John McCain’s conservative credentials got a boost with the endorsement of former Texas senator and presidential candidate Phil Gramm. Though Gramm wrote in a Wall Street Journal commentary that he has disagreed with McCain on various issues, he thinks the Arizona senator would be “the right president for these times.” The key issues for Graham were McCain’s fiscal conservatism, his willingness to tackle entitlement reform, his support of free trade and his authority to “thwart enemies, unite friends and win peace.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
At a time when local governments’ reliance on consultants was under scrutiny, Sedgwick County Manager Bill Buchanan courted trouble by tapping a consultant to help county staff negotiate a deal with preferred arena management company SMG, then by taking three weeks to tell county commissioners about the small-dollar consultant deal. Now, commissioners want to review and possibly revise the county’s purchasing, hiring and consulting policies. “It’s clear to me the commission needs a lot more information up front,” Buchanan said. He might have said “this commission” — because the rethinking about what has been business as usual at the county seems to be emanating mostly from new Commissioner Gwen Welshimer.
Columnist George Will has a scenario he thinks voters may use as they measure presidential candidates’ readiness on national security. This is how he phrased it recently on ABC’s “This Week”: “Nightmare scenario. You’re the security adviser. You’re awakened in the middle of the night. You have three minutes to get the details of an attack coming on the United States. Then the president, who you notify, has four minutes to answer. That’s seven minutes. Which candidate fits the seven-minute question?”
OK, bloggers, which 2008 wannabe would perform best?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It’s difficult to get beyond the hypocrisy of Lonnie Latham, the prominent Baptist minister from Tulsa who championed anti-gay legislation but was arrested for asking an undercover policeman to have sex. But his lawyer’s arguments during his trial Thursday made sense. He noted the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning gay sex are unconstitutional. “Now, my client’s being prosecuted basically for having offered to engage in such an act,” he said, “which basically makes it a crime to ask someone to do something that’s legal.” The prosecution responded that the state still has laws against — and an interest in controlling — public solicitation for that type of sex, the Tulsa World reported.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Freedom-loving people everywhere should be appalled that an Egyptian blogger was sentenced to four years in prison this week for insulting Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But freedom-loving Kansans should bear in mind that Kansas has its own criminal defamation law, complete with jail time and fines. Worse, lawmakers are happy not only to keep the obsolete law on the books but also defend it from time to time. “It is still ironic that the U.S. Department of State encourages countries around the world to do away with criminal defamation laws, but here in Kansas we still have one,” Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, told The Eagle editorial board this week. For the record: Civil court, not criminal court, is the proper place to fight it out over free speech.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
FYI: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to appear on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday for a live interview and to field calls. Sebelius is in Washington, D.C., attending the National Governors Association winter meeting, which C-SPAN is also covering. If you miss the show, supposedly it will be archived at www.c-span.org.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
My column today profiles Lt. Col. David Johnson and the difficulties Iraq vets have in transitioning back to civilian life. Many of them, like Johnson, have faced endless delays and frustration in trying to get help for mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Regardless of how Americans feel about the war, we should all agree on this: Our returning vets and their families deserve our best care and support.
Here’s a recent Washington Post story that also reveals the bureaucratic obstacles facing wounded vets.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Ready for a war we can win? Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times reported on former President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to combat river blindness in Ethopia (a video is on the Times’ Web site). The disease affects 17.7 million people worldwide and is caused by a microscopic worm transmitted to humans by small black flies that live near fast-moving streams. It causes unbearable itching and eye lesions. Usually, a once-a-year dose of an inexpensive drug called Ivermectin is adequate to prevent the disease.
Millions of people’s lives can be greatly improved, peaceably, at relatively low cost. Doing more to fight this war could do much to improve the U.S. image around the world.
Posted by Patrice Hein
In a legislative session unusually rich with proposed solutions to nonexistent problems, this one stands out: a bill to subject teachers and others to criminal penalties for “knowingly, intentionally, willfully or recklessly” displaying or disseminating obscene materials in K-12 schools. Under current law, state Rep. Lance Kinzer (in photo), R-Olathe, said, “Materials illegally sold at a porn shop would be legal if displayed in a kindergarten class.”
