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
