can spend less per student than South […]

Read the full article → January 9, 2016 by Tiberius Gracchus

The Fantasies of Weiland

Let me cast an eye and opinion upon Senatorial candidate Mr. Rick Weiland’s campaign website. Mr. Weiland is running for South Dakota’s U.S. Senate seat, meaning to replace Senator Tim Johnson who is retiring. Weiland declares “Take it back!” as his campaign slogan. His single stated priority is the desire to take our country and […]

Read the full article → May 12, 2014 by Tiberius Gracchus

The White Racists Are Safely Ensconced in Their Trailer Parks

“… They are not in positions of power,” or so claims L. Todd Wood [No Oprah I’ve Never Owned A Slave… Am I supposed to feel guilty for something I didn’t do?, 8 Apr 2014], one of the Special Guests at the “Spend a Special Evening with Jason” event in Sioux Falls this coming Tuesday […]

Read the full article → May 10, 2014 by Aspasia

The People’s House

The House Membership was last increased one hundred years ago, and the constituencies have inflated to abusive levels. Today, 312 million people are represented in the House of Representatives by only 435 voting members. We have the second largest voting districts for lower houses in the world, behind only India. Yet even though every ten […]

Read the full article → January 7, 2014 by Tiberius Gracchus

The End Run Pass

It will require break the mold initiatives and iron political will on the part of states to undertake a human capital reform agenda — and, accordingly, the Department has assigned the big points and promised the big money for this tough work. – A Race to the Top Scorecard, NCTQ A Race to the Top […]

Read the full article → December 16, 2013 by Tiberius Gracchus

Bored of Regents

A press release from the South Dakota Board of Regents on Thursday, December 5th announced a completed study and now predicts a shortage of home grown college graduates to meet a projected demand from the state job market over the next two decades. I should choke on a hotdog while watching a football game at […]

Read the full article → December 8, 2013 by Tiberius Gracchus

The Lights Go out in Dark Town

I was standing partway up a hill, looking down on a town. The town was on a flat plain before me, and ended at the sea. It was residential in nature and neatly organized with straight roads and hundreds of modest houses, all one story and similar in design. The homes all appeared to be […]

Read the full article → November 30, 2013 by Aspasia

Necessity: The Tyrant’s Plea

The federal government has been in the racketeering business for a long time, but it’s called “general welfare.” Through federal taxation, a burden on a state’s economy, funds are used to “fix” problems that the state government may not agree exists. Failure to submit to these programs could result in exclusion of the benefit of […]

Read the full article → November 25, 2013 by Tiberius Gracchus

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