Daily Archives: Jan. 7, 2006

I’m all ears — for five minutes

Jan. 7, 200612:09 a.m.

It was an extraordinary meeting Thursday for a famously go-it-alone president — George W. Bush consulting on Iraq with a bipartisan host of former secretaries of state and defense dating back to the Vietnam War. But like so much in the Bush presidency, it was largely an empty photo opportunity, a simulacrum of dialogue.
One invited official who asked not to be named said, “It would be a stretch to say he was really interested in many thoughts from around the table.” In fact, as The New York Times’ article notes, the president actually engaged with the group for only about five or 10 minutes, then left.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (46)

It all begins in student council

Jan. 7, 200612:05 a.m.

Here’s an interesting tidbit in a Los Angeles Times profile of corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Apparently his fundraising irregularities started early, as far back as his 1972 campaign for student council president in a Beverly Hills middle school.
Heading into the election, Abramoff was disqualified by the principal, according to a fellow student, for holding a party that exceeded the campaign spending limit.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Security funding change an overdue start

Jan. 7, 200612:03 a.m.

The Department of Homeland Security’s new policy of distributing funding based on risk, not politics, is a long overdue change. But the policy applies only to a funding program targeting the nation’s largest cities (Wichita didn’t make the list). The department needs to prioritize all its funding, so that more money goes to high risk cities and strategic locations, such as ports.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Multiyear spending plans OK as long as revenue doesn’t drop

Jan. 7, 200612:01 a.m.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, support a multiyear funding plan for education, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. That’s a good goal that could really help school districts with their budgeting. But multiyear spending plans can also turn into promises that are difficult to keep. That happened with the current state transportation plan and when lawmakers approved a two-year, $50-per-pupil spending increase for the 2000 and 2001 school years. When state revenues dropped unexpectedly, former Gov. Bill Graves (in photo) said that the two-year commitment for education was a big mistake because the increases became political entitlements.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off