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Daily Archives: Jan. 21, 2007
Senate prepared to push back on surge
Jan. 21, 20071:04 a.m.
Politically, President Bush’s troop surge in Iraq could face its moment of truth in a Senate resolution vote expected this week that, while nonbinding, would force GOP senators to go on record about whether they support Bush’s strategy.
Some, facing re-election in ’08, are understandably nervous about hitching their wagons to the president’s failing and unpopular war strategy.
Presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is among a handful of conservatives who have publicly broken with the president and oppose the surge.
The vote could expose deep bipartisan cracks in support for Bush’s war escalation and signal how far Congress is willing to go to rein in the president.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
If soldiers need protection from loans, doesn’t everyone?
Jan. 21, 20071:02 a.m.
Good for Attorney General Paul Morrison for convening a roundtable discussion on payday loans and predatory lending. The roundtable will be headed by Holly Petraeus, who helped get Congress to cap payday loans to military personnel at 36 percent annual interest. She is the wife of Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander in Iraq. As Morrison noted, payday loans can have effective annual interest rates as high as 400 percent and can trap vulnerable Kansans in cycles of debt. His and Petraeus’ involvement in this issue is most welcome.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
How many others will be outside and alone tonight?
Jan. 21, 20071:01 a.m.
If you haven’t already, be sure to read the Rev. Sam Muyskens’commentary on today’s Opinion pages about his experience at the funeral of a homeless veteran who died alone in a Wichita alley last month. As Muyskens wrote, we don’t know the man’s story and circumstances. But that’s the problem. How many other people will battle tonight’s low temperatures outside and alone? Do we care?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
New gun right didn’t come free
Jan. 21, 20071:00 a.m.
Here’s an unintended consequence of the state’s new concealed-carry law for taxpayers to ponder: The Wichita school district purchased 1,340 no-gun signs for various indoor and outdoor use at its buildings, at an estimated cost of $7,500. The carry law exempts schools, of course, but “we figured it was just a proactive approach,” district spokeswoman Susan Arensman told The Eagle editorial board.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
