This is how some do it in Kansas (Topeka, Olathe: 2013, home)

[Versatile]

Kansas Policy Institute misreads data to mislead the public - Topeka K-12 | Examiner.com

Kansas Policy Institute's (KPI) Secret Agenda



By now, we're all aware of the proliferation of so-called Think Tanks and we know what they do, or we think we know.

We think we know that they are organizations of politically like-minded people whose goal is to come up with ways to get laws passed and candidates elected that support the group's ideology.

We may even hope that our chosen candidates and ideology is well-served by these Think Tanks, but would we want them to do so in an underhanded way that does not serve our state or our country well?

I don't want to be too naive about this. So, I'll just say, of course, some citizens just want to win - want their party to be elected - want their agenda to be served - no matter what. We know that's true simply because these Think Tanks are so prevalent in our country in the last decade in spite of the bad news we read about their dirty tricks nearly every day.

Who pays for Think Tanks?

Answer: People with a lot of money.

What do they pay for?

Employees who run the Think Tanks, campaign promotions (commercials, mailings, billboards...), any special equipment that the group needs, like computers, possibly.

What about subversion of Democracy?

SPN (State Policy Network) is a non-profit organization owned by Charles and David Koch. State Policy Network is made up of think tanks - at least one in every state. That's what they say on the SPN site.

Excerpt from:

Daily Kos: DOUBLE WOW!! www.StinkTanks.org PERFECTLY Exposes Koch Cabal $$ used IN EACH STATE in USA

"How Does SPN Push Its Agenda?

While SPN members call themselves “think tanks,” they rarely act as such. SPN groups often engage in extensive lobbying activities, even though nonprofits are limited in the amount of lobbying activity they may participate in by the IRS. SPN “think tanks” release “research” and policy reports, and there are numerous instances of SPN think tanks being accused of skewing facts and using faulty research to reach their policy goals. Many SPN think tanks also collaborate with the right-wing Franklin Center to launch agenda-driven “news” outlets, hawking right-wing talking points from behind a mask of journalism."

Also at this site, I found out that Mars, Inc. is one of the major funders of ALEC. It begs the question: Did Mars, Inc. support ALEC for the purpose of getting some kind of special deal in Kansas from our governor? ALEC is a Koch-funded organization that creates laws and gives them to Conservative lawmakers to be passed. Do we want Mars, Inc. making Kansas laws? Would that support Democracy in our state?

Let's just cut to the chase. What is KPI's agenda?

An excerpt from:

Kansas | Stink Tanks

-Defund and privatize Kansas public schools through vouchers.

-Eliminate income taxes and cut corporate taxes

-Destroy public pensions

"In 2012, KPI launched a misleading ad campaign across the state, accusing public schools of abysmal failure. Using data from the Kansas State Department of Education, KPI claimed that only 68% of 11th grade students in Olathe, KS, read at grade level. KPI ignored the additional 27% of students who read at grade level, and the fact that 95% of Olathe's 11th graders were at or above grade level. A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Education called the misleading and inaccurate advertisements 'inappropriate'. "

There are links to support for this statement at the site. Please go to the site and follow the links in this statement I've quoted.

There is more about their dirty dealings regarding clean energy. They used debunked information to weaken Kansas' renewable standard.

Again, there are links to support the above statement at the site being quoted.

The question is do you want to go to church on Sunday and hope you're a good person, yet go home and defend and support men who would destroy this country's democratic principles? Men who do such things for one reason - personal profit?

For more on this, read here:




Kansas Policy Institute misreads data to mislead the public - Topeka K-12 | Examiner.com

he Kansas Policy Institute (KPI) recently published quarter-page ads in newspapers across Kansas; accusing public schools of abysmal failure. Once again, KPI proves themselves untrustworthy.

Using data from the Kansas State Department of Education, KPI says that only 68% of 11th grade students in Olathe read at grade level.

However, the 68% figure provided by KSDE refers to students reading above grade level. KPI conveniently ignores the additional 27% of students who read at grade level, and the fact that 95% of Olathe's 11th graders are therefore at or above grade level.

The facts simply don't fit the KPI narrative.

KPI also claims that Olathe schools are failing in math. Misusing data once again, KPI claims only 61% meet grade-level standards. But KSDE's figure of 61% is actually the number who exceed standards. Add to that the 28% of student who meet standards, and the truth is 89% of Olathe's 11th graders perform at or above standards.

