Former Westar Energy CEO David Wittig got what he deserved Tuesday when he was sent to federal prison. Wittig has already been convicted of looting Westar and of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering in an unrelated scheme. But he was out of prison while awaiting an appeal. Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson said that numerous financial transactions by Wittig and his wife, which appeared to be aimed at shifting and hiding Wittig’s assets, were made without the court’s approval, a violation of the terms of his release. Will this guy never learn?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Former Vice President Al Gore called Monday for a special counsel to investigate what he charged was clear evidence that President Bush “has been breaking the law, repeatedly and insistently” by authorizing domestic wiretapping without a court review.
Without knowing more, it’s premature to say with certainty that laws have been broken, or to call for a special prosecutor. But Congress needs to address the fundamental and serious issue of whether these warrantless searches were illegal in upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.
Just how credible and thorough those hearings are could determine whether a special prosecutor is needed.
Gore was right about one thing: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who would normally decide whether to appoint a special counsel, has an obvious conflict of interest in this case.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Will the nation’s voters be in the mood for change in November? The issues cited as most potentially defining are Iraq (25 percent called it our nation’s top problem in a new AP-Ipsos poll), the economy (21 percent) and the ethics scandals (14 percent). But if there’s a “throw the bums out” issue right now, it may be the debacle of the first two weeks under the Medicare prescription drug plan. A few kinks in the transition were to be expected, given that the program covers 43 million seniors and disabled Americans. But the government had two years to get ready. It’s a disgrace that the launch has been so erratic that 20 states, including Kansas, have had to step in to help get recipients their essential medicines, and that President Bush just had to order insurers to provide 30 days’ worth of drugs to beneficiaries. Heads should roll.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., cuts to a core problem with much of Congress’ newfound zeal to clean up campaign finance and lobbying limits: “We’ve got a Federal Elections Commission that is corrupt, and we’ve got (congressional) ethics committees that aren’t working,” McCain said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He noted that the FEC sought to poke loopholes into the McCain-Feingold reform law and otherwise has balked at holding violators accountable. Any new rules and regulations aimed at cleaning up Congress will be worthless with the existing enforcers.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It was completely unintentional on The Eagle’s part — really — but it was striking to see a large ad from Harrah’s Prairie Band Casino on the same page Sunday as a news article about the legislative debate on expanded gaming. The ad illustrated one of the more compelling arguments for a local casino: Wichitans are already going to casinos, only now it’s other communities and states that are receiving the economic benefit.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Americans’ eating habits are catching up with them. A series in The New York Times last week looked at the growing diabetes epidemic in that city and across the nation. And a recent Lawrence Journal-World story affirmed that Kansas is part of this trend, with cases of the disease up 2.5 percent since 1992 and rising. That’s why it’s important for officials to implement policies that encourage healthy eating, as the Wichita school district did last week. It’s not only a quality-of-life issue but also a budgetary issue, seeing how health care costs rise as waistlines grow.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Speaking of reversing weight trends, Garrison Keillor argues in this column why we should think about electing the first fat president since William Howard Taft (see photo):
“It is human to put butter on mashed potatoes and to choose the cheese plate instead of the lo-fat gelatin and to linger over the port wine and chocolates. The man who denies himself might satisfy his hungers elsewhere, promulgating reckless policies, such as a war against a nation that poses no threat to us and torturing those whom he deems enemies and detaining them at his pleasure and marching his troops into a quagmire. A fat man, someone who must heave himself to his feet in the morning and behold a great pile of flesh in the bathroom mirror, the matronly pectorals and the enormous haunches and spare tire, might be more circumspect. He already looks like an emperor, so he would try harder not to act like one.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Visioneering Wichita identified improving race relations as an important 20-year goal for our community — and the survey of race perceptions now under way is a good first step toward that end.
Wichita, historically a segregated community, needs to do more bridge-building, especially now that the city is growing increasingly diverse with Asian and Hispanic residents.
It was particularly inspiring to see the front-page photograph in Monday’s Eagle of residents of North Chautauqua, a rainbow neighborhood, standing together in solidarity.
One of the lifelong residents of that area, Bob Rogers, who is white, spoke eloquently to those who fear change and diversity:
“Open your eyes, open your heart, open your mind — and it will open doors.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
