In the latest White House shake-up, Karl Rove no longer will be senior policy coordinator for President Bush but will remain as senior adviser and as a deputy chief of staff in charge of political strategy, focusing particularly on the fall elections. That means he still may be calling a lot of the policy shots. The other big shake-up of the day is the resignation of White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Being press secretary can be frustrating, given that your job often is to avoid saying anything — at which McClellan could be a master. McClellan also was burned (or maybe not) when he denied that Rove had any involvement in the Valerie Plame leak.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
“It is time for a governor who understands the difference between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ behavior,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, proclaimed last week. Oh, please.
Barnett’s hyperbole is based on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ support of a state law allowing children of illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition rates at a public higher education institution if they have graduated from a Kansas high school, lived in Kansas for at least three years, and are on the path toward citizenship. But this law wasn’t Sebelius’ doing — it was passed in 2004 by a GOP-controlled Legislature that recognized it was a win-win-win for the students, the colleges and the state’s economy. And as Barnett’s running mate, Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, noted when she voted for the law, it was “the right thing to do.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Palestinian government, now led by the militant Hamas group, predictably refused to condemn the suicide bombing Monday of a falafel restaurant in Tel Aviv that killed nine innocent civilians.
A Hamas spokesman called the attack, carried out by the smaller Islamic Jihad group, “a legitimate act of self-defense” to Israeli aggression.
Who knew that falafel stands posed a threat to peace?
To its credit, Israel said Tuesday that it wouldn’t launch a large-scale military response. That might be unnecessary. Hamas is bankrupt financially and politically. The choice is now theirs: Will they embrace diplomacy or oblivion?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“Angry voters turn out and vote their anger,” Republican pollster Glen Bolger told The Washington Post. And that has the GOP worried, because Democrats are so mad about President Bush and Iraq that they are more likely to vote in November than Republicans. For example, 47 percent of voters “strongly” disapprove of President Bush’s job performance, while only 20 percent “strongly approve,” according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News. Turnout fears likely are why, as an earlier blog item noted, the GOP plans to trot out again such issues as gay marriage, abortion and flag burning.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The federal government may not have adequately investigated claims that Boeing Wichita knowingly installed defective parts on airplanes, according to a Washington Post article Monday. The claims, raised by three whistleblowers in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Wichita, were investigated and dismissed by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The FAA and Boeing also contend that the parts in question don’t pose a safety risk, and District Judge Wesley Brown dismissed part of the lawsuit in February because the plaintiffs were not specific enough in their allegations that Boeing defrauded the U.S. government.
But according to the Post’s review: “FAA inspectors examined only a small number of parts in the plants and did not visit any airplanes to inspect the roughly 200 types of parts questioned by the whistleblowers. The Pentagon and Transportation Department, in turn, relied on the FAA’s work, documents show.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Interesting Wall Street Journal article about profanity in the workplace. Turns out some corporate cultures and bosses accept or even encourage foul language, claiming it indicates passion, while others strictly frown on it.
In its hard-boiled youth, the newsroom was often seen as a bastion of vulgarity. Corporate culture is slowly but surely changing that.
What do you think? Is profanity in the workplace OK? Or is it unprofessional and always in poor taste because there is always the risk of offending someone?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
