If a country can win a war by speechifying, then the Bush team is well on its way to “mission accomplished” in Iraq.
The worse it gets over there, the more speeches Americans get, and the more disconnected the inflated rhetoric gets from actual conditions on the ground.
President Bush gave another boilerplate talk Thursday, following the same grossly simplistic and misleading talking points that Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have tested on friendly crowds in recent days.
Americans’ growing doubts about the war aren’t the result of “self-defeating pessimists” (Cheney’s words), but rather the administration’s ongoing failure to establish order and security in Iraq and provide the resources and strategy necessary to win.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
A photo in Monday’s Eagle of the Phelps clan picketing a rainbow flag in Meade offered the sad sight of children standing next to signs saying “Soldiers Die God Laughs” and “Fags Eat Poop.”
It underscores how bigotry and hate are perpetuated — through stunted, ignorant parents indoctrinating their children.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
People complain about how greedy U.S. corporations are, so it should be good news when an industry decides to give the consumer, say, 10 percent extra at no added charge.
Of course, when that extra is an addictive substance like nicotine, there will be naysayers. A study by the Massachusetts Department of Health has discovered that the amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose, without fanfare, an average of about 10 percent from 1998 to 2004. Curiously, the brands most favored by young people and minorities had the biggest increases (up to 30 percent) and the most nicotine.
Very generous. Only a cynic might think Big Tobacco was consciously — and secretly — trying to cultivate addiction.
Posted by Dave Knadler
Correctly calling the 18.2 percent turnout for the Aug. 1 primary “horrendous,” Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh said this week that he would study the idea of moving the primary from early August. Maybe there is a better time to engage voters in the important step of winnowing the candidates. Perhaps June, when 13 states hold primaries. Perhaps September, primary time for 13 other states. Perhaps even later in August, when kids are back in school. State Sen. Phil Journey, R-Wichita, suggested July; but if early August is bad, why would July be better?
In any case, it’s hard to believe that it could get any worse: Only 229,000 of the state’s more than 1.6 million registered voters managed to vote this time, down from the appalling previous low of 410,630 in 2002. Expect some resistance to change from conservative Republicans, though, whose candidates are usually served by low primary turnout.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As bragging rights go, it’s probably not going to result in a new state slogan, but the Washington Post reports that Kansas has achieved the distinction of being the nation’s median state for obesity.
Yep: That means that while half of the states had lower obesity rates than our 23.9 percent, half had higher. That’s a couple dozen states we can lord it over until the next survey — a little leverage the next time someone asks, “What’s the matter with Kansas?”
Posted by Dave Knadler
Some Sedgwick County cities have been handing out “Go to Jail” cards as if they were free. But as our editorial Wednesday noted, it costs at least $30 a day to house inmates in the county jail. And if this next planned jail expansion is going to be our last, we need to impose more discipline on booking decisions. So Sedgwick County is wisely looking at charging cities a booking fee. Doing so should make them re-evaluate what types of violators really need to go to jail. But there is a legal question as to whether the county can charge fees. In 1985, the Legislature authorized a countywide 1-mill jail levy with the understanding that Sedgwick County would no longer charge local municipalities for housing their prisoners.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
