It was surreal to see the chief executives of five major oil companies hauled before Congress today to justify their industry’s record profits. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is demanding that Big Oil spend some of its earnings on consumer price relief. Other lawmakers are arguing for a windfall profit tax. But Wednesday’s hearing likely was just posturing by lawmakers feeling heat from angry constituents. Actual action by Congress and the Bush administration seems remote.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Results of the Dover, Pa., election should make members of the Kansas State Board of Education nervous. Voters in Pennsylvania ousted all eight Republican school board members who supported requiring an intelligent design statement be read in biology classes. The board’s decision sparked a lawsuit and has brought a lot of negative attention to the state.
Sounds familiar, huh? Kansas voters should send the same message in 2006 and oust the school board members who voted Tuesday to dumb down our science standards.
(FYI per an earlier blog question: The six State BOE members who voted for the junk standards were John Bacon of Olathe, Connie Morris of St. Francis, Kathy Martin of Clay Center, Kenneth Willard of Hutchinson, Iris Van Meter of Thayer, and Steve Abrams of Arkansas City. Bacon, Morris, Willard and Van Meter are up for re-election next year.)
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Our editorial today notes that justice finally caught up with Arlan and Linda Kaufman, but argues that it took far too long and that reforms are needed to protect other disabled Kansans.
One law change would prevent a nonfamily care provider, such as Kaufman, from also being a patient’s legal guardian. That’s a clear conflict of interest and an invitation to abuse and fraud. Another would establish a new state abuse and neglect unit to coordinate protection services for Kansans with disabilities.
State lawmakers should make these changes a priority in the next session.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Popular Science magazine last week ranked Kansas biology teacher as the third worst job in science. But it sure beats being a defense attorney in the Saddam Hussein trial. One attorney was abducted and murdered last month. Another was killed and one was wounded Tuesday by gunmen in a car. Saddam’s main lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said “the situation is unbearable” and urged that the trial be moved to a neutral country.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Washington Post had an interesting article about the rise and dominance of polemic books — those partisan attacks that accuse political opponents of being “traitors” or “lying liars” or of having a “mental disorder.” I had thought that this trend would have played out by now, or that they would have run out of insults to put in the book titles. But there is no end in sight.
“What people respond to in this culture is loud and brash and pointed and sometimes vulgar — that’s what gets people’s attention, on TV and radio and in books," Judith Regan, who has published books by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Moore told The Times. “Shades-of-gray books are very difficult to sell.”
That’s discouraging news for those of us who think that answers — or at least political solutions — are usually found somewhere between the extremes.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
KAUFMANS RELEASE ‘ROCKIN’ TO THE OLDIES’ NUDE THERAPY VIDEO; Late-Night TV Offer Fails to Find Audience
BLUE ROOF CHOSEN FOR DOWNTOWN ARENA DESIGN; County Officials Say It Will Be Visible for 50 Miles . . .
WATERWALK DEVELOPERS WANT TO FILL IN ARKANSAS RIVER; Could Provide Extra Surface Parking
KELLOGG WORKERS UNEARTH DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICE; Fossils Tell Story of Once-Thriving Political Group
PRINCE CHARLES, CAMILLA MAKE OUT ON SAN FRANCISCO STREETCORNER; Last-Ditch Attempt to Attract Media Attention on U.S. Tour Repels Onlookers
Posted by Randy Scholfield
More and more Americans are giving up the warm weather and culture of California in favor of affordable housing and a lower cost of living in the Midwest. This New York Times article details the trend and features a family that moved from San Bernardino, Calif., to Lee’s Summit, Mo. In Missouri, the couple could afford a home twice the size of the one they left behind in California.
Wichita should capitalize on this trend and focus on attracting big-city dwellers who are fed up with exorbitant housing costs. Forbes magazine recently ranked Wichita No. 1 in the nation for affordable quality of life. We need to make sure other people know what we have to offer.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
