How heartbreaking that the two missing U.S. soldiers — Pfc. Kristian Menchaca (in photo) and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker — were found dead today, reportedly “killed in a barbaric way.” And how predictable that al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the murders, which it said were personally carried out by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, the successor to slain leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. This outcome underscores the brutality and fanaticism of our enemies in this war. For many Americans, it also will further underscore the need to find an honorable way out of this difficult conflict as soon as possible.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Will the 30-second advertisement promoting Kansas that begins running Thursday on a screen in Times Square in New York City make viewers want to visit or move to Kansas? I hope so, but as a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Commerce noted, it’s not easy overcoming the negative impressions of Kansas formed by the state’s anti-evolution science standards and the Phelps funeral protests. Still, the state needs to try, I guess.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The horrible murder of 14-year-old Chelsea Brooks of Wichita has renewed debate about the killing of fetuses. Brooks was nine months pregnant when murdered, but the Kansas law, as written, does not allow the filing of an additional murder charge for the death of the fetus.
Some pro-lifers are pointing out that when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was a state lawmaker, she opposed changing the law to give a fetus protection under criminal statutes. “I have real serious problems with that,” Sebelius said in 1989. “I think for me and a lot of other people there are certain inalienable rights established for a person, but those are not applied in utero.”
Concern about the law change has been that it would become a tool to restrict or outlaw abortion. However, states such as California allow for such murder charges in certain circumstances — as was filed in the high-profile Scott Peterson case — without curtailing the right to an abortion.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
On CNN’s "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" Sunday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., characteristically wouldn’t divulge what, if anything, he knew specifically about the cyanide gas attacks that al-Qaida reportedly had planned for the New York City subway system in 2003. But he sure seemed to invite the conclusion that the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program saved the day: “It points up, once again, the value of the terrorist surveillance program, the NSA program that’s been in the news so much. We are able to detect and deter and stop such attacks. And we were very fortunate that that did not happen.”
And though Roberts also referred to “the people in the sleeper cells in the United States,” he declined to explain what he meant by that, concluding: “Our intelligence is better. We have made progress. It’s not perfect, but we’re in better shape than we were, certainly, since 9/11.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
One of four GOP presidential maybes in Iowa over the weekend, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback argued that Republicans should not shy away from declaring their support for the war. “I think we should talk about the war,” he said. “I think it’s time to have another debate, another national debate about the war.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansans seemingly don’t want to force motorcyclists to wear helmets, which is why the state has no helmet law. Somewhere between a legislative mandate and “Easy Rider,” though, is common sense. Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger acquired some last week in a helmetless accident, after which he declared, “If I ever ride again, it certainly will be with a helmet.” He also got a concussion and a broken jaw and nose. And Monday he got word that he’ll be cited for failure to wear a helmet and not having a motorcycle license.
Posted by Rhonda Holman