Mars Inc. is working with pharmaceutical companies to develop a line of cocoa-based prescription drugs that could help treat diabetes, dementia and other ailments, The Washington Post reported. I know chocolate always helps me feel better. Now if only HMOs would start covering M&M’s.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Wichita’s libertarian leanings are being tested by the two-pronged assault on X-rated businesses. The efforts by the Wichita City Council, led by Mayor Carlos Mayans, to more tightly restrict where and how sex-related businesses can operate by the end of the year seem reasonable enough, especially in areas such as Old Town or WaterWalk where the city has invested tax dollars in development. But the First Amendment has always provided such businesses broad protection, and rightly so. And Cap Parlier makes a compelling point in a My View commentary in Wednesday’s Eagle: Aren’t the citizens involved in the Operation Southwind petition “imposing their moral values on private behavior”? Might their time be better spent working through their churches to reduce the demand for pornography?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
All Americans are right to be angry about the London bombings and other violence done by some claiming to be acting on behalf of Islam. But it is wrong for area residents to blame all Muslims for such heinous acts, or to try to link them to the Islamic Society of Wichita, which so proudly opened a new mosque this month. So it was encouraging to see more than 50 people of various faiths come together Tuesday in Wichita to condemn the hateful, bigoted, anti-Muslim statements made locally since the July 7 attacks. As The Eagle editorial board said on Sunday, “members of the local Muslim community have provided no reason — none — to either question their allegiances or fear them.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Jane Fonda may be asking for trouble — including worse than being spit upon, as she was in Kansas City, Mo., earlier this year — by planning to travel the nation in a vegetable oil-fueled bus to hold anti-war protests on the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion next March. But she has found allies in some military families unhappy with the White House. And with polls showing a growing frustration among the American people with the casualties and slow progress in Iraq, you have to wonder why it’s falling to the most famous Vietnam War opponent to get aggressive about publicly opposing this war.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office issued a statement last week denying it has any authority over Kansas Department of Corrections manager Margie Phelps for her hate group’s off-hours picketing of U.S. soldiers’ funerals. The statement read: “Whether or not we agree with an employee’s personal choices, we cannot punish them for their personal behavior or political beliefs exercised outside the workplace if those actions do not impact workplace activity.”
What if we learn that a top aide to the governor, on off-hours, is a practicing member of the Ku Klux Klan and picketing the funerals of blacks? Would the governor simply issue a statement saying he had a right to free speech? You can bet he’d lose his job or be transferred to the mailroom so fast it would make your head spin.
An Eagle reader asked: What if Phelps was Muslim American, and going around blessing IEDs and the killing of our troops? She’d probably be in Guantanamo, under interrogation.
Want to tell the governor what you think of Margie Phelps representing you as a state employee? E-mail her office at governor@state.ks.us.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Because U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has only been on the federal appeals bench for two years, Democrats are making a fuss about needing to see everything he wrote as an attorney in the administrations of former presidents Bush and Reagan. But if they get their hands on these writings, which arguably are subject to attorney-client privilege anyway, they shouldn’t mistake them for Roberts’ personal views. They should be taken for the arguments of a hired gun on behalf of his client.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As we wait for the special prosecutor to finish probing the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s name, the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., plans to examine the use of cover to protect the identities of intelligence officers. Roberts acknowledged Sunday that outing an agent is a “very serious matter” — and a crime, we’d add. But he also said of Plame: “I must say from a commonsense standpoint, driving back and forth to work to the CIA headquarters — I don’t know if that really qualifies as being, you know, covert,” he said Sunday on CNN. Let’s hope such comments don’t mean that Roberts is more interested in casting doubt on Plame’s need for cover than on preventing more such breaches.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Good for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for vetoing a petty budget provision that would have required state advertising to include a line saying the ads were financed with Kansas tax dollars. Besides being a prime example of legislative meddling (even "help wanted" ads would have needed the disclaimer), the provision would have meant the state was lying on the frequent occasions when an ad was actually paid for by federal funds, private grants or lottery ticket sales.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Why can’t local professional sports teams attract more fans? Some think the spotty attendance at Wichita Wranglers and Thunder games confirms fears that Wichita isn’t big enough to support pro sports. But it’s not as if Wichita doesn’t have sports fans — even fanatics. Wichita State University Shocker baseball and basketball pull in large crowds and inspire intense loyalty. Shocker fans identify with the players and the tradition, and feel an active part of the program. I think local pro teams need to work harder at cultivating that sense of fan ownership. It can happen: Wichita Wings soccer attracted a rabid following in the 1980s (before it lost its major-league affiliation), drawing almost 10,000 fans a game. What do you think of the prospects for pro sports in Wichita? Why aren’t more people coming out to the games?