President Bush has been recognized for his slips of the tongue, but this is the first time he has been accused of a slip of the finger. On Wednesday’s “Tonight Show,” Jay Leno showed videotape of the president walking away from reporters and thrusting a finger in the air — which one is still unclear. But Leno and his audience came to the same conclusion.
The White House is denying that Bush made the rude gesture. But if he did, it wouldn’t be the first time he has let his true feelings about the media slip out. During the 2000 campaign, Bush referred to a New York Times reporter as a “major league asshole,” apparently oblivious of the microphone near him that picked up the comment.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
The past work of members of the chosen arena design consortium, including HOK Sport of Kansas City, Mo., raises expectations that the downtown arena will be a true “showpiece,” in the word of Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton. That’s a relief, especially because some past local projects have scrimped on design out of a shortsighted desire to save money. But before voting for the bid, Norton expressed concerns that many county residents surely would share — whether the team was so strong as to justify both the size of the bid (the highest by more than $1 million) and the comparatively long time line. Now, it’s up to the architects to demonstrate that county leaders’ confidence is well-placed.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Given the notoriously bad grammar and spelling that Dennis Rader displayed in BTK’s taunting letters to media and authorities, it was startling to see an opposing attorney in the civil lawsuits describe as “picture perfect” Rader’s notice to the court that he would be defending himself. Still, what they always say about defendants who represent themselves surely applies here. The confessed serial killer probably figures he has nothing left to lose — and lots of hours to fill.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Believe it or not, Kansas’ 2004 congressional elections were among the five most democratic in the nation, according to a report by the nonpartisan FairVote organization. But that doesn’t mean that our elections were close — three of the four weren’t. Rather, it’s that the rest of the country’s elections were so uncompetitive.
Nationwide, only five incumbents lost to challengers, and only 10 of 435 races were won by margins of 5 percent or less.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
I have my doubts whether President Bush’s new U.S.-Asian partnership on global warming will produce results, given that compliance is voluntary and countries aren’t bound to specific emission reductions. Environmental groups complain that it is just a public relations move, and maybe so. But Bush is correct that new technology is a key to curbing global warming. And that emerging industrial countries such as China and India need to be part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Plus, sometimes a carrot really does work better than a stick.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Among the anecdotes that turned up in a new legislative audit of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services’ reorganization was a complaint about squirrelly hiring practices, including interview questions such as “What kind of superhero would you be?” OK, so such a query isn’t likely to generate much hard information on an applicant’s background and skills. But with the state’s social welfare operation having shuttered 62 offices statewide since 2002, we’re betting that flying or teleportation would come in handy about now.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It seems that John Bolton — President Bush’s nominee for United Nations ambassador, forgot that he was interviewed by the State Department in 2003 as part of an investigation into faulty prewar intelligence.
“It seems unusual that Mr. Bolton would not remember his involvement in such a serious matter,” said Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “In my mind, this raises more questions that need to be answered.”
Americans should be getting answers this weekend, but they may be getting a temporary U.N. appointment instead.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
The U.S. House of Representatives recently took up several health care bills, a couple of which could help lower costs and expand coverage. H.R. 3204 would extend federal funding for the establishment and operation of state high-risk health insurance policies for people with chronic medical conditions. H.R. 525 would allow small businesses to pool their purchasing power by forming association health plans. Admittedly, these are small, incremental reforms. But they are helpful and smart.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The seven astronauts aboard Discovery deserve more than pure luck to keep them alive. But that’s apparently the only reason the shuttle is now cleared for re-entry instead of facing the same problems that led to Columbia’s destruction.
Those astronauts deserve more, and so do the American people, considering that NASA spent more than $1 billion “fixing” the problem.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
OK, so the name couldn’t be any clunkier — the “Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area.” But the U.S. Senate’s approval of the designation of 26 Kansas counties for their role in that regional struggle leading up to the Civil War brings proponents closer to their worthy goal of preserving and sharing this history through signs, brochures, exhibits, walking trails and the like. This is a story that all Americans need to know and learn from.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Politicians who flip-flop on big moral issues do so at big political risk. So give credit to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., for newly finding the courage to back the House-passed bill to expand federal funding embryonic stem-cell research, in the process bucking President Bush and leading social conservatives such as Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. Pro-life groups who might have considered supporting Frist for president in 2008 went ballistic. But his change of heart makes it more likely that this commonsense, compassionate step to foster scientific research may clear Congress this fall.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has reactivated his political action committee — Straight Talk America — signaling that he might make another run for president in 2008. But a local political observer told me, "He’ll get waxed in the primaries, despite a love affair with the press." Do you agree? Can a candidate get the GOP nomination without the blessing of the religious right?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The New York Times had a Q&A article on blogging about your job without getting fired. The basic advice: Be very, very careful. Standards are subjective. And being anonymous doesn’t help if your boss can trace it to you.
So you might want to watch out what you post on our comments. And in case Lou Heldman happens to see this, let me also add: The Eagle is a really great place to work.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Some Democrats are accusing Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., of playing partisan politics for blocking a congressional investigation of presidential adviser Karl Rove’s role in leaking the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. But the opposite seems true. What appears to be a rigorous Justice Department investigation of the leak is still ongoing, and there is no pressing reason for Congress to jump in now — other than that Democrats want a public platform to discredit Rove. Besides, Rove is doing a pretty good job self-destructing on his own.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The manufacturer of the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” deserves to get capped for hiding sexually explicit scenes that could be unlocked with a code. But some of the hysterics by parents and members of Congress sound like Claude Rains in “Casablanca” — “I’m shocked! Shocked!” — given the violence and “hos” in the regular game.
