Google, the world’s largest Internet search machine, is right to resist Justice Department demands for broad access to its vast database of search requests, which many users (naively?) thought were private.
Justice officials, who want the information as part of efforts to salvage an online anti-porn filter law, claim they aren’t asking for individual identities, but isn’t that the next step on this slippery slope?
Google’s track record doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, though: It has cooperated with the Chinese government to censor certain words such as “democracy.”
Perhaps the best solution, say some Internet privacy experts, is for Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo to voluntarily end their practice of indefinitely keeping data on customer use history.
Putting a time limitation on recordkeeping would remove much of the temptation for government to go snooping.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Our editorial Saturday noted that Kansas lawmakers are fast-tracking various proposals to get tough on sex offenders (and provide good election-year campaign brochure material).
The chief Senate legislation, based on Jessica’s law in Florida, would keep child molesters behind bars longer and more closely monitor them upon their release.
That basic approach makes sense. Still, some of the proposals are more effective, and cost-effective, than others: 25-year sentences and electronic monitoring make sense; pink license plates for offenders and 2,500-foot buffer zones don’t.
What’s clear is that rehabilitation doesn’t really work for the worst predatory sex criminals. The only surefire way to protect the public is to keep these molesters locked up behind bars for a long, long time.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The cartoon caption contest went over the river and through downtown Wichita this week.Didn’t make it to Grandmother’s house, though. One of the things that can make judging the contest difficult is the phenomenon of having two very good entries that are nearly the same. Lester Klingenberg of Wichita won the coin toss. Click on the image to see his winning caption. But David Franks, also of Wichita, had a very similar caption. His was "When has a civic project in Wichita ever involved good taste?" Additionally, there was sort of a tie for second place too. Kathy Deane, a former winner who knows a thing or two about The Old Mill and its delicious fare, submitted "Haven’t you heard of an ice cream float before?" But another former winner, Karen Wallace sent in "I hear they’ll specialize in floats." From Linda Hobson: "Add a casino and we’ll call it the Arkansas River ‘Dice and Ice’ Cream Parlor!" A nice twist on a phrase was provided by 17-year-old Andy Win: "Whatever floats your boathouse…" And speaking of the boathouse, here’s what came to Jack Silvers‘ mind: "Sorry, Mary. Jack wants your old location." He was, of course, referring to developer Jack DeBoer and Old Mill owner Mary Wright. Mr. DeBoer took another hit from Richard Julius of Peck: "Now Jack DeBoer will want his corporate headquarters built over the river!" Randy Sullenger of Wichita had more serious issues on his mind: "Next it will be Tiller’s over-the-river abortion chop shop and Wichita will be up the creek without a paddle." And then we come to a whole other line of thought. Dennis Williams of Arkansas City took a look at that observation tower and said, "Well, thank goodness it’s not a porn shop proposal, dear!" Similarly, Larry England sent in "Or with a little building modification, it could become an adult entertainment store." But my personal favorite caption was a reference to the perpetual pollution woes of our river. "Hope they aren’t serving fish," was sent in by Susan Klingenberg.
Those Abramoff meetings at the White House aren’t going to be easily swept under the rug. Here’s John Dickerson’s take on the subject:
“Congress may not have a legal right to demand records of meetings, but under the circumstances, Bush should voluntarily relinquish them to the public. Taxpayers may not have a right to sit in on every meeting and read every memo, but they should know whether Abramoff succeeded in putting his interests ahead of theirs inside the White House as well as Congress. The Bush campaign returned Abramoff’s donations to help remove the stink. But it won’t be able to fully fumigate until officials let us know who they met with and why.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Of all the ethics rules newly ripe for reform, the ripest may be the one currently allowing congressmen-turned-lobbyists onto the House and Senate floors and into the congressional gyms. It’s up first among the proposals, and could be considered by the House on Feb. 1. A certain amount of respect is due all members of Congress, past and present. But getting elected once shouldn’t entitle anybody to a lifetime, full-access pass to the halls — or locker rooms — of Congress.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It seemed like only yesterday that we were cheering Japan’s decision to reopen its markets to U.S. beef, much of it from Kansas. What a blow it was to see the door slam shut again so soon, after bone was found in a shipment of veal from a N.Y. plant. This might seem a small thing to Americans, but Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was right to call it “an unacceptable failure.” As diplomats try again to repair the relationship, agriculture officials must redouble efforts to lock down the quality control procedures. When it comes to ensuring the world keeps its taste for U.S. beef, the customer is always right.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Much has been made of the potential for friction between rural and urban lawmakers over the implications of the legislative audit of school funding. But there is one other likely source of criticism of the audit’s proposed redistribution of wealth: Johnson County, which wouldn’t reap as much new funding as more urban Wichita, Topeka and Wyandotte County. Columnist Steve Rose asked what’s a key local question in The Johnson County Sun: “Who should fund districts where the goal of suitability is not enough, where excellent and world-class education is the goal?” It isn’t that Johnson Countians want other Kansans to subsidize their already exemplary schools, but that they want no more limits on how much more local money they can pump into those schools. It’s a valid question.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
