Republicans may like to rail against big government. But here in Wisconsin — where conservative lawmakers just introduced a bill to dramatically restrict what people can buy with their own food stamps — Republicans want to cook up a new kind of nanny state.

This isn’t a new idea altogether.

Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) already can’t buy prepared foods or booze with their benefits. More recently, some conservative politicians and policy wonks have suggested restricting food stamp recipients from using government aid to buy soda or junk food.

But now, Wisconsin Republicans want to bar people from using their food stamps to buy shrimp, lobster, and other shellfish, and require them to use at least two-thirds of their SNAP benefits on items found on a specific and arbitrary list of products.

If the bill were to pass, bulk dry beans — a very affordable and nutritious choice — would be out, but canned beans would be in. That is, unless they’re green beans, in which case they’re off limits. Fruit juice is allowed, as long as it’s not organic. Canned tomatoes are in, but spaghetti sauce is out.

The Food Research and Action Center says the proposal would create a “grocery nanny state.”

As a former food stamp recipient myself, I can’t even imagine what a trip to the grocery store would be like — or how humiliating it would be to check out and discover that half of my purchases weren’t allowed. Imagine holding up an entire line of shoppers as a clerk goes through your groceries, sorting them into “yes” and “no” piles.

And with only $70 to feed an adult woman for a month, how much lobster do the Republicans think I would’ve been buying anyway?

Like the rest of our fraying social safety net, food stamps are intended to help Americans out when we’re down on our luck. To qualify, you have to be incredibly poor — so poor that nobody would be tempted to avoid work to obtain public assistance.

My $70 per month for food was definitely helpful. But when I was that poor, I had a hard time paying for gas, rent, utilities, and everything else in my life. I was eager to earn more money and get off food stamps — and I did after a few months.

If you want to see what an average food stamp recipient looks like, look in the mirror. Anyone can fall on hard times. Every single person I’ve met who’s fallen that low has worked their tails off to get back on their feet.

Being poor is stressful enough without being kicked while you’re down. The last thing food stamp recipients need is a handful of rich politicians telling them what they can and can’t eat.

OtherWords.org columnist Jill Richardson is the author of “Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.”

Legal battles over when and where to draw the church-state line on school endorsement of religion can be a nightmare for administrators, a headache for judges and a payday for lawyers.

Consider the recent lawsuit in Lubbock, Texas over an advertisement a company called Little Pencil wanted to display during the football games played at the local high school.

The ad featured a depiction of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns with words like “outcast,” “addicted” and “jealous” tattooed across his upper body (symbolizing the belief that Jesus took on the sins of the world).

The owner of Little Pencil, David Miller, figured that if you want to reach kids with a biblical message, the jumbotron in the local high school football stadium is probably an effective place to advertise — especially in the state of Texas where religious fervor can reach fever pitch on Friday nights.

But school officials rejected Miller’s ad, worried that the religious message would be perceived as being endorsed by the school in violation of the Establishment clause of the First Amendment. Administrators also argued that the image contradicted the school’s policy banning students from having visible tattoos.

Miller sued, claiming that school officials had violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. In March, Miller lost his case when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision in favor of the school district. (Little Pencil, LLC v. Lubbock Independent School District)

The court ruled that it was reasonable for the district to worry about the appearance of crossing the line separating church and state if the tattooed Jesus was displayed on the jumbotron.

Meanwhile in California, a state court of appeals handed down a decision in Sedlock v. Baird, another case involving the appearance of school endorsement of religion — with a very different result.

At issue in Sedlock were yoga classes taught in the Encinitas, California school district. A group of parents sued, charging that teaching yoga in public schools is unconstitutional state promotion of religion.

To avoid any appearance of school endorsement of religion, Encinitas school officials had stripped the yoga courses of Sanskrit terms and eliminated all references to the religious origins and meanings of yoga postures.

Although the objecting parents argued that yoga is inherently religious and cannot be separated from its Hindu roots, the court sided with school officials. Yoga as practiced in the school, the court ruled, is secular in purpose and effect — and therefore doesn’t rise to the level of state establishment of religion.