Raising the obvious question: Who has been displaying porn in Kansas kindergarten classrooms? Kinzer couldn’t cite an example of the problem for his colleagues. Yet House Bill 2200 passed out of the Federal and State Affairs Committee this week.
Do lawmakers really think so little of the state’s educators?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
After the Kansas Supreme Court’s dismissal last week of his case against Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller, former Attorney General Phill Kline issued a short statement suggesting that current Attorney General Paul Morrison is corrupt. Kline then released a long response to pro-life supporters in which he outlined the substance of his case.
He alleged that “Tiller performed the abortions based on a diagnosis that the mother would otherwise suffer severe depression, single episode depression, anxiety disorder or, in other cases, adjustment disorder if the abortion was not performed.” Kline said Kansas law allows late-term abortions only if the mental health issue for the mother is substantial and irreversible, and he contends that these conditions don’t qualify.
Kline has previously argued that the law allows for no mental health exception, even though former Gov. Bill Graves, the state Supreme Court and a Kansas Board of Healing Arts ruling all have said otherwise. Morrison’s office is still reviewing the cases to determine whether any crimes did, in fact, take place.
Kline ended his response with this exhortation to the pro-life community: “Do not lose hope. Deception has always been a part of this issue, and each step we take to reveal the truth is a positive step. We must keep moving forward, and there are a lot of things yet to be done that are consistent with the law, our responsibilities and the truth. Stand firm!”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
U.S. children ranked 20th out of 21 industrialized nations in well-being according to a UNICEF report. Only Britain had a lower ranking, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark topping the list.
The well-being of children was determined by scores in six categories: material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviors and risks, and young people’s own subjective sense of well-being.
The United States scored the lowest in health and safety, based on infant mortality rates, low birth weights, immunization rates, and death from injuries and accidents. Other factors that led to the low score included the percentage of children who eat breakfast, are overweight, used drugs, smoke cigarettes or were sexually active.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Royalty only fights wars in the movies these days, so it’s remarkable that Britain’s 22-year-old Prince Harry — aka Troop Commander Wales — will go to Iraq with his Blues and Royals regiment in May or June. Harry famously had said on his 21st birthday that there was no way he would go through military academy “and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country.” What Harry will face in unstable Iraq will be entirely different from that experienced by the last British royal to serve in wartime — Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew, who flew helicopters in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As if the daily news from Iraq weren’t downbeat enough, there is this: Insurgents are blowing things up with "dirty bombs" involving chlorine gas. Explosions of a truck bomb on Wednesday and a chlorine tanker on Tuesday sent 200 or so to hospitals for respiratory, skin and eye problems. Fortunately, U.S. troops were able to quickly raid an operation near Baghdad with five buildings full of propane tanks and ordinary chemicals believed to be for bomb making.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
"This is a crime against humanity," Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, D-Wichita, said about the Kansas House voting Wednesday not to raise the state’s minimum wage. The wage floor — which applies to about 19,000 Kansans — is $2.65 per hour, the lowest in the nation.
Polls show that 86 percent of Americans want an increase in the federal minimum wage, which Congress will likely raise from $5.15 to $7.25. Maybe Kansas House members were too busy cutting corporate taxes this session to pay much attention to what the public wants. Or maybe they agree with Rep. Benjamin Hodge, R-Overland Park, that the state should avoid "European-style socialist bills."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Slate’s William Saletan argues that Sen. Hillary Clinton is failing her first big test: explaining her vote to authorize the Iraq war. By refusing to apologize, Saletan notes, she’s showing an arrogant tone deafness to public mood that has already damaged, perhaps fatally, her campaign.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
At least the version of the official-language bill that overwhelmingly passed the House this week would accomplish something — by earmarking $500,000 for programs to help adults learn English. But for all the high-minded language about the need for the bill, it can’t help but look like an unseemly overreaction to the changing demographics of the state and an unspoken slap to Spanish speakers. Not exactly lawmaking to write home about — in any language.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
State Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, told The Eagle editorial board that the idea of an Amtrak passenger route through Wichita is “appealing,” but he’s not sure whether the state could find the financing for it.
