WE Blog

Some religious conservatives are claiming that military chaplains aren’t allowed to pray in Jesus’ name. But, no surprise, that’s way overstated.
The policy announced last month asks that chaplains give nonsectarian prayers in “command functions” in which soldiers of many faiths are encouraged or required to attend. It doesn’t apply to religious services or other functions. Sounds reasonable. But some conservatives in Congress are asking for — and religious broadcasters are demanding — a presidential order guaranteeing the right of chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus.
Such an order is not needed and is based on “confusion and misinformation,” the Rev. Herman Keizer Jr., chairman of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, which represents more than 70 percent of military chaplains, told The Washington Post. “This has been portrayed as though chaplains are not allowed to pray in Jesus’ name, without any distinction between what they do all the time in worship services and what they do occasionally, in ceremonial settings where attendance is mandatory,” Keizer said.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Maybe any legislation aimed at curbing the appalling protests of military funerals by Fred Phelps’ clan would invite legal challenges on free speech grounds, no matter the details. Still, it’s regrettable that the Kansas House’s unanimously passed measure neglected the Senate’s more thoughtful language. As negotiators try to reconcile the House’s 300-yard buffer and the Senate’s 100-yard buffer, as well as other differences, they should be sensitive to what lawmakers’ zeal to limit these protests could end up costing taxpayers later in legal fees. And they can consider themselves warned by Shirley Phelps-Roper, Phelps’ daughter: “The U.S. Supreme Court has spoken on this issue, and they can’t put us out of sight and sound of our targeted audience. If they don’t like what they see, they need to drink a frosty mug of shut-the-hell-up and avert their eyes.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Topeka, denies that he got a sweetheart deal on his Washington, D.C., townhouse, but it does smell fishy. Ryun paid the U.S. Family Network $410,000 for the house in 2000, $19,000 less than the group paid for it two years earlier. Ryun has said that he paid less because of some structural problems. But the real estate market was rapidly rising at the time (and the house is currently assessed at $764,310).
A big part of the suspicion is the sleaziness of U.S. Family Network. The nonprofit group was founded by Ed Buckham, an evangelical minister and former chief of staff to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. It was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to former lobbyist and now convicted felon Jack Abramoff, and more than a third of that money — $1 million — went to Buckham and his wife, The Washington Post reported.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., argued in a commentary in Sunday’s Eagle that the National Security Agency’s secret wiretapping program is needed to protect homeland security. But why can’t the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court oversee the program to make sure the wiretapping is legal and justified?
Five former FISA judges argued before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week for just such a role, The New York Times reported. The judges also warned that the program could imperil criminal prosecutions that grew out of the wiretaps. And Harold A. Baker, who served on the FISA court until last year, said the president was bound by the law “like everyone else,” and that “the president ignores it at the president’s peril.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Sedgwick County finally has a state lawmaker going to bat for the majority of its citizens who want to vote on a local casino. And, of course, he’s not from here. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, wants to let Sedgwick County residents decide for themselves whether they want expanded gaming, and in what form. “Up until now, they’ve been stifled by their own County Commission at the insistence of Sedgwick County legislators,” he said. But count on those local lawmakers to do their best to block Hensley and the will of the public.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Not everybody on the Wichita City Council had a favorable first impression Tuesday of the $150,000 light sculpture proposed for the Rock Road overpass at Kellogg. That’s not surprising. By definition, art and design strike each viewer differently. Part of the success of Wichita’s 16-year public art program has been its breadth, from traditional to contemporary. As council members take another month to consider the design, by artist Todd Whipple in collaboration with Dan Gegen and Chris Frank, they may better understand what prompted the 15 professionals on the city’s volunteer Art and Design Review Board to give the sculpture their unanimous approval. Wichita will make a lasting statement about itself in how it chooses to adorn and enhance such a visible intersection.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

It’s a relief that Abdul Rahman made it out of that gulaglike nightmare that is “liberated” Afghanistan. The man who was threatened with death, either from the courts or mobs, for converting to Christianity has received asylum in Italy, according to reports.
This could be a new mission for U.S. troops in Afghanistan — evacuating people who want religious liberty.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

The new law requiring 4- through 7-year-olds to ride in booster seats will come as a bothersome surprise to some parents come July 1. But under the law, which Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed Monday, only warnings will be issued for the first year, and after that, an errant parent can have his fine waived by getting a booster seat. Most important: More kids riding with proper restraints will mean fewer injuries and deaths in accidents. “It’s absolutely the right thing,” state Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, said four years ago. And now, thanks in part to his tenacity, it’s also the law.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Does Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., think ethics reform is funny? Post-Abramoff, it isn’t. But Lott, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, recently joked of changes that would include barring lawmakers from accepting meals or gifts from lobbyists: “We would give up any pay, any outside food. We would live in the Russell compound. We would have no conjugal visits. And for 15 minutes a day we would go out into the courtyard, which we would use to confess our sins and flagellate ourselves.” This week, as the Senate prepared to work on the bill, Lott cautioned, “This is an intricate dance we’re in.” If Lott’s trying not to get ethics reformers’ hopes too high, he’s doing a fine job.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Joking and lawmaking don’t mix, but credit Rep. Dale Swenson, R-Wichita, for creativity in suggesting Rep. Becky Hutchins, R-Holton, had taken up enough time with her serial attempts to repeal the immigrant in-state tuition law. At one point last week, Swenson pursued a measure to rename a portion of U.S. 75 in Hutchins’ district after the late Mexican-American activist Cesar Chavez. Swenson’s amendment didn’t get a vote, but his point was made.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., one of the many Republicans pondering the presidency, has made a provocative suggestion for how to keep members of Congress from blowing their budget deadline every year: Withhold their paychecks. “There’s a great need for fiscal responsibility in Washington,” he said. “It’s absurd that a full-time legislature at the Capitol can’t get their job done by October 1st. There is no excuse why this can’t get done on time.” Of course, note Allen’s critics, timing isn’t everything: The senator was among those who recently voted to raise the federal debt ceiling to $9 trillion.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Were Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes lying when President Bush famously looked into them and liked what he saw? The world got another reason to wonder last week, with the news of an American military report that Russian spies passed information to Iraq about the 2003 invasion and U.S. troop movements. Even if the report is accurate, that doesn’t mean Putin or other top Russian leaders were involved; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is right to try to find out. But none of this bodes well for U.S-Russia cooperation on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Posted by Rhonda Holman