Thanks for nothing, Ted

Much to the chagrin of Senators Kerry and Kennedy, it seems that quite a few inner-city kids in DC are going to receive a quality education this year.

WASHINGTON - As the school year begins, more than 1,000 students are using a new voucher program to escape troubled public schools in the nation's capital.

So, how does John "Say Good-bye to Special Interest Groups" Kerry feel about this?

Critics, including Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, say vouchers strip money from teachers unions' campaign contribution coffers public schools and funnel it to private schools that have the audacity to spend that money on educating our youth face little accountability.

How the Kerry Kamp expects to make a campaign issue out of education is a mystery to me. We shall see.

The program provides up to $7,500 per child to cover tuition, fees and other educational expenses. While tuition rates range from $3,000 to $22,415 per year, participating institutions have waived costs exceeding the grant limit, or provided other financial aid.

Numerous problems in the D.C. Public Schools have fueled interest in the program. The system has its fifth permanent superintendent in nine years. In February, a student was shot dead inside a high school, allegedly by another student. Enrollment is down, including more than 10,000 students who departed for publicly funded charter schools.

So, the continuing support of the NEA and the AFT, and the maintenance of the status quo in the American public education system are worthy recipients of millions of dollars of taxpayers' money, but this dead kid wasn't worth the $7,500 that might have got him out of that school and into a safe learning environment. Throw the Brahmin Noodle at the wall, he'll definitely stick now.