Eugene Robinson, in this commentary for The Washington Post, argues that intelligent design is actually anti-faith, in that it seeks to prove there is a God.
He writes:
“There is no need to have faith in something that can be touched, measured, quantified, predicted; no need for faith in something that can be seen if only we build a big enough telescope or a sensitive enough electron microscope.
“What would be the posture of a believer toward a God who could be seen? It might be adoration, I suppose, or obeisance, but it wouldn’t be faith as believers since St. Paul have understood it. Faith requires mystery. Faith requires a leap.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
There’s a place for payday loan companies, which typically serve credit-challenged customers who can’t get conventional bank loans. But as Eagle reporter Deb Gruver’s articles on these flourishing operations showed, it’s easy for some Kansans to get caught in a vicious cycle of juggling multiple loans — sometimes as many as 15 at once.
That’s why it’s good that state Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Wichita, and other state lawmakers will look next session at revising payday loan regulations with an eye to limiting how many total loans a customer can have at one time.
This would ensure reasonable protections of consumers who are in an especially vulnerable financial spot.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The photo credit for Time magazine’s spread on Persons of the Year Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono invited a double take: The photo shoot occurred not in New York or even Seattle but in Omaha, where Bono’s U2 had performed the night before to a sellout crowd at the Qwest Center. The top-selling tour of 2005 — at least until the Rolling Stones’ figures are in — U2’s booking was a reminder that this heartland venue ranked eighth in the world in concert sales for the first half of this year. It also was a depressing reminder of how few such blockbuster concerts Wichita draws these days. Others we missed this year included the aforementioned Stones, the Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney. Surely the concert scene — and Wichitans’ willingness to buy tickets — will improve dramatically once a bright, shiny downtown arena opens. We can’t get much worse in either category.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters Thursday that as part of a reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, an upcoming deployment of soldiers — including a brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley — might not happen — and Friday Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., confirmed that the troops wouldn’t be going.
That 3,500 Fort Riley soldiers will be able to stay home with their loved ones instead of going soon into harm’s way is good news this holiday season.
If you haven’t seen it yet, we have a special feature on our Opinion pages today of some letters home from past and present soldiers overseas at Christmastime, including Ike and Bob Dole.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The holiday season can take a lot out of its celebrants, including money, energy and good will. This one has upped the stress level by turning even “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas” into needlessly loaded phrases. Today marks the spot where it all becomes worthwhile, though — where gifts are eagerly opened, festive foods are shared and family traditions are nurtured. Because this Christmas Day coincides with the Christian Sabbath, the sacred reason for the season is all the more heightened.
Our gratitude goes to those whose generosity and time have made possible the work of area charities this year. Our thoughts and prayers are with those dealing with sickness, loss, separation from loved ones or other adversity at this special time.
For all our readers and bloggers, may this Christmas Day be merry and bright.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Former Sen. Tom Daschle wrote an interesting commentary for The Washington Post challenging the White House’s assertion that Congress granted it power to wiretap U.S. citizens without warrants when it passed legislation in 2001 authorizing force against al-Qaida.
Daschle points out that the president asked for a last-minute change in the wording of the legislation that would have granted him the right to use the expansive powers in the United States as well as overseas. The change was denied.
Daschle wrote, “The Bush administration now argues those powers were inherently contained in the resolution adopted by Congress — but at the time, the administration clearly felt they weren’t or it wouldn’t have tried to insert the additional language.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
In a commentary on Friday’s Opinion pages, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, took The Eagle editorial board to task for criticizing his opposition to the McCain amendment banning torture. He argued that spelling out approved interrogation techniques in advance tips off terrorists and gives them an advantage.
While the advantage to terrorists is open to debate, it’s beyond question that our soldiers and intelligence agents in the field need and deserve clearer interrogation guidelines; indeed, the vague, mixed signals on interrogations coming out of the Pentagon and White House have contributed to documented abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, inflicted severe damage to America’s image, and unfairly placed soldiers at legal risk.
