Iran has watched and learned from how the United States has handled the two other members of the axis of evil: Have no weapons of mass destruction (Iraq) and expect invasion. Have nukes (North Korea) and expect nothing but tough talk. Now, what must Iran and other dangerous states think of the hospitality the United States is showing Chinese President Hu Jintao this week? The likely message we’re delivering: Have nukes, deny human rights but be a fat enough trading partner, and your leader, too, can dine with Bill Gates and other dignitaries, tour Boeing and Yale University, and be the welcome guest of a U.S. president.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The headlines around the Web on articles about Tuesday’s teen-sex decision by a federal judge in Wichita said a lot about the spectrum of perspectives on cultural issues these days:
“Snitch rule on teen sex barred” (Chicago Tribune)
“Teens’ sexual privacy upheld” (The Kansas City Star)
“Federal judge creates new protections for child rapists” (Christian News Wire)
“Kansas judge: Abortion businesses don’t have to report teen sexual abuse” (LifeNews.com)
Posted by Rhonda Holman
A word about much of the media’s handling of the alleged rape case involving members of Duke University’s lacrosse team: disgusting.
What tabloid TV and talk radio, with the help of provocateurs such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, are making of what should be a local story in North Carolina risks sending some terrible messages, such as that rape accusations routinely are invented and racially motivated; that the “boys will be boys” defense goes double if the boys are white, wealthy and athletic and the prosecutor is a Democrat; and that jumping to conclusions about a case’s sociological and legal implications is justified if its details are juicy enough, never mind that old saw about the presumption of innocence.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The number of Kansas public employees making six-figure salaries increased nearly 60 percent in three years, the Lawrence Journal-World reported — though it’s not as bad as that sounds. Kansas had 1,179 public employees earning $100,000 or more in 2005, up from 740 in 2002. Some of that increase was because district court judges’ cost-of-living salary adjustments pushed them over the $100,000 mark. And 956 people on the list were Board of Regents system employees, whose salaries often are paid in large part with research grants and other funding, not with state tax dollars. Wichita State University, for example, had 98 employees on the list. Still, given the layoffs at Boeing Wichita and the struggling farm economy, many Kansans likely are thinking that “public servant” is a misnomer.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Fred Kaplan of Slate made this case for the United States negotiating with Iran:
“In other words, Bush should commence direct talks with Iran not because they offer a hopeful chance for peace and good will, but because they’re a necessary prelude to an international campaign of economic pressure — and because more drastic military pressure would likely backfire. There are two likely outcomes from serious American efforts to negotiate, both good. First, if Iran cooperates with the talks, then it might suspend its nuclear program in exchange for economic benefits. Second, if Iran doesn’t cooperate, then the Bush administration will have made its case to China, Russia, and Europe that the regime is dangerous and untrustworthy. At that point it will be much easier to impose the economic sanctions that will scare the Iranians into better behavior.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., predicted this week that the U.S. House’s “really bad idea” to make felons of undocumented immigrants and those who assist them won’t become law. That’s the good news in Brownback’s crystal ball. The bad news: that lawmakers won’t pass immigration reform anytime soon. “There is a great cultural dispute in the country today, and you’re seeing us reflect it,” he told a group of clergy in Dodge City Tuesday. If Brownback is calling the divisive situation right — and he may be, given the outpouring of raw emotion on both sides in recent weeks — that will be a huge disappointment. Congress’ inaction will only invite more illegal immigrants to come on in while they can.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
