A recent Eagle Opinion Line comment said that Karl Rove and Robert Novak likely were glad for Hurricane Katrina. Maybe, but New York Times reporter Judith Miller’s release from jail Thursday means that the Valerie Plame case is back in the news. Miller’s grand jury testimony today — in which she is expected to finger I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff — was among the last evidence that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was after, which means the investigation may wrap up soon. Any bets on whether Rove walks? On where Libby got his information?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Some have suggested that Hurricane Katrina — in addition to transforming the country’s landscape — could also transform the country’s attitudes about race, poverty and government.
But this survey conducted by the Pew Research Center suggests otherwise. It found Americans’ long-term views on poverty, race and government to be about the same as they were before the hurricane.
Those hoping that Katrina would be a catalyst for sweeping societal changes may be disappointed. It seems people’s fundamental views are not easily uprooted.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
The current issue of Time magazine has an interesting news report titled “How many more Mike Browns are out there?” that examines political appointments in the federal government. It recognizes that such appointments occur in every administration but says that “Bush has gone further than most Presidents to put political stalwarts in some of the most important government jobs you’ve never heard of, and to give them genuine power over the bureaucracy.”
Two of the appointees that Time features are David Safavian, the ex-lobbyist with minimal purchasing experience who oversaw $300 billion in spending at the Office of Management and Budget before being arrested this month, and Julie Myers, the niece of Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Richard Myers and Bush’s nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite having minimal experience.
Part of the problem is the lack of serious vetting in the confirmation process. Time notes that “Safavian’s April 2004 confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (attended by only five of the panel’s 17 members) lasted just 67 minutes, and not a single question was asked about his qualifications.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Bloggers are paying a lot of attention to the intelligent design trial in Dover, Pa. Slate offered this roundup of what they’re saying. It mentions the blog Red State Rabble, which is written by Kansan Paul Hayes. He writes, “The real issue in Dover is not suppression of voluntary classroom discussion, but whether a minority religious viewpoint will be given the special privilege of using tax-supported public schools as a tool to convert school children to their peculiar set of beliefs.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
I was surprised to see the strong opinions expressed in Wednesday’s Eagle by Mayor Carlos Mayans and some Wichita City Council members on the four potential arena locations. Mayans opined that the site north of Douglas in Old Town “doesn’t do what we wanted to do.”
Really? On what criteria does he base that judgment? Council member Bob Martz said he preferred the middle two sites (the worst from a pedestrian standpoint). Seems to me that city leaders could have been more cautious in their statements. Such official pronouncements are premature — there’s too much still unknown about traffic flow, parking, infrastructure costs, etc.
Yes, it’s good to let the public debate begin. But I don’t like the fact that several city leaders seem to have taken one option off the table before even seeing the detailed pro/con arguments for it or getting public input.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
There was some good news about Wichita State University’s fall enrollment numbers, including gains in out-of-state students, incoming freshmen and the honors program. Clearly, WSU can and does compete well in certain areas. But WSU’s overall enrollment has dipped for three years running, in contrast to its sister regents institutions. There’s no arguing with some of the reasons WSU officials site for the decline, including post-Sept. 11 losses of foreign and part-time students. But how much longer will those reasons explain it all? Officials surely realize that the nontraditional students served so well by WSU can only handle so many annual tuition hikes.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
However much a hassle it is for sniffle sufferers, the new state law requiring that cold and allergy pills be sold only from behind the counter appears to be paying off. A decline in meth lab busts early in the year and the sharp drop in busts since the law changed in June — down 64 percent compared with the summer months in 2004 — both indicate Kansas at last has put an end to its reputation as a meth-making haven. It’s great to see this law, named in memory of slain Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels, working so quickly and so well.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
That the United States has had 43 presidents and only, as of Thursday, 17 chief justices underscores how judiciously the latter job must be filled. Newly confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts could preside over the Supreme Court for decades. May he do so in accordance with his stated respect for precedent (showing up the 22 Senate Democrats who voted against him presumably because they assumed he was lying). And may the predictions of a fierce partisan battle over the next opening prove wrong.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansas Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, is putting his young family ahead of higher office in opting not to challenge Gov. Kathleen Sebelius next year. Good for him. But Schmidt is one to watch for the future — which should be long, given that he’s 37. One of the sharper minds at the Statehouse, the attorney understands its political process and seems undaunted by the Kansas GOP’s infamous split.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Cindy Sheehan is entitled to her grief and her chosen expressions of it, including a 26-day vigil near President Bush’s ranch last month and the civil disobedience that got her arrested in front of the White House Monday. And there was something reassuring about seeing 100,000 citizens of our complacent nation care enough to gather Saturday in the nation’s capital to protest the war. But to their shouts of “Stop the war now!” I wanted to say: You’re kidding, right? None of the good arguments to be made that we shouldn’t have invaded Iraq matter a whit now that we’re there. Protesters or not, we have a job to finish.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
After years of downplaying conservation as part of a comprehensive energy policy, President Bush’s wishy-washy statement urging Americans to conserve gas could not have been more hypocritical or ineffectual.
