Splendiferous!

So Lucas is going to make some Star Wars TV shows.

Let's hope it is of a higher caliber than the Ewok Adventures.

By now, I'm sure you are aware of the passing of Pope John Paul II. One thing he was known for was his committment to what he called "a culture of life." President Bush claims that he wants to foster a culture of life in the United States. Many people, including the president, use this as a reference to abortion. Which it is.

Part of it.

But it's an entire culture of life, not just centering around women's abdomens. It centers around supporting all human life, through all stages.

The culture of life is against abortion and euthanasia. It also is against the death penalty. It also supports the poor, supports economic equality, supports quality of life throughout the world, and to all people. It supports peace. The culture of life is about love and respect for every human life, striving to make those lives as wonderful, fufilling, dignified, respected, and safe as they can be. No one life is more important than any other.

This Pope was a great supporter of all God's people.

The next time you hear someone talk about the culture of life, ask that person what exactly the culture of life entails. Maybe enough people will realize it's not just about abortion.

There's a letter to the editor in the Free Lance Star from Jerry Hill, superintendent of Spotsylvania. It criticizes Shaun Kenney's comments at the March 24th hearing on the county's budget. Specifically:

He criticized the School Board's budget and stated that Spotsylvania spends more
per pupil than Stafford, when the truth is that the school division spends less.
Had he bothered to look, Mr. Kenney would have found this information is readily
available on the division's Web site.

Trully a rather harsh indictment of Mr. Kenney. Let's investigate his claims, shall we?

I went to the Spotsylvania County Public Schools website and looked up the budget. I found an interesting chart in the approved budget for FY06. It is the very last chart in the budget, on the very last page (101). It says that the actual average per pupil expenditure for operations for FY04 is $6,967. The budgeted average per pupil expenditure for operations in FY05 is $7,579.

Then I went to the Stafford County Public Schools website and looked up the budget. I found two even more interesting charts in the budget summary for FY05. The first lists the average cost per pupil for operations in FY02 for several counties, including Stafford and Spotsylvania. This was on page 12. Stafford's was $6,539. Spotsylvania's was $6,942. Clearly, Spotsylvania's was more! Ah, but this was in 2002. So maybe Spotsylvania is more efficient since then. This is when we come to that second chart I mentioned. It shows the average per pupil expenditures for operations for Stafford and the state as a whole. This is on page 17. Now, looking at FY04 and FY05 we come across some interesting numbers. The budgeted average per pupil expenditures for operations in FY04 is $6,904. The budgeted average per pupil expenditures for operations in FY05 is $7,411.

Let's compare them, shall we?

Spotsylvania: $6,947 $7,579
Stafford: $6,904 $7,411

Well now. Both of Stafford's numbers are lower than Spotsylvania's numbers, exactly as Mr. Kenney said. Granted, these are only the approved numbers, and not the actual number for FY04. I tried looking in the 2006 budget and couldn't find it.

I did find on page 2 of the 2006 budget the school operating expenditures for FY04 (approved) and FY05 (budgeted). They are $173,551,325 and $203,753,113, respectively. Perhaps something can come out of that? More to follow.

At any rate, it would seem Mr. Kenney is correct.

Well Mr. Hill? It seems you are the one showing your ignorance.

Mitch Hedberg, dead?