Clear anti-torture guidelines don’t just protect our nation’s values — they protect and support our troops.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Sometimes inaction is the smartest action, as Congress showed on two issues this week. First, it removed a provision authorizing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from a defense spending bill. If drilling in ANWR is a good idea, it should be able to pass on its own merit. Second, Congress decided to extend the USA Patriot Act, which was set to expire on Dec. 31, through Feb. 3. That gives lawmakers more time to find the right balance between security concerns and civil liberty protections.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (in photo), the presiding judge of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, is arranging a classified briefing for her and her fellow judges about the Bush administration’s eavesdropping program, The Washington Post reported. The judges are concerned both about the legality of the domestic spying and whether information gleaned from the eavesdropping was improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court. “The questions are obvious,” U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah told the Post. “What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we’re getting in our court?”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
BAYOUTH ADDS CASINO, SPACE NEEDLE, HELI-PAD, BOWLING MUSEUM TO HIS ARENA IDEA; Former County Commissioner Seeks More Ideas: ‘Hey, It’s Not Too Late to Change This’
BOEING WORKERS DEFECT TO CHINA; ‘This Is About Job Security,’ Says One, Disappearing Over Great Wall
BUSH SAYS JUST IGNORE THAT CLICKING NOISE ON YOUR PHONE; ‘Trust Us, It’s Not Wiretaps, We’re Just Doing Routine Maintenance’
U.S. PROTESTS IRAN’S BAN ON WESTERN MUSIC, BUT AGREES WITH SILENCING ASHLEE SIMPSON; Condi Rice Calls Anti-Simpson Stand ‘Reasonable’
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Not that it matters a whit, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is among the 37 governors who’ve opted for inclusively worded holiday cards this year. Hers feature a seasonal painted image of Cedar Crest and the greeting: “Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a new year blessed with health, happiness and peace.” According to the Web site Stateline.org, nine governors’ cards mentioned “Christmas,” with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee using the word four times and also referring to “our Savior’s birth” and the “Messiah.” In a surprisingly tight-fisted minority were the governors of Minnesota, Nevada and New Mexico, who sent out no cards at all. Then there is Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who, not surprisingly, has been too busy to make a decision either way.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The standard for acceptable governmental displays of religious symbols got murkier this week after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Kentucky courthouse could display the Ten Commandments alongside other historical documents. The court said that the Ten Commandments were part of “an otherwise secular exhibit” and didn’t amount to an endorsement of religion. But this particular display is nearly identical to ones in two other Kentucky counties. And the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that those displays were unconstitutional because they were erected with a clear religious purpose. So which is it? Is there a standard to determine intent?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The University of Kansas football team won enough games to earn a spot in Friday’s Fort Worth Bowl. But if eligibility was linked to academic performance — as the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has been calling for — the team would be back in Lawrence studying.
The Knight Commission wants the NCAA to ban teams with graduation rates of less than 50 percent from bowl games. KU’s federal graduation rate for scholarship football players was 46 percent, according to the commission’s report. KU also had the 10th lowest NCAA Progress Rate of the 56 Division 1-A football teams competing in bowl games this season.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
As reported in Carrie Rengers’ column, state Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, recently said she’s willing to explore whether Kansas should allow wine to be shipped into and out of the state.
Under current state wine law (one of the nation’s most restrictive), it’s illegal to ship wine directly to consumers either interstate or within the state, which puts a cork in efforts to develop Kansas’ fledgling wine industry (yes, it exists, and holds promise for both small farmers and tourism).
To its credit, the Kansas Legislature earlier this year passed some new laws to help Kansas’ 10 commercial wineries, including a provision that would allow them to double production.
So why not let them ship their expanded product to expanded markets? Why not let consumers order what they want? The state needs to get out of the way.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff may be getting ready to sing. His attorneys are reportedly in discussions with the Justice Department about him cooperating in a congressional corruption probe. His partner, Michael Scanlon, has already struck a deal. Given the close connections Abramoff and Scanlon had with dozens of lawmakers, it could get very interesting soon.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
If there is war on Christmas, we’ve seen the enemy and it is us — at least all of us who take extreme liberties with Christmas trees. This and recent years have produced tales of upside-down Christmas trees, remote-control color-changing tree lights, hot-pink trees and feather trees. In Lawrence this week, there was even a fuss about a tree decorated with plastic figures meant to represent 11- and 12-week-old fetuses. (Maybe everything really is about abortion after all.)
