Vice President Dick Cheney is conducting a phony war against critics, Michael Kinsley argues in his latest column. But Kinsley also notes this change among some war critics:
“Until last week, the antiwar position in the debate over Iraq closely resembled the pro-war position in the ancient debate over Vietnam. That is: It was a mistake to get in, but now that we’re in we can’t just cut and run. That was the logic on which Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger took over the Vietnam War four years after major American involvement began and kept it going for another four. American ‘credibility’ depended on our keeping our word, however foolish that word might have been. In the end, all the United States wanted was a ‘decent interval’ between our departure and the North Vietnamese triumph — and we didn’t even get that. Thousands of Americans died in Vietnam after America’s citizens and government were in general agreement that the war was a mistake.
“We are now very close to that point of general agreement in the Iraq war. Do you believe that if Bush, Cheney and company could turn back the clock, they would do this again? And now, thanks to Rep. John Murtha, it is permissible to say, or at least to ask, ‘Why not just get out now? Or at least soon, on a fixed schedule?’ ”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
There’s a lot of focus during the holidays on the homeless and unemployed — and appropriately so. But Eagle news columnist Mark McCormick wrote last week about a 50-something woman with a master’s degree and more than 20 years of management-level marketing experience. She lost her job two years ago and has struggled to find work that pays enough for her family to live on. She is one car breakdown or medical problem from going under, and she warns that there are many others like her — people who work hard but can barely make ends meet, and those who think they are OK but could quickly become downsized into her circumstances. “Please know, a rude awakening is just around the corner for many unsuspecting folks,” she said.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline says he hates to handicap his chances in defending the state’s death penalty before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 7, but he also can’t resist. He counts three of the nine justices as solidly anti-death penalty. And because Justice Sandra O’Connor will be on the bench to hear the case but likely will have retired by the time the decision is made (and incoming Justice Samuel Alito could not vote), he’s concerned it could be a 4-4 tie. “If it’s a tie, we lose unless they allow reargument,” Kline said Wednesday. And a loss not only would mean no execution for Wichitan Michael Marsh, whose sentence is on the line. It also would mean no executions for five others on Kansas’ death row, including the Carr brothers.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
CIA Director Porter Goss has denied that his agency engages in torture, but he recently told USA Today that they do use “unique and innovative ways” to gather information.
The Washington Post, in an editorial headlined “Director for Torture,” said these techniques include beatings and “waterboarding” — strapping the detainee to a board, wrapping his face in cellophane and pouring water over him to instill a drowning sensation. The editorial rightly argued that this administration is setting a new (low) standard for human rights, and asked, “If an American pilot is captured in the Middle East, then beaten, held naked in a cold cell and subjected to simulated drowning, will Mr. Goss say that he has not been tortured?”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Subway promotes a salmon sandwich in Oregon by advertising, “Another reason you’re lucky not to live in Kansas.” Hallmark releases a birthday card using a “CSI: Topeka” gag suggesting a corpse has been “bored to death.” And humorists everywhere exploit (and misreport) the State Board of Education’s evolution vote. It makes you wonder whether anything — including the state’s $4.5 million “As big as you think” branding campaign — can take the joke out of Kansas these days. In any event, state officials need to get creative about fighting back.
Not that this is the best means, but it was notable that Oklahoma just rounded up some of its celebrities (Johnny Bench, Barry Switzer, Bobby Murcer, Jimmy Webb) and put them on an “Oklahoma Rising” float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, featuring Kristen Chenoweth of NBC’s “The West Wing” singing the title song from “Oklahoma!” “People are starting to fall in love with Oklahoma,” Bench reportedly said. OK then.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sedgwick County Democratic Party chairman Kelly Johnston visited The Eagle editorial office last week to talk about the party’s plan to rally outside Century II during the Dec. 1 appearance of former President George H.W. Bush.
Johnston wants locals to know the party is alive and well and hopes to make Wichita a Democratic stronghold again.
The speakers will talk about the failure of the Bush administration on several fronts. He stressed that “this is not an anti-President George Bush the 1st event,” or an anti-Chamber of Commerce event.
Still, that could be a hard perception to overcome. Many Wichitans likely will see the rally as precisely that — an attack on Bush Sr. — and that carries real risks for the Democrats. The elder Bush is not controversial and is known for disagreeing with his son’s Iraq policy.
It will be interesting to see how the Democrats stage this event, and how it is covered by media and perceived by locals.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