“I mean, people just need to recognize that the storms have caused disruption and that if they’re able to maybe not drive . . . on a trip that’s not essential, that would be helpful,” he said.
Um, is there any real policy behind this? Such as increased fuel efficiency standards for autos, which the administration has long resisted? This from a president who believes you can have it all — wars, disasters, deficits — and never have to really sacrifice anything.
More faith-based policy from the Bush team.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
No, the USD 259 substitute teacher didn’t follow procedures and probably used poor judgment in forcing some students to clean up a small pile that may or may not have been human doo-doo that one of them may or may not have produced.
In truth, this story doesn’t seem to be that big.
More revealing were Wichitans’ reactions to the incident: Some seem eager to believe the worst urban myths about horrific conditions in the schools. Others expressed a frustration that teachers don’t have the authority to discipline kids without being second-guessed and undercut by parents and administrators.
The fuzzy facts so far don’t seem to lend themselves clearly to either camp.
What are readers’ takes on the incident?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“I can tell you there are no plans, there are no studies, there is no intent to try to sell what we have here.”
— Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, speaking to The Eagle editorial board Wednesday about the future of the Boeing IDS plant in Wichita. However, he added a caveat that the Wichita plant has to continue to be competitive and return value to shareholders.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
After his nauseating Bennifer romance, it’s been hard to take Ben Affleck seriously as a human being, let alone an actor. But some Virginia Democrats want him to make the leap from moviemaking to lawmaking. His name is supposedly being tossed around as a possible Democratic challenger to Sen. George Allen, The Washington Post reported.
Star power can be overpowering at the polls. Just look at Arnold Schwarzenegger. But is it enough to make voters forget — or at least forgive — “Gigli”?
Posted by Melissa Cooley
You’ve likely heard by now that a Texas grand jury has indicted Rep Tom DeLay, R-Texas, for a campaign finance scheme, and that DeLay has temporarily stepped down has House majority leader. I’m leery of the GOP response that the indictment is “prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat.” DeLay can be ethically challenged, and was cited three times last year by the House ethics committee. But DeLay is savvy and, no doubt, has good attorneys advising him of how far he can go before crossing the legal line. So I’ll be surprised if The Hammer gets nailed on this.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Nobody quits a job he’s officially had for only two months by saying “it is time . . . to step aside” — at least not if he expects to be believed. But whatever prompted veterinarian Lester Crawford’s resignation as Food and Drug Administration commissioner last week, the Bush administration should learn from recent missteps at FDA and elsewhere and get this prime post right. The FDA is supposed to ensure that unsafe drugs don’t get on the market (Vioxx) and that safe drugs do (Plan B emergency contraceptive). Crawford’s FDA faltered on both counts.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
How on earth could Michael Brown think, as he told a congressional panel Tuesday, that warning President Bush and two White House officials in phone calls and e-mails “this is going to be a bad one” counted as decisive preventive action before Katrina hit? And his comment that “my biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional” was absurd. Another maddening statement: “So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans.” Brown only confirmed what everybody knew going into the hearing: that he had no business directing FEMA.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