Whatever you think of the result in these two cases — and reasonable people can disagree about what constitutes school endorsement of religion — you can take comfort in the fact that school officials in both communities appear to be trying hard not to take sides in religion.

That’s good news because government neutrality toward religion is an essential condition of religious freedom — especially in public schools where impressionable young people are a captive audience.

For better and for worse, messy, wacky cases about tattoos and yoga postures are a necessary and inevitable part of upholding the First Amendment in our pluralistic democracy.

Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Newseum Institute and executive director of the Religious Freedom Center. [email protected]

Professor Bill Brett was a wonderful lecturer. He filled the blackboard with meaningful and organized notes. Then, while erasing the board, he asked us questions.

Somehow he could always detect who had not paid attention or who did not understand.

Since I was a “field kid” growing up, I knew a lot of biology. So I never got called on!

One day he was explaining clam shells and bone tissue. He got to the end of the blackboard and asked “Where would I find an example of calcium carbonate?” as he began erasing.

So, I diverted my eyes downward and avoided his gaze as he scanned the class.

“Mr. Schrock”—he called on me!

“The chalk in your hand, sir,” I crisply replied.

The immediacy of my reply caught Dr. Brett off guard. For a moment, he stopped erasing.

“You did that to me,” he smiled.

“Yes, sir,” I confessed.

The rest of the class did not have the least idea what we were talking about. I had baited him to call on me.

Have you ever wondered how teachers can always pick out the student in class who does not know the answer?

Yes, it is the eyes.

Today, when I visit student teachers, I do not sit at the back of class to watch them. And I don’t want a videotape of them teaching. I sit forward enough in class that I can look back and see what the teacher is responding to. How many kids are getting “Ah ha’s” in their eyes, as they now understand something that they formerly did not. How many students eyes show they are totally lost. “Huh?” is also obvious in their eyes? And do my student teachers then use this information to adjust their explanation on the spot. Perhaps they call upon a student whose eyes show that they do know, to re-explain for those who do not?

Teachers can “read eyes” back five or six seats in each row. That is what makes a regular classroom very efficient. But students sitting in a large lecture hall beyond those first five rows might as well not be there. Unable to see the students’ eyes, the teacher cannot adjust the message to be sure those distant students understand the message.

Distance learning? Same problem. Not enough resolution. When time-consuming feedback mechanisms have to be used, the efficient flow of the message and the group train of thought are lost.

There is science behind this skill. Fifty years ago, in the April 1965 Scientific American, Eckhard Hess described how pupil size revealed ongoing mental activity in “Attitude and Pupil Size.” Using the technology of that time, his experiments measured how pupil response “is a measure of interest, emotion, thought processes and attitudes.” Just airbrushing the pupils on a girl’s photo made a dramatic difference in male’s judgements; large pupils revealing interest while small pupils meant no date tonight.

They extended this to spelling and math problems. Recite a simple math problem to a person—a problem they can do in a few seconds in their mind—and watch their eyes. Their pupils dilate as they work it out and the split second they arrive at the answer but just before they say it, the pupils constrict.

As Aristotle said millennia ago, the eyes are the windows to the mind.

I describe this art of teaching and the instantaneous reading of students’ eyes because there are new digital education fads that claim to be a breakthrough in evaluating whether students are learning. Similar to most digital distractions, they ignore current good teaching practices and offer a poor substitute at many times the cost.

Customized online evaluation systems are now being hawked to universities and public schools to provide feedback from students. But it is a day late and costs dollars more.

But any parent who wants to really know their child’s understanding has always been able to determine that in a few seconds, and for free.

Similar to good teachers, they just say: “Look me in the eye and tell me.”

Hardly a day goes by that another candidate doesn’t announce his or her intention to run for the presidency. One day it’s Carly Fiorina, the next it’s Mike Huckabee, Bernie Sanders, or Hillary Clinton, even.

