WE Blog

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius did, in fact, announce today that former GOP state party chairman Mark Parkinson is her running mate. Parkinson then had to issue a statement disavowing his past criticisms of Sebelius: “In an age where leaders duck responsibility and dodge their mistakes, let me be the first to say: I was wrong,” Parkinson wrote.
But back when he was GOP chairman, Parkinson said: “I would say that any Republican who supports Kathleen Sebelius for governor is either insincere or uninformed. She is a left-wing liberal Democrat, and no Republican in good conscience can support her.”
And in response to her decision in 2002 to pick Republican John Moore as her running mate, Parkinson said: “It’s a gimmick to hide the fact that Kathleen Sebelius is a liberal who is far to the left of the mainstream in Kansas. Clearly, she’s worried about her record, which puts her squarely in the liberal camp. No running mate can disguise that.”
Never mind.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

On the subject of the wailing and moaning on Capitol Hill over the FBI search of the office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., former GOP congressman John Kasich made a potent point Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos”: “This is why term limits are important. And I’ll tell you why. People lose touch. You live in Washington. Everybody tells you how great you are. You literally get in a bubble. And when I talk to a lot of my friends now, I literally can’t penetrate the bubble, because they don’t understand it.”
The former nine-termer from Ohio added: “This was the wrong fight to pick. You don’t pick a fight on whether you’re going to listen to my cell phone conversations or monitor who the heck I’m talking to, and you’re going to pick a constitutional fight on stopping somebody from going in and getting a guy that allegedly stole $90,000? It’s just — it’s out to lunch.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

So Pat Robertson says he can leg-press 2,000 pounds? Sports types say that’s nonsense, given that the televangelist is 76 and that much younger athletes can’t even get to 1,000 pounds. A statement from Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network asserts that Robertson’s physician “has leg-pressed 2,700 pounds. It is not nearly as hard as the authors of these reports make it out to be. We have multiple witnesses to the 2,000 pound leg press, plus video of the 10 reps of 1,000 pounds.” The Wonkette blog joked that Robertson’s doc must be Bruce “The Hulk” Banner. CBN’s Web site also credits, in part, Robertson’s “age-defying protein shake.” Smells like a merchandising ploy.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

In Henry M. Paulson Jr., chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, President Bush seems to have found a solid nominee to replace resigning Treasury Secretary John Snow. “The American economy is powerful, productive and prosperous, and I look forward to working with Hank Paulson to keep it that way,” Bush said Tuesday. He is right about the economy’s strength. With April unemployment at a four-year low of 4.7 percent and the economic growth expected to be at 3 percent or better the rest of the year, Paulson’s job will be to build on that strength — and to better persuade American consumers and investors that it’s worthy of their trust.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Apparently tired of seeing the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens piled on by politicians and media, former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese discussed its intent and failings in a commentary in The New York Times, noting that at least Ronald Reagan called it what it is and would be today: amnesty. Meese touted the high-tech enforcement methods available today, and concluded: "President Bush and Congress would do better to start with securing the border and strengthening enforcement of existing immigration laws."
Posted by Rhonda Holman

Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Topeka, is the Kansas congressman seemingly most vulnerable to challenge this year, in part because he must satisfactorily explain how he came to acquire a Capitol Hill home at less than market price from an organization tied to felonious lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But Ryun told The Topeka Capital-Journal that during two weeks touring the state, "I haven’t had a single question on it. Not a single question." It’s hard to know whether that says more about Kansans or Kansas media’s coverage of the state’s congressional delegation.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com:
GORE COULD CAUSE GLOBAL BORING; Hillary Produces Cautionary Documentary About Former Veep
BIN LADEN FURIOUS AT ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ FOR TROUNCING HIM IN RATINGS; Orders Global Jihad Against Popular Songfest
HOFFA TAUNTS U.S. IN NEW VIDEO; Late Teamster Boss Twits FBI For Failing to Find Him
DEAN REASSURES DEMOCRATS: ‘WE WILL FIND A WAY TO SCREW THIS UP’; DNC Chief Determined to Uphold Losing Tradition
BUSH: KEEP GUANTANAMO OPEN, CLOSE U.N.; Calls Conditions at World Body ‘Intolerable’
BUSH PRESSES FED CHIEF FOR HIKE IN APPROVAL RATING; President Demands 1 Percent Increase In Heated Oval Office Meeting
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