It's ironic that KPI's recent ads began with the words "We can ignore facts...", because ignoring facts is KPI's signature move.

Lying by misattribution and omission is standard practice for KPI. There is simply no honest way to promote the idea that tax-funded institutions - especially public schools - are failing and should be de-funded.

De-funding schools would certainly make KPI's job easier. After all, uneducated people rarely check the facts.

[hc130radio]

You lost me when you started posting links to the Daily Kos.

[zman0457]

Using your billions to manipulate the public with falsehoods and masked propaganda in order to to advance your own selfish interests was unfortunately made legal by the SCOTUS. Democracy is truly dead.

[hc130radio]

And it's on both sides, not just on the right.

[Mathguy]

Thankyou for pointing out how good KS school systems are despite this being an "evil red state".

Perhaps you should spend more time worrying about the ****-hole school districts that reside in the urban areas that your masters reside?

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by zman0457

Using your billions to manipulate the public with falsehoods and masked propaganda in order to to advance your own selfish interests was unfortunately made legal by the SCOTUS. Democracy is truly dead.

Your state is near rock bottom in school quality. Is it due to falsehoods or a FU whippersnapper attitude and general ignorance of your residents?

[zman0457]

Not sure. I spent the majority of my life in Bergen County NJ, and Long Island NY where the schools are generally exceptional and the local taxes are high.
Florida OTOH, offers a little piece of everything, and is not nearly as culturally monolithic as Kansas. There is poverty, bad schools, disenfranchised weirdos, but there is a ton of cultural diversity and great wealth and culture as well. I guess that's why we're a swing state unlike Kansas, where there is little that can't be defined by the results of every election.
Rick Scott, I will posit, is an unmitigated disaster for education.

Interesting:
http://www.usnews.com/education/high...hools-rankings

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by zman0457

Not sure. I spent the majority of my life in Bergen County NJ, and Long Island NY where the schools are generally exceptional and the local taxes are high.
Florida OTOH, offers a little piece of everything, and is not nearly as culturally monolithic as Kansas. There is poverty, bad schools, disenfranchised weirdos, but there is a ton of cultural diversity and great wealth and culture as well. I guess that's why we're a swing state unlike Kansas, where there is little that can't be defined by the results of every election.
Rick Scott, I will posit, is an unmitigated disaster for education.

Interesting:
How States Compare in the 2013 Best High Schools Rankings - US News and World Report

Um....those only apply to IB and AP scores.....

And they award states that push kids into either crappy schools or magnent schools so that the one suffers the dropouts and the other is a stud school.

That punishes rural schools that are unable to offer IB and AP type programs which of course.....means you are essentially innumerate since states with more rural population would suffer by comparison.

Frankly, if you performed this analysis at the company I work at....we'd probably fire you. Nothing personal, just us dumb folk working in KS.....oh....I was a natl. merit finalist and have a 160ish IQ......so knock yourself out there pal.

P.S. I highly suspect that you cherry-picked around for any statistics that would support you political views....but lets see how you respond now that you've been called on it.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by zman0457

Not sure. I spent the majority of my life in Bergen County NJ, and Long Island NY where the schools are generally exceptional and the local taxes are high.
Florida OTOH, offers a little piece of everything, and is not nearly as culturally monolithic as Kansas. There is poverty, bad schools, disenfranchised weirdos, but there is a ton of cultural diversity and great wealth and culture as well. I guess that's why we're a swing state unlike Kansas, where there is little that can't be defined by the results of every election.
Rick Scott, I will posit, is an unmitigated disaster for education.

Interesting:
How States Compare in the 2013 Best High Schools Rankings - US News and World Report

Maryland offers up bogus reading scores - The Washington Post

Seriously, you want to believe what you want to believe for political reasons but really....you don't care about reality.

[GraniteStater]

If Kansas wants to attract high quality human capital it has to pay attention to its cities. Younger workers are desiring high end cities with a great array of amenities. The built environment of JOCO is not appealing based on where most trends are going. Kansas cannot compete in the urban realm to attract large quantities of professional singles, but other states have similar issues, although most tend to have low populations. The high quality schools must be supported and the majority know it and will not fall for the political posturing of Brownback and his ilk.