Daily Archives: Dec. 30, 2006

Open thread

Dec. 30, 20061:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (32)

It’s the 2006 Weepers!

Dec. 30, 20061:04 a.m.

Check out our annual Weeper awards. They are designed to recognize extraordinary achievement in the area of public fiascoes, flops and foolishness. Here are a couple of the winners:
The “Great Moments in Kansas Oratory” Award — To former Kansas House speaker Doug Mays (in photo), who said that Wichita attorney Alan Rupe, who was representing schools in the state funding lawsuit, could “shove it up his a—.”
OK, so it wasn’t the Lincoln-Douglas debates. But Dick Cheney would approve.
The “Dr. Kinsey Sexual Pioneer” Award — To Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who explained to a rapt but puzzled Wichita courtroom that he thought a boy performing oral sex on a girl is probably a sex crime worth reporting, but not a girl performing oral sex on a boy.
Teenage boys everywhere celebrated Kline’s testimony with high-fives! Right on, dude!
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Lieberman wants more troops

Dec. 30, 20061:02 a.m.

“Independent Democrat” Sen. Joe Lieberman (in photo) argued in a Washington Post op-ed for more troops in Iraq. “The most pressing problem we face in Iraq is not an absence of Iraqi political will or American diplomatic initiative, both of which are increasing and improving; it is a lack of basic security,” he wrote.
Lieberman contends that we’ve never had enough troops in Iraq. He supports a troop surge but said it “should be militarily meaningful in size, with a clearly defined mission.”
He acknowledges that more troops won’t guarantee success, but he thinks it is a prerequisite. “Just as the continuing carnage in Baghdad empowers extremists on all sides, establishing security there will open possibilities for compromise and cooperation on the Iraqi political front — possibilities that simply do not exist today because of the fear gripping all sides.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Iraq | Comments (19)

2006’s politics had it all

Dec. 30, 20061:01 a.m.

Here are Slate’s “five best political moments of 2006”:
1) “Cheney’s Got a Gun.” (When Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting buddy.)
2) “Blogger power!” (How bloggers took down Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., though only until November.)
3) “George of the Bungle.” (Sen. George Allen’s “macaca” comment, etc.)
4) “Foley: The Final Insult.” (The career-ending text messages of Rep. Mark Foley — in photo — plus Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, etc.)
5) “Rummy Felled.” The piece concludes: “The president and his aides may want to get their memoirs out before Rumsfeld does.” No kidding.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under U.S. politics | Comments (23)

Is ‘Best of Opinion Line’ an oxymoron?

Dec. 30, 20061:00 a.m.

Brace yourself. It’s time again for our “Best and worst of Opinion Line” feature. The winners (or losers) include:
Is the man I saw urinating at the corner of Broadway and Waterman the other morning classifed as a street perfomer?
If a woman breast-feeds her baby while lunching at Hooters, would other patrons be offended?
In order to curb teen sex, all youths should be married immediately. It’s been my experience that once you’re married, all the sex ends anyway.
It would be nice to have my phone tapped. At least they would hear my needs. Nobody else listens.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (13)