All but one of the Senate Democrats considering running for president in 2008 oppose the nomination of John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States. The “no” camp includes Sens. Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Only Sen. Russ Feingold is a “yes.” But as James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal and liberal columnist Eleanor Clift of Newsweek wondered, how might these senators vote if there were a secret ballot and they didn’t have to worry about appeasing the left-wing base?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The world witnessed some of Army Pfc. Lynndie England’s mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib via those infamous photographs, so there was real relief in seeing her convicted Monday on six counts. Similarly, it’s good that two other guards were convicted and six more pleaded guilty. But who believes that no officers or military intelligence higher-ups were involved in this abuse? Where is the accountability?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The American Dream Express will roll into Wichita Thursday. The campaign-style bus tour promoting the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” will make a stop at the Wichita Independent Business Association from 10:30 to 11 a.m. But while the goal of TABOR is worthy — curbing the growth of government spending — amending a one-size-fits-all budget formula into the Kansas Constitution is the wrong approach. It’s lawmakers’ job to sort out spending priorities and make difficult budget decisions. If they aren’t doing that to our satisfaction, we have a simple remedy: Vote the bums out of office.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, didn’t vote for the Medicare prescription drug boondoggle in the first place. Now, to his further credit, he’s supporting a two-year postponement of the program (except for the lowest-income seniors) to help cover the immense costs of Hurricane Katrina. He’s also advocating a one-year moratorium on all 2006 earmarks, those pork expenditures lawmakers inject into larger bills. All of this is a political long shot — especially given how many drug-taking senior citizens vote — but it’s good to see a member of the Kansas delegation facing facts on what Katrina and Rita should mean for the federal budget.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
We are interested in doing a feature on our printed editorial pages this weekend in which readers weigh in on which of the four proposed downtown arena sites they prefer. These submissions would be treated like letters to the editor (and must include your name, town and contact information, and be fewer than 200 words). If you are interested in participating, e-mail your thoughts by Thursday morning to letters@wichitaeagle.com. Thanks.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The fashion industry has been forced to feign outrage at Kate Moss’ cocaine use. It has been hard for fashion executives to turn their usual blind eye to this drug use, considering pictures of the act were plastered on the cover of London’s Daily Mirror.
Rebecca Traister of Slate wrote:
“What this drama has done is lay bare the ugly skeleton that holds up a fashion industry that for some time has prized hollow cheeks and vacant eyes, stunted, prepubescent frames, and jutting collar bones from which fabric drapes beautifully. In other words, the body that is appealing to designers — and thus to consumers — is a body that looks like it has been ravaged by drugs. In order to stay employed, models must maintain this shape; to maintain the shape they must do something besides eat right and exercise regularly. Whether it’s cocaine or speed or heroin or caffeine or cigarettes or anorexia or bulimia or some combination of the above, most adult women cannot get bodies that look like Moss’ healthily, because hers is not a healthy body.”
It’s laughable to think that the fashion industry suddenly cares that young people are impressionable.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
A landmark federal trial that began Monday in Pennsylvania could help resolve a central question in the Kansas evolution wars — is intelligent design “theory” primarily scientific or religious in intent?
Eight families have filed suit against the Dover, Pa., school board for violating separation of church and state by requiring biology teachers to mention ID. Here’s one bit of evidence: At a meeting last year to discuss the changes, the Dover board chairman reportedly said, “Two thousand years ago, someone died on a cross. Can’t someone take a stand for him?”
Does that sound like a scientific or religious intent?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Reject the notion that Katrina was God’s way of lashing out at New Orleans revelers, Gulf Coast gamblers or American sinners in general? There is growing interest in the conspiracy theory that the Japanese mafia engineered the hurricane using a Russian-made electromagnetic generator, as belated payback for the Hiroshima bombing. Scott Stevens, an ex-weatherman in Idaho, has discussed this and other otherworldly weather phenomena he’s observed on the late-night “Coast to Coast” radio show. Sounds like an excellent plot for a thriller. Does this mean we can blame neo-Nazis for our next ice storm?
Posted by Rhonda Holman