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
