Daily Archives: Feb. 17, 2007

Open thread

Feb. 17, 20071:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (50)

All we get for a billion dollars is one measly president?

Feb. 17, 20071:03 a.m.

Strategists are estimating that the two major-party candidates in the 2008 presidential election each will spend $500 million. This money will come from private donors, since the more modest public campaign funds just won’t cut it anymore in a major election.
Almost half the money will be spent communicating the candidates’ messages to the voters in the form of print advertising, TV and radio ads, webcasts, podcasts — any possible way the candidate can reach the American people. It will be a deluge. The balance of the money will be spent on campaign offices and workers, polling, information gathering, travel expenses for the candidate and entourage, and, of course, lawyers to make sure all those ads are compliant with campaign finance laws.
Sen. Barack Obama has proposed a voluntary agreement to limit general campaign fundraising and spending. So far none of his leading rivals, in either party, seems to want to take him up on it.
Posted by Patrice Hein

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (27)

A red scare over minimum wage

Feb. 17, 20071:03 a.m.

I had no idea that Marxism was still a threat to our way of life. But as my Friday column notes, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce is supporting a bill to abolish the state’s already rock-bottom $2.65 minimum wage, with a chamber lobbyist saying that wages should be set by the market, not the “socialist teachings of Karl Marx.”
This race to the bottom would place our state among such economic powerhouses as Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Impressive company.
Is it such a radical idea to think that someone who works full time for a living should be able to earn enough to make a living?
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (111)

Another year, another seat-belt bill going nowhere

Feb. 17, 20071:01 a.m.

It’s no surprise that the annual attempt to get the Kansas Legislature to pass a primary seat-belt bill has run into trouble. Despite heartbreaking House testimony this week, many lawmakers remained unpersuaded that officers should be able to stop and ticket drivers for no other reason than being unbelted — though 72 percent of those who died in Kansas traffic accidents from 2001 to 2005 weren’t buckled up, and the Kansas Highway Patrol and other state agencies want the tougher law.
Not even having gone through a windshield in an accident changed the mind of state Rep. Vince Wetta, D-Wellington, who spoke for many Kansans when he said, “I come from a time you didn’t tell me what to do when driving a car.”
Still, lawmakers should keep trying to hike the current $10 fine for not wearing a seat belt, and do something about unbuckled teens.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (41)

Save Sports Hall of Fame with lottery ticket

Feb. 17, 20071:00 a.m.

A Kansas Senate committee heard an idea this week for how to save and sustain the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in Wichita long term — offer a Kansas Lottery scratch ticket that could generate revenue specifically for it. Some storied names in Kansas sports spoke on the museum’s behalf, too — former Kansas State University football coach Bill Snyder (in photo) and Max Falkenstien, the retired announcer for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The scratch card would allow the whole state to support the hall voluntarily; that’s appropriate, as it tells the whole state’s sports history.
The most important message sent at the hearing, though, was that the Legislature should act soon to save the hall and preserve the heritage it celebrates. “I guarantee you this means a lot to Kansans, because they know how sports can bond a family,” Snyder said.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Wichita events | Comments (10)