As Lester Haines wrote in The Register, an online source for IT news, about the sex-free version of “GTA”: “Concerned parents can rest assured that after shooting up drug dealers with a semi-automatic rifle, their wide-eyed and innocent teen gamer will in future have to wind down with warm milk and cookies rather than an explosive climax with his bitch.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It remains to be seen whether the Teamsters and Service Employee unions’ decision to break away from the AFL-CIO will help or further weaken the labor movement. But what is clear is that it will hurt the Democratic Party, at least in the short term. The unions have been a cash cow for supporting Democratic candidates — though the spending often failed to generate wins on Election Day.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
As Gov. Kathleen Sebelius ponders how to fill three seats on the Kansas Board of Regents, the state’s governing board for higher education, the Lawrence Journal-World notes that 17 of 19 regents over the past decade contributed to the campaigns of the governors who appointed them; the donations involved range from $50 to $6,000. These positions seemingly entail too much hassle, travel and work to be considered political perks. And one regent, Sebelius appointee Frank Gaines of Hamilton, rightly suggested that governors naturally want to appoint people they know and trust. But it is a prestigious item for a resume, and any appearance of quid pro quo is nothing to applaud.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
On its own, the Pentagon’s confirmation that three-fourths of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division will return to Fort Riley next year is great news for the state. The Big Red One has been missed during its decade in Germany, and Kansas can use the anticipated influx of 3,000 military and civilian jobs. The scheduled homecoming is even sweeter, though, in the context of the bitter fights going on in other states over planned base closings. This time, Kansas fared well.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
I argued in an Eagle editorial Thursday that it’s time for the Wichita school district to end forced busing. My reasons include:
The policy is only halfheartedly enforced; it is unfairly applied, as Hispanics and Asians are exempt, and nearly all the burden falls on African-Americans (who deserve more neighborhood school options); it hasn’t closed the achievement gap between minority and white students, which was its purpose, not social integration; and it causes families to leave the district for suburban and private schools, which costs Wichita per pupil state funding.
A number of other cities have dropped busing, including Oklahoma City and Boston. And that’s been OK with the federal government and the courts, which recognize that busing has become an outdated solution, especially when districts such as Wichita have become so much more diverse.
What do you think? Is it time to park the buses, or is forced busing still needed?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Some lawmakers can’t afford to forgo any of their salary to save money for taxpayers. In fact, some had to assume the costs of hiring farm help and canceling vacation plans when the governor called the special session. But gratitude is due the area legislators, among 27 total statewide, who opted not to collect part of their pay during the 12-day, $574,000 session: Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick; and Reps. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita; Mario Goico, R-Wichita; Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center; and Judy Loganbill, D-Wichita. The $13,000 saved statewide by such a gesture is modest, but the symbolism is much appreciated.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
A dozen or so newspapers have complained about, edited or yanked “Doonesbury” over the scatological name-calling aimed at Karl Rove in Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s strips, according to the Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate. But in the context of everything else that cartoonist Garry Trudeau has hurled at President Bush over the years, the use of the nickname hardly seems worth a fuss — especially because "Turd Blossom" allegedly really is among Bush’s own pet names for his longtime aide.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The American Association for Nude Recreation has a problem: Its membership is getting too old. So its leaders are trying to recruit younger members with events such as a “Nudie Blues” rock concert. Can’t blame them for trying. Hanging out, literally, with a bunch of naked 50- and 60-year-olds just doesn’t swing — that is, unless you’re talking about sagging body parts.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It was always lame to claim that letting Roger Valadez learn why he was targeted as a BTK suspect would undermine the BTK investigation. But now that Dennis Rader has confessed to being the serial killer, there really is no good reason why Valadez shouldn’t be able to see the probable cause affidavit that allowed police to force their way into his house and point guns at him.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The nation’s need for a comprehensive energy policy has been among the most persuasive talking points of the George W. Bush era. But if you thought that having such an energy policy would mean depending less on foreign oil, think again. We currently import 58 percent of our oil. The legislation nearing final passage in Congress would only slow the increase of our dependence, currently projected to rise to 68 percent by 2025. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for example, could reduce oil imports by a mere 4 percent. Especially with so much instability in some of the nations of the world that sit atop oil reserves, is this the best our leaders can do?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Don’t forget that Sen. Sam Brownback won’t be the only Kansan quizzing U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa. — now 75 and newly finished with chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease — was born in Wichita in 1930, attending College Hill Elementary School and the former Roosevelt Intermediate School until the family moved to Russell in 1942. His family did business with the Glickmans in Wichita and the Doles in Russell. Specter, who was an investigator on the Warren Commission and Philadelphia district attorney before he won his Senate seat in 1980, had to fight conservatives to win the chairmanship. But “for all the consternation, he’s done what he said he will do” concerning nominees, Brownback recently told the Chicago Tribune.
Posted by Rhonda Holman