Daily Archives: Oct. 29, 2005

Will this be Bush’s Clarence Thomas?

Oct. 29, 200512:05 a.m.

Harriet Miers accomplished for the Democrats what they have not been able to do on their own, Michael Scherer of Salon points out in this article.
“She single-handedly called into question President Bush’s electoral mandate and helped redraw the political landscape. She fractured the Republican Party’s impenetrable front,” he wrote.
But, he notes, the Miers debacle could end up giving liberals little to cheer about.
“The current political atmosphere echoes 1990, a disastrous time for those who oppose a conservative takeover of the Supreme Court. ‘After a few years of George Bush Sr. being called a moderate on a number of social issues, he finally needed a way to shore up his base before an election,’ says Nan Aron, the leader of the liberal Alliance for Justice, an umbrella organization for civil rights, consumer and women’s groups. “He sent up Clarence Thomas.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (5)

What is ‘doing the right thing’ on marrying age?

Oct. 29, 200512:03 a.m.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and legislative leaders talk about setting a minimum marriage age as if it will be a breeze next session. Maybe it will be, especially after those embarrassing national headlines about the couple who were able to marry in Kansas only to return home to Nebraska to see the 22-year-old groom charged with raping his 14-year-old bride. But when Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, calls for an “escape clause” in cases where, say, a pregnant girl “demonstrates maturity and understanding of the situation,” you have to wonder what lies ahead for this issue. Our editorial in Saturday’s Eagle calls on lawmakers to “do the right thing and ensure that child rape can’t continue to be legitimized in Kansas with a wedding.” What do you think?
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (8)

There’s no politics in baseball

Oct. 29, 200512:02 a.m.

Superstitious baseball fans should leave politics out of their curse theories. Curses should center on baseball-related blunders and the occasional farm animal. But, as Rhonda pointed out in an earlier posting, Hillary Clinton has been blamed for the Yankees’ recent postseason failures. And now President Bush is being blamed for the Astros’ World Series loss and the entire state of Texas’ baseball woes.
I bet Bush wishes he had only baseball to worry about right now.
Posted by Melissa Cooley

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Gorby chess visit shows big thinking

Oct. 29, 200512:01 a.m.

How amazing is it that former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the face of the evil empire during the Reagan years, will be the honored guest and speaker at a Chess for Peace Festival in Lindsborg today?
Then again, who would have believed that chess grand master Anatoly Karpov would establish an international chess school in the small Kansas town? Gorbachev heard about Lindsborg through Karpov.
Lindsborg’s dream has become a wonderfully surreal and positive reality for Kansas. And it shows what can happen when Kansans dare to think big.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (5)