Daily Archives: Jan. 6, 2007

Open thread

Jan. 6, 20071:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (36)

Better late than never on Bush and budget

Jan. 6, 20071:03 a.m.

It’s great that President Bush is calling on Congress to curb the use of budget “earmarks.” But as the Wall Street Journal asked in an editorial Thursday, what took him so long? “Mr. Bush never did say much about earmarks when the GOP was in charge,” the editorial noted. The use of special budget allotments for home state projects exploded while the “fiscally conservative” GOP ran things. And not only did Bush rarely complain, he didn’t veto any spending bill, no matter how bloated. Still, better late than never.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Bush | Comments (29)

Bipartisanship starts with a handshake

Jan. 6, 20071:02 a.m.

Here’s at least one encouraging example of bipartisan spirit and civility from the first day of the new Congress: Newly elected Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., approached Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., and shook his hand. Then he asked him to get together sometime for a cup of coffee. Goode agreed.
Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a good start when you consider that Goode had strongly criticized Ellison, a Muslim, for asking to use a Quran in his swearing-in ceremony.
Ellison’s simple act of reaching out was classy — and in stark contrast to Goode’s cheap shots.
It was also a nice touch that Ellison used Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the Quran in his swearing-in. As his spokesman said, “Jefferson’s Quran dates religious tolerance to the founders of our country.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress | Comments (123)

Federal grant money didn’t help

Jan. 6, 20071:01 a.m.

Remember how then-Education Commissioner Bob Corkins (in photo) was criticized for hurriedly handing out $32,000 in federal grants to charter school proponents late last summer? Another act of that story played out Thursday in Topeka, as the USD 501 school board unanimously rejected three proposals for new charter schools, pointing to lack of information and innovation and to possible costs. “A bleeding heart does nothing but ruin the carpet,” said applicant Betty Horton, after the vote. “What we need is real action, a real plan, a real sense of urgency.” And some better proposals, apparently.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Education | Comments (7)

Art imitates Opinion Line

Jan. 6, 20071:00 a.m.

One of our “Best of Opinion Line” comments this year was “Is the man I saw urinating at the corner of Broadway and Waterman the other morning classified as a street performer?” That reminded a reader of this old New Yorker cartoon. The first dog says, “What I do as an artist is to take an ordinary object — say, a lamppost — and by urinating on it, transform it to something that is uniquely my own.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (6)