It’s like the circus — when the little car rolls into the center ring and a clown gets out, then another, then two more, and on and on until the ring is overflowing with 1,000 clowns, or so it seems.

We won’t get up to 1,000 politicians yearning to lead the “free world,” or what’s left of it. But we should reach two dozen presidential aspirants who are asking us voters to take them seriously before we’re done.

It’s still early, but it looks as though the major message of this election is going to be about closing the cavernous gaps between the rich and the poor. Democrats have always suspected that the poor are being victimized by our economic system, but now it seems that the Republicans are singing that song too.

Former First Brother Jeb Bush, whose family has been rich ever since his grandfathers got into oil and weapons 100 years ago, is now excoriating the “elites” who’ve stifled growth and left the middle class to twist slowly in the wind.

Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who wants to raise the sales taxes that weigh most heavily on poor people, now urges us not to forget those same people — the workers who do our society’s grunt work. He’s also quick to remind us that he’s the son of a bartender and a maid.

Ted Cruz, leader of the Senate’s loudmouth caucus, does Rubio one better. His parents, he says, were both drunks. How’s that for humble beginnings?

Still, it’s hard to beat the unintended irony of Hillary Clinton.

Who else complains with a straight face that “the deck is still stacked in favor of those on top” while she’s busy setting up a super PAC that she hopes will raise $100 million for her campaign by July?

Bill Clinton isn’t much help either. Asked whether he’ll continue to make his six-figure speeches to fat cats while his wife runs for president, he said he’d have to.

“Got to pay our bills,” he said. Some bills.

Fiorina, who got a $21 million severance package when she was fired as head of Hewlett-Packard, is determined to protect workers from minimum-wage raises, which she says hurt folks hunting for entry-level jobs.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a pastor’s son, wants to protect workers from unions, in the name of defending the middle class. And Ben Carson, an African-American neurosurgeon, thinks that the Affordable Care Act is the worst thing since slavery.

Do you get the theme here? This campaign is going to be conducted almost entirely in a parallel universe. It will have no relation to reality, and what candidates say will have no relationship to anything that’s actually happening. Black is going to be white and white black.

Not all the goofballs are running for president — or married to someone who is — yet.

Do you know that there’s a sizeable faction in Texas that thinks U.S. Army exercises over there are prep work for the declaration of martial law and the confiscation of all weapons? Governor Greg Abbott actually tried to deploy the Texas Guard to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

What’s happened to this country? It used to be a fairly sensible place.

Maybe it’s time to send in the clowns.

Oh, I forgot. They’re already here.

OtherWords.org columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Most of us have heard of March Madness where the colleges play for the national championship in basketball, well the heavy favorite Kentucky team didn’t win. Well, the heavy favorite to win the 2016 presidential election is Hillary Clinton and according to this author she —- first the story and then the results. But before we divulge the answer a quick look at the madness as it will play out.

Hillary will be the Democratic Party nominee. No amount of scandals will keep her from losing her moment of fame in the general election. The Democrats will spend somewhere between one billion to two billion dollars.

The Republican Party candidates will spend over a billion dollars. It’s anyone’s guess at this time who will become the nominee. It may not make a big difference who wins. If the GOP candidates (this is considering the 20 or more who claim they will enter the race) can create as much madness and excitement to equal the basketball world than they may wake up the approximately 70% of the American people who don’t pay attention to the election until the final weeks as they get bombarded with all those political ads. Just like in basketball, it’s that last second shot that determines the outcome. And what an amazing outcome it will be in 2016.

In the first quarter of the contest, Hillary has 232 points (electoral votes). This is based on the last six presidential elections. She needs only 38 to win! The Republican candidate is far behind with only 164. The magic number it takes to win is 270. But there are 12 states that are undecided totaling 142 electoral votes. These 12 are Florida, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, New Mexico, and New Hampshire.

Hillary knows that her best shot to win are the non-married women who voted 67% for the Democratic Party in 2012. Women are Hillary’s path to victory.