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Instead of triggering the mother of all court battles, as many predicted, President Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court has thus far resulted mostly in peace and quiet. In fact, the war room that the White House created to help push the nomination is so silent that they are holding meetings just to give them something to do, The New York Times reported. That’s good news for the country, which doesn’t need another nasty slugfest. But it’s bad news for the special interest groups on the left and right that depend on controversy to fire up their bases and raise money.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Medicare’s long-term financial outlook is many times worse than Social Security’s. That’s why it was so frustrating to read in a Washington Post news article that researchers estimate that $1 of every $3 of Medicare spending goes for unnecessary or inappropriate care. Even more frustrating and unacceptable is Medicare’s and Congress’ failure to curb this waste. Or to even seem to care.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
What a relief to learn last week that Standard & Poor’s had upgraded the state’s “issuer credit rating” to “stable” from “negative,” where it had been since 2002. Prompted by the recent jobs growth statewide and the fact that the state ended the fiscal year July 1 with $47.5 million more revenue than expected, the upgraded rating is the latest signal that the state’s economy is on the mend. As state leaders strive to meet obligations next year, at least higher borrowing costs shouldn’t be among their worries. But that’s no reason to go on a borrowing binge.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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
Cessna Aircraft Co. is now Wichita’s largest employer, so it was good news last week that the aviation company enjoyed strong sales and orders during the second quarter of 2005, with plans to deliver more than 1,000 aircraft this year. Cessna is stepping up to No. 1 as a community leader as well, with chairman emeritus Russ Meyer leading an $8 million effort to build a new Boys & Girls Club in northeast Wichita and the Cessna Foundation recently giving $250,000 to the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Cessna’s leadership is looking good — for it and for Wichita.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Many a word has been used to describe George W. Bush. The most apt? “Honest,” said 31 of 751 respondents in a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. But then came “incompetent” (26 votes) and “arrogant” (24), followed by array of lower-scoring labels spanning “integrity” and “weasel.” Overall, Pew judged the word choices to be 40 derogatory and 36 percent favorable. Say this for our 43rd president: He’s unlikely to be remembered as unremarkable.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Morale, though low, appears to be improving among soldiers in Iraq. Fifty-four percent of soldiers questioned as part of an Army survey last year said that morale in their individual units was either low or very low — an improvement from 72 percent who said the same thing a year earlier. But with the Army struggling to meet its recruitment goals, it will have to look at ways to address the soldiers’ main concerns — one being the length of deployments. Otherwise, it could be looking at even larger recruitment shortfalls.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
One image can’t fully represent a state with the rich history of Kansas, so expect more spirited debate about the Kansas quarter once it hits palms and pockets. In any case, it was exciting to see the minting of the commemorative quarter begin in Denver last week, on the way to its official release Sept. 9 at the Kansas State Fair. Our fears that Kansas’ would join the ugly coins in the U.S. Mint’s state program were relieved, too; the design looks artful but uncluttered. It will be great to see Kansas get noticed beyond its borders this year for more than BTK and evolution.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
For all the high-minded talk about the Internet as a tool for world trade and a force for democracy, the Web’s main role in daily lives is as the modern equivalent of the girlie magazine, according to this Forbes column. The keyword research tool WordTracker says the names of Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the Simpson sisters are the most-searched words on the Web these days, along with queries for video game cheats, music lyrics, movie information and sex acts. Nearly as sad as the porn hunters are the lost souls: “Google” is an oft-searched term, meaning people don’t know the difference between the search box and the navigational bar.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The bulldozers are set to roll, but a local historic preservation group is making a last-ditch attempt to save the historic Fidelity Title building at 221 N. Market. Greg Kite says his group recently offered the Wichita Bar Association $240,000 for the building — three times what the association paid for it just a few years ago. The preservationists even secured $500,000 for renovation. But the association, which earlier hinted it might consider just such an extravagant offer, now says forget it. Not interested. The Wichita Bar Association gains eight parking spaces, and Wichita loses a piece of its history and architectural heritage. What a deal.
P.S. Last month the association actually presented special President’s Awards to the legal defense team for their work in paving the way for the Fidelity demolition. Let’s hear it for their community spirit.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Does the word “phishing” bring to mind a rod and reel? You’re not alone. Only a small percentage of Americans can keep up with the latest buzzwords describing Internet trends, according to a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. But this article, complete with a glossary, will get you caught up — for at least a week.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
