"Democrats had been slow to react to my column of July 14, 2003, which reported that former diplomat Joseph Wilson’s mission to Niger was suggested by his CIA employee wife, Valerie Plame Wilson," Robert Novak wrote this week after "Scooter" Libby’s conviction. "By September, when the Justice Department began investigating the CIA leak, Democrats smelled another Iran-contra affair or Watergate. They were wrong."
Novak wrote that though his original column triggered Libby’s misery, "I played but a minor role in his trial. Subpoenaed by his defense team, I testified that I had phoned him in reporting the Wilson column and that he had said nothing about Wilson’s wife. Other journalists said the same thing under oath, but we apparently made no impression on the jury."
Not only does Novak think that President Bush should pardon Libby, he says it should be done "now, and not while he is walking out of the White House in January 2009."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Michael O’Donnell II made a well-spoken, enthusiastic candidate for the Wichita City Council, which is why he advanced to the general election against Vice Mayor Paul Gray. But O’Donnell showed poor judgment in thinking he could run for City Council in southwest Wichita while mostly sleeping at his parents’ house in Bel Aire, where he was still registered to vote until days after he became a candidate. That’s why he just lost his place on the April 3 ballot to third-place primary finisher Les Osterman. If O’Donnell wants to run for some office again in a district in which he has roots and more than a technical residence, he could do well. Meanwhile, let this be a lesson to would-be carpetbaggers: Sleep and register where you run.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
In light of Hillary Clinton’s attempt to “smash through the ultimate glass ceiling,” Elle magazine and MSNBC.com conducted a survey to determine attitudes regarding gender roles in the workplace.
Though more than half the 60,000 respondents had no preference as to the gender of workplace leaders, of those who did, most, including 75 percent of the women, preferred a man as a boss. The survey found that age-old stereotypes abound in the workplace — not only among men, but also among women.
Despite great strides toward gender equality in the workplace, our culture is still bombarded with messages that women should be the supportive nurturers, while men should take charge. Women who are ambitious and aggressive still seem to scare both men and women — but, fortunately, not as many as they used to.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Cheers for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigative subcommittee, which heard testimony Wednesday from consumers and major credit card issuers. Consumers are feeling gouged by the perfectly legal practices of late fees, over-credit-limit penalties and the nightmarish “universal default” — in which credit card issuers raise the interest rate if a consumer fails to pay other creditors on time.
Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., is dangling the threat of legislative action to force voluntary changes in the practices of credit card companies.
The companies pass out credit cards like they are free candy, regardless of credit history, then stick users with huge fees. And since they got Congress to change bankruptcy laws, there are few options for consumers to dig their way out of debt.
Posted by Patrice Hein
The expanded plans for WaterWalk’s $5 million amphitheater sound great — big enough for 2,500 people and complete with a 110-foot-long pool for programmed water and light shows. It’s not hard to imagine it becoming a central gathering spot in the riverfront development, and the setting for outdoor events that will boost the entire community’s quality of life.
Still, the Wichita City Council should not drop the 8-year-old dream of a first-rate replacement for the West Bank Stage, preferably privately funded. Wichita needs a large outdoor concert venue for the River Festival and otherwise, and a facility on the west bank would complement the nearby museums and improvements related to the Keeper of the Plains.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It was encouraging to see some progress this week on sustaining the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. By advancing a bill to earmark $1.5 million in lottery funds for the hall over the next three years, the Senate Ways and Means Committee acknowledged that the facility’s survival is a legislative issue. The attraction may be located in Old Town these days, but it was created by the Legislature in 1961 to preserve and celebrate the entire state’s rich sports history. As state Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, said, the bill offers the hall’s leaders “a three-year opportunity to show who they are and how they serve the people of Kansas.” If members of the full Senate and the House disagree, they should suggest a better way to keep the hall open.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
From a commentary by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recognizing the one-year anniversary this week of the death of photographer, filmmaker and Kansas native Gordon Parks:
“Gordon used his cameras to pierce through the heartache of a nation divided by race to find hope — hope that the next generation would find a way to live together in brotherhood. His lenses shot through poverty to find pride — the pride of men and women who didn’t let their wallets define their worth. And he used the body of his work to blow away the blinders that kept us from seeing that the plight of the poor is the plight of us all.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