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Kansas State Fair is a great tradition that deserves more support from Kansans outside of Hutchinson. But one proposal that fair proponents are newly pursuing at the Statehouse, with the help of Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, would be a supportive step too far: a mandate that all Kansas public schools hold an in-service day during the fair to give more families time to attend. Kansas schools are buried in a mountain of mandates already. They don’t need another — especially one that pulls kids out of the classroom just as each year’s learning has begun.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the written and recorded warped Christmas carols on our editorial Web site. Songs include “Up on the Boathouse” and “Go, Spend on Gander Mountain.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Kansas State Board of Education chairman Steve Abrams (in photo) argues in today’s Eagle that the federal court ruling against intelligent design has nothing to do with Kansas’ science standards. “It is apples and oranges,” he said. “We do not have intelligent design in the standards.”
As we point out in our editorial today, though it is true that the Kansas board didn’t insert ID by name into our standards, the standards open a space for discussion of ID arguments. The board also changed the very definition of science to accommodate ID. And the Scopes-like trial that the board held last spring was run by ID proponents. It’s also clear, from their personal comments and the standards, that state board conservatives were motivated by religion, not mainstream science — as was the Dover, Pa., school board.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Cal Thomas’ column in today’s Eagle is dishonest and incoherent. He seems to argue that those trying to question the president’s possibly illegal spying on American citizens will have to take the blame for the next national security disaster. But he conveniently ignores the fact that the bipartisan critics aren’t against spying — they’re against illegal spying, undertaken against American citizens in violation of U.S. law. Don’t like the law? Then change it.
Cal also bemoans the restrictions against torture. To him, security is more important than civil liberties, echoing Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas: “None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead.” But I liked the apt retort by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.: “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, explained his vote last week against the House version of the McCain anti-torture measure this way, as quoted in The New York Times: “It’s absolutely unnecessary” — because existing laws already prohibit torture, he said. But the legislation won 308 votes in the House and 90 in the Senate — meaning the vast majority of lawmakers think the need to stand firmly against torture trumps the need to avoid redundancy. And, of course, Tiahrt doesn’t apply the same thinking to gay marriage; it’s already against the law, yet he’s a co-sponsor of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban it again.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Washington Post had competing commentaries Tuesday from two conservatives about President Bush authorizing eavesdropping. George Will argued that the executive branch “needs concentrated decisiveness,” particularly in times of war or the threat of it. “But the inescapable corollary of this need is the danger of arbitrary power,” Will wrote. And he doesn’t understand why Bush didn’t just get court or congressional permission for the eavesdropping. But William Kristol doesn’t see a constitutional problem with Bush’s actions. “Founders intended the executive to have — believed the executive needed to have — some powers in the national security area that were extralegal but constitutional,” Kristol argued.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
For Americans who think China just makes toys, tools and cell phones, Eagle reporter Alan Bjerga’s series on China’s burgeoning aircraft industry should provide a wake-up call. The Chinese have ambitious plans to move into commercial jet parts, modification, assembly and other manufacturing work that directly competes with Wichita jobs.
True, despite their cheap labor costs, the Chinese are still far behind in technology, productivity and other areas, say experts. But the Chinese are sending the unmistakable message that they intend to be players in this industry, sooner rather than later.
China recently surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest supplier of information technology. What’s especially worrisome is the potential for a technology and skills transfer to the Chinese that they will use to develop their own aircraft industry.
Some globalization of labor is inevitable, but America must zealously guard its intellectual property and know-how, a main source of economic strength and national security. And Wichita should redouble efforts to upgrade worker skills and think strategically, even in the midst of an upswing in local aircraft jobs.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
I rented the excellent documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” this past weekend, and I was reminded of the transformational and leveling potential of public education — and the educational value of the arts. The film is about a competitive ballroom dancing program in some New York City elementary schools. One school principal noted that more than 90 percent of her students are poor and could never afford to take private dance lessons. She also has seen positive behavioral and academic changes in students as a result of the program. A teacher at the same school observed that you can never tell what talent is within a student until you give it a chance to come out.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Give former Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Bayouth credit for being creative in proposing a downtown arena that spans the Arkansas River. But the County Commission has already chosen an arena site after an extensive process of professional evaluations and public input. It’s not worth starting that process over.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