The turnout was down a bit for this week’s cartoon contest. I’m not sure if that’s a reflection of readers’ disinterest in the subject, early summer lackadaisical-ness or a lame drawing on my part. At any rate, the entries we did have were up-to-par in quality if not quantity. I wish I had bothered to check the calendar when I drew the cartoon. If I had, I would have realized that the captioned version of it would be running on Memorial Day and I would have tried to devise a drawing more appropriate to the somberness of that occasion. Wu is many things, but he’s not exactly reverential of our fallen heroes.
Click on the image to see this week’s winner. One reason we chose Carol Herter’s caption was because she took the opportunity to make a point about another WSU-related issue rather than just sticking to the subject of Wu’s makeover. And she did it in a clever way. Venettia Maddux of El Dorado came close to winning with her caption: "Maybe we should consult with the arena designers." Peck’s Richard Julius was in a similar mode with his entry: "Is this option A, B or C?" He also hit on a good one-word caption: "Frankenshock!" The "Frankenshock" line was also used by Les Taylor of Wichita. Bruce Cole of Wichita submitted: "I’ll be adding a Turgeon crewcut and a Stephenson mustache. What else?" Then Bruce got classical with this twist: "Alas, poor Wu! I knew him well." Wichita’s Jan Nyberg sent in, "How about just using Botox injections?" Interesting twist from Robert J. Jones of Pratt: "I’m not sure if proving he’s been here over 5 years, that he does a job most Americans wouldn’t do and calling him "El Wushock" would be enough to save him." Jeffrey Love of Hutch said, "What the hell…nobody knows what a real wheatshocker looks like anyway!" Todd Mitchell of Wichita sent, "Let’s see…the Tar Heels have a goat mascot, The Auburn Tigers’ mascot is an eagle and Gonzaga’s the Zags (whatever that is). Hmmm…maybe ours isn’t so dumb after all!" Then, going back to the Frankenshock idea, or perhaps Young Frankenshock, Jimbo Kipcak of Lajitas, Texas sent this: "I only agreed to do this because they promised me Teri Garr as an assistant."

Five people in Delaware face charges after a scuffle with members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka who were picketing a military funeral.
Was it any surprise that this would happen, sooner or later? It’s lucky no one was seriously hurt.
That very real potential for violence is one argument for the state laws being passed to keep Fred Phelps and his goon squad at a respectful distance from grieving family members.
On a federal level, Congress passed this week and President Bush is expected to sign today a law barring disruptive protests at national military cemeteries. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the families of fallen veterans have the “right to mourn without being thrust into a political circus.”
For that matter, don’t all grieving families?
Posted by Randy Scholfield

First it was “decider,” which quickly took its place in the language after President Bush used it to describe himself earlier this spring, and has even inspired an action hero comic strip on “The Daily Show.” Will Bush succeed in doing the same thing with "suicider," which he used four times other day as shorthand for “suicide bomber” in a joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert? Those who keep track of Bushisms say it’s not new, though, tracing his first use of it to 2002.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

With Americans living longer, it’s probably to be expected that America’s former top executives are going to enjoy long retirements, too. But it still seems like news that last week, Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale surpassed John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to live longer since leaving office than any other former president and vice president in American history — 25 years and 123 days. Retirement from the White House has its perks, but it can’t be easy to watch succeeding administrations come and go and, in your view, muck it all up.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

There was some comfort in the assurance by state Rep. Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, that his 10-member special committee probe of the school-finance discussion by a Kansas Supreme Court justice and two state senators is “not going to be the Spanish Inquisition.” Still, it’s expected to last through July and involve 15 witnesses, possibly including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and her chief of staff, Troy Findley. That’s a lot of time and effort for what still looks mostly like a poor choice of lunch conversation. Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, is considering legal action over his request for sworn statements from Sebelius and staffers about possible contacts with the court regarding school funding. It is of concern that inquiries aimed at protecting one separation of powers (the judicial and legislative branches) appear so ready to risk another (the legislative and executive branches).
Posted by Rhonda Holman