All you had to do was see then-Gov. George Bush talk about the death penalty in the 2000 debates to realize his compassion had its limits. His record on granting presidential pardons is instructive, too. The 14 pardons he signed Wednesday brought his total to 58. CBS News notes that his father granted 74 pardons in his four years in office — more than his son but far fewer than Bill Clinton’s 396 in eight years, Ronald Reagan’s 393 in eight years and Jimmy Carter’s 534 in four years. And it turns out that Richard Nixon (the recipient of one of Gerald Ford’s 382 pardons) was the grantor of 863 himself. Hard to know whether this says more about the Bushes or the other guys.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is planning to reimburse churches and religious groups that helped out with Gulf Coast hurricane relief. Is that appropriate?
The Eagle editorial board members couldn’t agree on this one. I argued, and some agreed, that churches shouldn’t get taxpayer dollars for doing what Christian charity should compel them to do voluntarily. Otherwise, churches risk corrupting the motivation behind charity and good works.
But Opinion editor Phillip Brownlee argued that in some large disasters it is reasonable to reimburse churches that are called upon by government to provide extra relief services and shelter that normally would be provided by government.
What do you think?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue’s decision to save energy by canceling school for two days last week seemed like nobody’s business but Georgia’s. Then President Bush praised Perdue for his move, saying he “showed leadership by saying, ‘We’ve got to anticipate a problem, here’s what we need to do to correct it.’” Forget the inconvenience Perdue caused parents over a “possible” fuel shortage. What kind of message is it sending the state’s children and the nation generally? How about that K-12 education is eminently expendable?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
There is a lot of work involved in developing a logo and setting design policies for its uses. Still, it looks like the University of Kansas was taken to the cleaners. Turns out KU’s new logo (the right one in the picture, and for which it cost KU nearly $90,000 to produce) is nearly identical to a logo that Kutztown University in Pennsylvania developed two years ago (and paid $20,000 for), the Lawrence Journal-World reported. I’m still wondering what was wrong with the old logo.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It’s great that 80 percent of Boeing Machinists union members accepted a new contract, ending a 28-day strike. Strikes can hurt workers, Boeing, other local companies, such as Spirit AeroSystems, and the community. We’re glad it’s over.
One sticking point had been that Boeing wanted a different contract for Wichita workers than for union members in the Pacific Northwest. Local workers condemned that as a “hostile, conquer-and-divide” tactic. But it seemed reasonable to me, given the lower cost of living and wage market here. So I asked Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, why the company dropped that demand. He said it wasn’t worth holding up a contract affecting more than 18,000 union members over an issue affecting only 947 workers in Wichita. Makes sense.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
