DECEMBER 2011

BUH-BYE BENNY....

From the Omaha World Hearald...

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November. Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home in Nebraska as early as today to make his decision official, said several Democratic insiders close to the leadership. …

The White House and top Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), had quietly mounted a pressure campaign to keep Nelson from retiring. Nelson has more than $3 million in his campaign war chest, and his approval rating solidified after falling over the last several years.

But with Nelson stepping down, the Democrats’ hold on the Senate is in serious doubt, although Democratic leaders believe they can still do so. Republicans are expected to pick up control of the Cornhusker State seat, although popular former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) has been talking to top Democrats about possibly running again.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight; John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I baptized you in water; But he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

A Little Pre-Holiday Cheer

Ben Nelson...The Cornhusker Kickback, Year 2

Dr. Dan Holtz, former Ord Resident, Elected president of the Nebraska State Board of Trustees.

Dr. Dan Holtz, professor of English at Peru State College has been elected president of the Nebraska State Historical Society Board of Trustees. His term of office will begin Jan. 1, 2012

Holtz has served on the NSHS Board since January 2008 and currently is first vice president and chair of the Nominating and Board Development Committee.

A native of Ord, NE , Holtz has been a professor of English at Peru State since 1987. A longtime presenter for e Nebraska Humanities Council Speakers Bureau, Holtz has presented his Nebraska through Song and Story program throughout the state, including performances at the State Capitol, the Nebraska State Historical Museum, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Joslyn Art museum, John Neihardt Center, Fort Robinson and the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the launch of the Nebraska State Quarter in 2006. Holtz also performed at the Kennedy Center for performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in July 1999. In November of 2002 he released a recorded selection of folksongs and Nebraska history titled Welcome to Historic Nebraska.

Holtz serves as co-director of Peru States Trails and Tales Tour and Institure, which is funded by the Nebraska Humanities Council. The six-day tour and classroom study has shown more than 200 teachers how Nebraska’s history and literature complement one another. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Nebraska State College System Teaching Excellence Award.

PSC’s “Campus of a Thousand Oaks” an arboretum, is nestled in historic southeast Nebraska. The state’s first college, Peru State offers an unique mix of innovative online and traditional classroom undergraduate and graduate programs, including online graduate degrees in education and organizational management. Peru Stare is a college of choice fostering excellence and student achievement through engagement in a culture that promotes inquiry, discovery and innovation.

Goodbye Harry...We'll Miss Ya.

A Day that will live in Infamy...

Compare all of the above with how we dealt with Islamists after 9/11. Oh well.

Homeschool Families Face Criminal Charges

New truancy enforcement laws have sparked criminal charges against several homeschool families in Nebraska. A Dawson County Sheriff’s deputy actually threatened to remove one family’s children unless they enrolled them in public school.

The family had recently moved from another state to Nebraska. Believing that Nebraska regulations permitted them to select their own school year without regard to the public school calendar, they had not filed their exemption paperwork.

HSLDA Staff Attorney Michael Donnelly called the deputy, and he agreed that it would be inappropriate to remove the children under the circumstances. However, the county prosecutor was unwilling to drop criminal charges, and the family received a formal summons to appear in court. HSLDA is working with local counsel Amber Ackerson to represent the family. So far, other contacts from homeschool families have been resolved without court appearances.

The new laws, which passed in 2010, have received significant media attention and criticism. The law shifts responsibility for making decisions about school absences from schools to the legal system. School districts must now report to their county attorney if a student misses more than 20 days of school in an academic year—even if some of those absences were excused.

The Omaha World Herald reports parental opposition.

“At what point are families no longer free to govern themselves?” asked Stephanie Morgan, a Millard parent and leader of the Nebraska Family Policy forum. “I don’t think [the government] should be intervening so often and so readily.”

Critics often cite an increase in government intervention in cases where children have been unable to attend school due to chronic illnesses. State Senator Tony Fulton reportedly said that the law should be amended because, “We are criminalizing good parents to get after bad parents.” HSLDA agrees with Senator Fulton that parents—not the state—are in the best position to determine what is in the best interests of their children.

These situations show how a law that was not intended to affect homeschoolers can nevertheless affect them. Thus, it is essential that vigilance be exercised and that homeschoolers are prepared to defend themselves both in the legislature and in court.