Donovan said another transportation infrastructure goal he’d like to see eventually — “it’s not going to happen in my time” — is the so-called “SPIRIT 54” plan to make U.S. 54 a four-lane from Wichita all the way southwest to El Paso.
A four-state coalition of supporters has managed to upgrade a few legs of the route, improving safety and access on what they say is the most heavily traveled two-lane highway in the nation. But as with the Heartland Flyer dream, financing remains an uphill climb.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Ordinary people average two lies during every 10 minutes of conversation, with some telling as many as 12 lies during that period of time, according to research by Robert Feldman, a social psychologist at the University of Massachusetts who was listed as an expert witness for the “Scooter” Libby trial but was not called upon to testify. Feldman has found that, in general, lies are told to please the listener, to protect someone or to make the liar seem a better person. Some examples: “This dish tastes wonderful.” “Your new haircut looks great.” “Yeah, I was the team leader on that project.”
Feldman has also found that popular people tend to use deception more frequently and more often for self-promotion than unpopular people. Could this be a reason why we tend to equate politicians (popular people, by definition, since a majority had to “like” them to vote them into office) with liars?
Posted by Patrice Hein
Climbers on Oregon’s most-climbed peak, Mount Hood, have been making headlines lately. In December, three climbers lost their lives when a blinding snowstorm set in during their climb. Another three climbers and their dog were successfully rescued this week (see photo).
Oregon state lawmaker John Lim is sponsoring a bill that would require climbers to carry a beacon when climbing above 10,000 feet. He says that this requirement would save lives and the amount of time and money spent on rescue missions.
Opponents of the bill say that danger is an inherent part of extreme sports and that the beacons are not necessary. Some feel that carrying a beacon would give climbers a false sense of security. Besides, having to make life or death decisions is what puts the “extreme” in extreme sports.
Whether carrying a beacon is required or a choice, having a signaling device won’t ensure climbers come back alive. No matter how hard some people try, one cannot legislate sound judgment.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that in the next few months Britain will withdraw up to 1,600 of its roughly 7,100 British troops, most of whom are stationed in Basra in southern Iraq, the New York Times reported. "What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be," Blair said, "but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra’s history can be written by Iraqis."
The Danish prime minister also announced today that all of his country’s 460 troops in Iraq would be out by August, and the Lithuanian government is "seriously considering" withdrawing its 53 soldiers, the Times reported.
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council said that President Bush sees the British withdrawal "as a sign of success and what is possible for us once we help the Iraqis deal with the sectarian violence in Baghdad."
It doesn’t seem like success.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
An award-winning children’s novel, "The Higher Power of Lucky," is drawing fire from some librarians because in the opening, a character talks about seeing a rattlesnake bite his dog on the "scrotum."
Some librarians apparently think the word is inappropriate for children. One librarian went so far as to accuse the author, Susan Patron (herself a children’s librarian), of engaging in Howard Stern-like shock tactics.
Please. As one Wichita librarian noted, "it’s not even a dirty word" — "scrotum" is a precise and neutral anatomical term. True, it might occasion a few snickers from the target audience, 9- to 12-year-olds, but beyond that, what’s the fuss?
This isn’t some trashy novel — it won this year’s Newbery Award, the most prestigious prize in children’s books. What’s really shocking is that in 2007, some children’s librarians would try to censor a quality book.
It’s good to hear that Wichita librarians aren’t overreacting. But I’m not as optimistic about the response of certain conservative members of the Kansas State Board of Education.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It’s a gutsy move for Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, to tellnational Democratic Party officials that she won’t be using their help in her re-election bid. But is it also politically fatal? "I ran an independent campaign to get here, and I intend to run an independent campaign to get re-elected," she said Tuesday.
This will make 2008 not only a retest of her grassroots campaign style and a referendum on her already controversial record, but also a test of the theory that she didn’t so much win in November as Jim Ryun lost — because his conservative base stayed home.
Posted by Rhonda Holman