State Sen. Donald Betts, D-Wichita, has a commentary on today’s Opinion Pages responding to the Peter Brown commentary on Democrats and evangelicals that was debated in an earlier blog item. Betts argues that people of faith need to judge politicians by their actions, not by their talk. And he contends that the GOP talks to the African-American community only about same-sex marriage and abortion and ignores “the biblical imperatives of feeding the hungry and serving the widows and orphans.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
With pundits everywhere making facile comparisons between the Iraq war and Vietnam, New York Times writer Andrew Rosenthal sees one very stark difference: Young people really don’t seem to care much about Iraq.
Writing about a recent Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert, he notes that the group’s best political songs are now just entertainment, evoking little passion among affluent, text-messaging audiences. He blames the lack of a draft, and the ease with which unpleasantness abroad can be ignored here at home:
“It is hard to escape the conclusion that Americans find it much easier to stay silent when there is no shared sacrifice.”
That rings true. And it sounds almost wistful.
Posted by Dave Knadler
Sedgwick County commissioners say they’re just trying to treat everyone the same in appraising property in the footprint of the downtown arena.
But as our editorial on today’s Opinion pages notes, that’s not what happened in the case of Episcopal Social Services. This provider of valuable community services deserves better from the county.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback’s presidential prospects for 2008 look slimmer by the day, but would he take the second spot? In a Washington Times commentary on vice presidential possibilities, writer Tod Lindberg had high praise for Brownback. “He’s got the conservative bona fides and an activist streak on such issues as halting genocide in Darfur and human rights more broadly. If conservatives demonstrate support and enthusiasm for him during the primaries, he might well be the one,” Lindberg wrote.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
State Sen. Susan Wagle (in photo), R-Wichita, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, told a Hutchinson audience Thursday about “really good” polling data suggesting that Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ television ads are “turning people off.” Without being specific about the poll results, Wagle said people “can’t think of one issue that she’s passed.” Wagle added: “She has not led. She has not driven the school bus” — referring to the ad depicting Sebelius as driving the bus on public education funding.
At least Kansans can’t help but notice Sebelius’ frequently aired ads. Do they have any impression yet — good or bad — of GOP gubernatorial nominee Jim Barnett?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As the Wichita school district and city of Wichita try to settle their differences over how to pay for 22 school resource officers in middle and high schools, here’s something to ponder out of Riley County, which is having a similar debate. According to the Manhattan Mercury, Riley County Police Department Director Mike Watson — the former Wichita police chief who pitched the SRO program to the Wichita district a decade ago — proposes that the three school districts in Riley County that use SROs start paying 25 percent of the cost of the officers. The city of Wichita wants the Wichita district to pay at least half.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
