Could President Bush have forgotten that he authorized the leak that led to the release of the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame to the media, and then to a special prosecutor’s investigation and the jailing of reporter Judith Miller? Court papers related to the grand jury testimony of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, point the finger not only at Cheney but at Bush. If the president really did authorize the leak, Bush’s earlier comments on this issue now look clueless or disingenuous, if not outright dishonest, including when he said in fall 2003 that he had “no idea” whether the leakers would ever be identified and that “if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of.” As this mystery continues to reveal itself, one lesson about leaking needs to be learned: Don’t complain about it if you’re doing it.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Attorney General Phill Kline spent just more than $2 million each of the past two years on litigation fees and costs. That’s high but not out of line with what former Attorney General Carla Stovall averaged. But what is out of line is the $260,000 he spent on his pro-life activism.
Nearly $30,000 was spent on his pursuit of medical records from abortion clinics. The other $230,000 went to defend his opinion that all sex between teens under age 16 must be reported to authorities, even if it is consensual (though probably not if a girl performed oral sex on a boy, he said on the stand). Of that amount, $153,000 went to an anti-abortion consultant, and about $78,000 paid for “expert” witnesses, including the geniuses who said that boys should be able to buy condoms but girls shouldn’t have access to birth control, and that it mattered whether a boy is black or white.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Although convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty, a Virginia jury contemplating his fate this week should think twice about condemning the wannabe hijacker to death.
Executing Moussaoui might not be in the nation’s security interests, according to some analysts. “There’s absolutely no doubt that executing him would turn him into a martyr” and a recruiting tool in the militant Islamic world, terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman of the Rand Corp. told The Washington Post.
It’s also bad public relations, considering most of the world doesn’t believe in capital punishment.
Instead of elevating this failed terrorist, who apparently had little standing in al-Qaida, into a martyr for the cause, it might be better to let him rot in prison for the rest of his life.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The decision by Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to bow out of his re-election bid should help the GOP, a Wall Street Journal editorial said, but Republican politicians still have a big problem with demoralized voters. The editorial noted: “Their lack of meaningful achievements this Congress (beyond the two Supreme Court Justices), all of their spending, and troubles in Iraq have left conservative voters wondering what the point is to voting for the GOP. If Republicans want their supporters to show up on election day, they’ll need more of a message than wearing a ‘Speaker Nancy Pelosi’ fright mask.”
The editorial board’s suggestions: Extend the 15 percent capital gains and dividend rates, and either repeal or reduce the estate tax; reform congressional budgeting by passing the line-item veto, ending static revenue scoring and ending earmark abuse; increase health care choice, such as by allowing associations to form health-care risk pools; reform the endangered species law by requiring the federal government to compensate property owners for regulatory “takings” due to wetlands preservation or endangered species limits on development.
“The larger point,” the editorial argued, “is for Republicans to show that they are willing to fight for something.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
With hurricane season fast approaching, it’s not reassuring that the Bush administration can’t find anyone to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, formerly headed by Michael Brown of Katrina fashion fame. Turns out a who’s who of qualified people in this field have been approached and said “no thanks.”
Several candidates told The New York Times they withdrew after deciding the White House wasn’t serious about fixing FEMA’s problems (it’s widely considered one of the worst government agencies to work for). There’s not just room at the top: Some 500 full-time staff jobs out of 2,500 remain vacant, including several important management jobs.
The Homeland Security reshuffling and resulting marginalization of FEMA is looking more and more like a disaster waiting to happen.
C’mon, folks, your country needs you. Anybody on this blog want to lead FEMA?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
State legislators’ inability to find common ground this session applies to some actual ground: the new state-owned 76-acre park in Topeka at the former Menninger Clinic campus. A House-Senate conference committee has yet to reconcile the ungainly and inaccurate House-passed name, Oregon Trail Kaw River State Park — inaccurate because the trail did not pass through the site, which is not on the river — with Senate ideas to honor the Menninger family or note the nearby governor’s mansion, Cedar Crest. Topeka Capital-Journal columnist Pete Goering dubbed it the “Close to the Oregon Trail a View of the Kaw River Anything But Menninger State Park.” A Hutchinson News editorial, calling the House name a “meaningless mouthful,” suggested honoring the late Gordon Parks (in photo). Worthy subject, but “Gordon Parks Park”?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