But standing in Hillary’s way is that the the GOP won 78% of the Christian vote in 2012. That didn’t make a big difference in 2012 as millions of Christians didn’t vote. Christians need to have a candidate that inspires them to take action, to get involved to vote. The ideal would be a Christian woman who exudes enthusiasm and patriotism. Just think if there were a Christian American Party to unite Americans to finally stand up to their beliefs. American women and men united in one cause to restore America to return to being a Christian nation. Americans just put Christian American Party in the search box at amazon.com books and you will find the guide to success.

In a 3 way race — Democratic, Republic and Christian — the Christians could win 40% of the vote if they were to get active, which probably would be enough to win the election. Facts are the Democratic and Republican Parties have messed up our country. In 2012, the Republican candidates did not portray the enthusiasm and patriotism that the American voters wanted. With the present Republican candidates the odds of anyone of them getting over 269 electoral votes are a long shot. The ideal Christian team would be the unmatched enthusiasm and patriotism of Sarah Palin and the great sheriff of Milwaukee County, David Clarke,JR, a patriotic Christian, the man that will restore law and order in our country which we so desperately need.

The answer to the question will the heavy favorite, Hillary Clinton win. She will play the women card to the max to beat every Republican male candidate. With Hillary, America will continue down the destructive road. Her only loss would be against the Palin-Clarke team.

Roger H. Ewing
Hays

Before long, kids will toss their schoolbooks and pencils in the far corners of their rooms, don their Magellan garb and embark on a summer course of outdoor exploration.

For many rural children, railroads, dumps, junkyards, abandoned properties and ponds make exciting places to explore. It is up to parents to decide where suitable adventure sites may be found.

Each year, hundreds of railroad trespassers are killed and injured, according to the National Safety Council. Children who crawl under or pass around lowered gates, walk the tracks, cross trestles, take shortcuts across railroad property, hop trains, or climb in, on or around railroad cars run a tremendous risk.

This spring take the time to warn your children of these dangers. Instruct them to obey warning devices and insist they never cross a railroad track until they have looked both ways and are sure it is safe.

Never assume children will act like responsible, mature adults. Advise them often because they forget.

Kids will be kids. For most, life is an adventure. Anything and anywhere is fair game for exploration.

When I was a boy growing up in northwestern Kansas, there was always something magnetic about a junkyard. We had an abandoned dump within walking distance.

We dug and sifted through the trash at the site for hours, collecting little treasures to add to our growing collections. Sometimes these “keepers” as we called them consisted of rusted iron spikes, neat-shaped bottles, broken wrenches and tools, discarded containers and other cast-offs.

While we weren’t aware of it or didn’t care, the risk of injury was always present. Wasps, snakes, rats, spiders and other creatures scrambled and slithered to move out of the way of our excavation projects. Broken glass and boards with rusty nails threatened to cut or puncture our small feet. I will never forget the pain of stepping on a nail.

Dumps also feature trucks, bulldozers and other heavy equipment. It’s difficult for operators to see children scooting among the debris. Warn your children to stay away.

Dark deserted buildings – including barns and abandoned farmhouses – often have the reputation of being haunted. Such structures were always considered another adventure when I was a youngster.

Big kids often dare little kids to go in. I remember accepting the challenge and brushing my way through cobwebs and crawling around rodent holes and fleeing mice. Although I survived, I wouldn’t advise any child of mine to do the same.

When I was a youth, my dad warned me again and again about swimming ponds. I guess the repetition paid off because I never swam in such pools of water until I was in high school and an “OK” swimmer.
Remember to tell your children about such ponds. They are deep. You can be into water up to your knees the first couple of steps and the next – over your head.

There are no lifeguards. Fencing off ponds may help. Warning signs also may serve as a deterrent, but kids always find a way into the water.

Warn children about such potential hazards. Then warn them again. Saving one child’s life is worth the effort. It takes more than once for them to grasp your warnings.

Lead by example and remember that as a parent you have been entrusted with safeguarding your children’s wellbeing. Summertime is a special time for kids. Having a child is indeed a treasure. Take care of, cherish and nurture this wonderful gift.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.