President Bush has encountered a lot of anger south of the border about U.S. immigration policy and especially his approval of a new 700-mile border fence. That must have been frustrating for him, because he’s such a champion of comprehensive immigration reform that would not just stem the migration but put some undocumented residents on a path to citizenship. Mexican President Felipe Calderon did say Tuesday that “we want to generate jobs for Mexicans here in Mexico, because that is the only way to truly solve the migratory issue.” Still, if anybody should be on the defensive about U.S. immigration, it should be the leaders of the countries these people are fleeing.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Viacom is suing YouTube and its parent company, Google, for “massive intentional copyright infringement.” Since the complaint, YouTube has voluntarily removed Viacom content — more than 100,000 video clips. But more clips keep appearing.
The effort to maintain a hold on copyright law when dealing with the Internet appears futile. But is there a way to embrace the technology yet still be able to pay writers, musicians, artists and other creatives for their work?
Posted by Patrice Hein
No surprise that Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is taking some heat for calling homosexuality immoral, likening gay sex to adultery and saying the military should not condone homosexuality by allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
Pace is entitled to his opinion, which is widely shared as a matter of faith by many Americans. But the real issue is how much longer the armed forces can continue the phony “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which has forced the discharge of an estimated 10,000 troops, including more than 50 badly needed specialists in Arabic. John Shalikashvili, the retired Army general who was Joint Chiefs chairman when the policy was adopted in 1993, recently said conversations with gay service members have led him to conclude that “the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers.” (Well, maybe not by Pace.)
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The legislative action on expanded gambling already looks like a pinata has just cracked open in the Capitol rotunda, with stakeholders scrambling for goodies. But there was one encouraging sign for south-central Kansas this week — language to add Sedgwick and Sumner counties to the areas that could have casinos, which also might include Wyandotte, Crawford, Cherokee and Ford counties. Sedgwick County voters would have until Jan. 1 to vote on whether they wanted a casino; Sumner County voters already stated their preference for one in 2005. Legislation to allow slot machines at Wichita Greyhound Park also is in the mix of gambling bills being discussed in a House committee, with potential proceeds tied to fixing campuses, providing property-tax relief and shoring up the state pension fund.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As President Bush met with leaders in Central and South America, spreading good will and talking trade agreements, he was greeted with a mix of native dances, protests and riots. Mayan priests “cleansed” their sacred ancient ruins in Guatemala after his visit.
It seems to be a case of too little, too late. If the United States had been working on being “neighborly” throughout Bush’s presidency, perhaps his reception would have been a bit warmer.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Good for members of the Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee for unanimously advancing a bill to the Senate floor Monday that would divest the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System from Sudan. An estimated $38 million of the pension fund’s $12 billion-plus is invested in companies with ties to the government of Sudan, which has had a role in the killing of 200,000 of its people and the displacement of 2.5 million. Chairman Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, said the committee members “understand the implications of what’s happening in Sudan,” and the “killing of innocent people is not something they want to support.” Now they need to sell that message to the full Senate and to House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, who has said, “It’s not a problem that you can solve with KPERS, so I don’t think there’s any interest in going there.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
