Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was ranked by Time magazine among the nation’s top five governors. A recent poll showed her with a 62 percent approval rating. As our editorial today suggests, she should be in a position to shape Statehouse action on the biggest issues facing Kansas, even though she’s a Democrat and the state is predominantly Republican. But she didn’t show much inclination toward inspiring leadership in either her low-key State of the State address Monday night or her latest budget proposal. And she reportedly has no plans to offer a school finance solution herself in response to the legislative audit’s call for $400 million more, opting instead to assist legislators’ efforts. A governor so well-positioned for re-election in November should be bolder now.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Conservative columnist George Will, in discussing the Tom DeLay scandal, makes the case for a reform that is unlikely to happen:
“A surgical reform would be congressional term limits, which would end careerism, thereby changing the incentives for entering politics and for becoming, when in office, an enabler of rent-seekers in exchange for their help in retaining office forever. The movement for limits — a Madisonian reform to alter the dynamic of interestedness that inevitably animates politics — was surging until four months after Republicans took control of the House. In May 1995 the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that congressional terms could not be limited by states’ statutes. Hence a constitutional amendment is necessary. Hence Congress must initiate limits on itself. That will never happen.”
Opponents of term limits say that they would take power away from voters to choose their leaders and would hurt the country by putting inexperienced leaders in positions of power. Proponents of limits say that career politicians are more likely to put their careers before their constituents and bow to special interests and corruption. What do you think?
Posted by Melissa Cooley
A Baptist preacher writing for Salon had this to say to his fellow Christians who think that “The Book of Daniel” was created to make fun of Christianity:
“Yo, brothers and sisters in Christ. They weren’t making fun of you. It’s much worse than that. The folks at NBC don’t care about you enough to make fun of you. They don’t even know you exist. You are not a part of their world. They want to make money, that’s all. This is no great mystery or secret. They’re not hypocrites; they’re capitalists. . . .
“Stop taking things so personally. You’re giving the rest of us Christians a bad name. Learn to laugh at yourself, or do what I did. Just turn off your TV, look at the person next to you, and say, ‘Well, that sucked!’ . . .
“And I’ve got news for you, Christian. If your faith isn’t changing your life enough to make a difference in the world, you’ve got bigger problems than NBC.”
Meanwhile, the Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, wrote a commentary on today’s Opinion page about the show. His take: “This series is intended as entertainment and not as a serious depiction of modern clergy life.” And he concluded that “most people will be able to understand the difference between truth and sensationalized fiction or farce.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
“Judge,” Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Monday, “this may be one of the most significant or consequential nominations that the Senate will vote on since I’ve been here in the last three decades.” Biden may be correct, given the likelihood that the high court will tip to the right if Alito is confirmed. But other than partisans on the right and left edges, there seems to be little public interest in the Senate hearings. Maybe most people are like me, and think that the bickering is mostly political theater. And barring some unforeseen revelation, we already know how this play will end: Alito will be confirmed.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A win over Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline for Republican-turned-Democrat Paul Morrison, currently Johnson County’s district attorney? That’s what Kansas City Star political correspondent Steve Kraske predicted Sunday, as he also foresaw easy re-election for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and doom for the evolution-questioning conservatives on the State Board of Education. On Kline versus Morrison, Kraske said: “Kline’s abortion-all-the-time administration hasn’t worn well. Morrison can look legit in a Stetson and cowboy boots, which matters in western Kansas. He wins.” But don’t be quick to count out Kline, who already has the endorsement of 89 Kansas sheriffs.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Water quality gets down to basics: Is it safe for citizens to swim or fish in Kansas waters? Despite some progress, the answer for some waters is still to beware.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a fish consumption advisory this week, warning Kansans not to eat more than one 8-ounce serving a month of catfish and carp caught in the Arkansas River from the Lincoln Street dam downstream to Belle Plaine, because of ongoing PCB contaminant levels.
Officials also warned about the danger to children of eating mercury-tainted fish caught in the Little Arkansas River between Valley Center and downtown Wichita.
The warnings are a reminder that it can take decades to clean up rivers polluted with toxic chemicals — and that Kansans have every right to expect fishable and swimmable streams.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
