Daily Archives: Nov. 24, 2005

Turkeys: Don’t tread on me

Nov. 24, 200512:05 a.m.

The Wall Street Journal had a front-page article Wednesday about the growing number of suburban Americans being attacked by wild turkeys. Their fighting spirit is nothing new — it’s one reason Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey, not the bald eagle, as the national symbol.
Franklin wrote his daughter disparaging the bald eagle as a thief and “rank Coward.” The turkey, by comparison, he argued, was a “much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America. . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
Clearly, turkeys deserve more respect — maybe that’s why they’re so angry?
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (25)

Boathouse proposal seems fishy

Nov. 24, 200512:03 a.m.

WaterWalk’s case for tearing down the Wichita Boathouse took a big hit with an Eagle report this week that the corporate headquarters it is trying to lure is partly owned by one of WaterWalk’s partners, Jack DeBoer. Is WaterWalk really saying that the only way its own partner will move his Value Place headquarters to WaterWalk is if he gets property that was never intended to be part of WaterWalk? If so, what does that say about the rest of the project?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (12)

Be thankful U.N. doesn’t run the Web — yet

Nov. 24, 200512:01 a.m.

Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist with the San Antonio Express-News, has a commentary in today’s Eagle about a movement to internationalize the oversight of the Internet. The effort is a bit more legitimate than he concedes, but most Americans likely share his reaction: The people who gave us the oil-for-food program want to run the Internet?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (9)