Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, announced today that he was dropping out of the governor’s race because he wanted to devote his time to the upcoming legislative session. But the reality is that Mays’ candidacy failed to get much traction and the electoral writing was on the wall. Still, Mays is sharp and more practical than he was often portrayed, and I’ll miss his presence in campaign debates. His departure also raises the question: If Kansas is such a conservative state, how come it can’t field a viable conservative candidate for governor?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Emporia biologist John Richard Schrock argues in a commentary in today’s Eagle that scientists were wrong to boycott the Kansas State Board of Education hearings on evolution earlier this year. Although I supported that boycott, I now wonder if Schrock isn’t right.
As he argues, the boycott left the field to ID proponents and fed their claims that mainstream scientists couldn’t defend the theory — a ludicrous charge, but some Kansans believed it. Scientists, says Schrock, didn’t just appear arrogant — “we were arrogant.”
Scientists must be much more aggressive in explaining and defending evolution and basic scientific principles to the public. By sitting back, they’ve allowed ID proponents to score points in the court of public opinion.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Maybe it’s time to give the distrust of Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins a holiday break. Here’s a good place to start: the criticism of some questions being asked by his transition team of employees in the State Department of Education. Given that Corkins’ only experience with education was as a lobbyist for conservative reforms, of course his team wants to sound out state employees on school vouchers, charter schools and other pet issues. Employees should answer as candidly as they can, and surely Corkins will recognize the folly of trying to remake the department in his own ideological image: While he’s off promoting his agenda, somebody will have to keep doing the real work of the department.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The world isn’t winning the fight against AIDS, according to a new United Nations report. Despite increased education efforts and greater availability of antiretroviral drugs, the number of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS keeps increasing — now totaling 40 million.
Some of the disturbing statistics, as reported by The Washington Post:
Of the more than 3 million people who have died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2005, more than 500,000 were children.
Three-quarters of those who died of AIDS-related illnesses lived in sub-Saharan Africa, as do two-thirds of the nearly 5 million people estimated to have become infected in 2005.
There were a few bright spots, such as slight decreases in infection rates in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Burkina Faso. But overall, the news is discouraging.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It’s a bit disconcerting to already hear Christmas music playing in some area stores and hotels, and see Christmas merchandising in full swing. Some homeowners have Christmas lights up.
Ahem. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!
President Franklin Roosevelt tried to appease retailers in 1939 by officially moving Thanksgiving one week earlier — from the last Thursday in November to the next to last — to allow more time for Christmas shopping.
But many Americans resisted the change. Roosevelt’s opponents derided the holiday as “Franksgiving.” In 1941, Roosevelt and Congress officially established the holiday as the fourth Thursday in November.
Apparently that’s still not early enough for some retailers.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The year isn’t over, but it is great news that Wichita’s crime rate is down 7 percent from the same period last year. Rapes, robberies and thefts have dropped. And so have homicides, which totaled 13 at the end of October, compared with 32 for all of 2004. Crime levels fluctuate, so it is difficult to know exactly why our rate has declined. But Wichita police officers certainly deserve our thanks for their daily hard work of keeping our city safe.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
