Gov. Kathleen Sebelius must have felt under fire as she sought to replace the late Justice Robert Gernon on the Kansas Supreme Court, what with all the flak the court has taken from lawmakers for its school finance and death penalty decisions. But she seems to have chosen wisely in Shawnee County District Eric Rosen, whose solid resume and high profile in the capital make him hard to tar as a liberal "activist." Rosen was even hired (and admired) by House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, when Mays was state securities commissioner. It will take more than one savvy pick, though, to defuse legislative efforts to undercut or shape the high court.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
There may be good arguments for permanently repealing the estate tax, but needing to help family farmers isn’t one of them.
A Congressional Budget Office study determined that with the current exemption level of $1.5 million, only 300 farm estates in 2000 would have owed any taxes, The Washington Post reported. And at the $3.5 million exemption level that takes effect in 2009, only 65 farm estates would have owed any taxes.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Just when it seemed that the USA Patriot Act might get a thorough reassessment before being reauthorized by Congress, the London attacks occurred and gave the provisions a new urgency. That is probably why the House voted 257-171 last week to renew the act. There were some changes aimed at more civil liberties oversight. But even the controversial “library clause” would remain, though it would have to be reauthorized in 10 years. That deadline, longer than the four years favored in a Senate committee, carries the chilling message that the nation’s leaders now view four years as likely insufficient to win the war on terrorism. Guess this really is the new normal.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Congratulations to those dedicated local volunteers who are fast turning “Doc” back into a model of the B-29 Superfortress at its best. The 5-year-old restoration has turned a corner on the structural work. The community can help cover the remaining $800,000 needed for the restoration of engines and fuel tanks (payable to United States Aviation Museum, care of Wayne M. Gomes, B-29 Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 2417, Grand Junction, CO 81502). There also is a separate project to build a hangar at the Kansas Aviation Museum in hopes of keeping the bomber in Wichita (contribute to Kansas Aviation Museum, 3350 S. George Washington Blvd. Wichita, KS 67210). Help out these efforts to honor an airplane that safeguarded the nation.
Maybe they’re just two old political enemies stealthily repositioning themselves for a presidential face-off in 2008. But it’s hard not to be impressed by the good will newly enveloping Newt Gingrich and Hillary Clinton, who are working together toward finding a cure for the health care system, probably one that would streamline paperwork, ease information sharing and require individuals to take more responsibility for their care. “One of the problems in Washington is that there are those who want to avoid facts because it contradicts their ideology,” she said. “My hope, my sense, is that we are at the end of a 40-year cycle of bitterness,” he said. If these two can bond, surely any partisan extremist can be rehabilitated.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The blogosphere does attract all kinds, but space aliens? Apparently that’s the thinking behind the free service www.BloginSpace.com, which will will beam Web site feeds of blogs into space through a powerful satellite broadcast. A lot of bloggers can be accused of going too far, but this seems absurd, even for them.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
