Daily Archives: March 18, 2007

Open thread

March 18, 20071:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (80)

Worse ways to spend $2 million than on a 2008 primary

March 18, 20071:04 a.m.

The case can be made for canceling another presidential primary in Kansas, because the whole flawed process should be dumped for a system that would give more states a say in picking the major nominees. But it’s unseemly for state lawmakers to skip a 2008 primary to save money, as the House did Friday, and dismiss its value as “essentially nothing more than a beauty contest,” in the words of state Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita. In a $12 billion state budget, $2 million for a 2008 presidential primary sounds like a modest investment in democracy. Maybe no candidates would bother to visit in advance of a Kansas primary on a February 2008 date shared with big states, but with the contest so open, polls showing the American people so engaged, and the field so full of candidates in both parties — and including Kansas-tied options such as Sam Brownback and Barack Obama — lawmakers should reconsider.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (11)

Surprise! Brownback supports strong moral views

March 18, 20071:02 a.m.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace created a furor last week by saying that homosexuality is “immoral” and akin to adultery. But Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., defended the general.
“We should not expect someone as qualified, accomplished and articulate as Gen. Pace to lack personal views on important moral issues,” Brownback wrote in a letter to the White House. “In fact, we should expect that anyone entrusted with such great responsibility will have strong moral views.”
But the issue was not whether Pace has the right to his own opinion — he does — but whether he should express that personal opinion while representing the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (29)

Do-nothing English bill could become law

March 18, 20071:01 a.m.

“Generally speaking, bills that don’t actually do anything have a high rate of passage,” Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee Chairman Pete Brungardt (in photo), R-Salina, told the Lawrence Journal-World. In that case, the bill that, in Brungardt’s words, “acknowledges that English is what we speak here” likely will become law. Especially now that the only constructive part of the bill — a House amendment that provided money for adult language classes — was removed by the Senate.
The result, according to Melinda Lewis of El Centro in Kansas City, Kan., is that nothing changes. “I expect that life will go on just about the same for folks as it did before; people still wanting to learn English, and having difficulty doing so, and some people being irrationally upset by the presence of other languages.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (33)

No NCLB critics left behind

March 18, 20071:00 a.m.

A GOP backlash is building against President Bush’s signature piece of domestic legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act.
A group of more than 50 Republican lawmakers last week endorsed a bill that would undercut a key provision of NCLB by allowing states to opt out of testing requirements. The revolt is being led by some influential Bush backers such as House Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
Blunt said that a trip through his home district, and hearing frustrated teachers and parents complain about the onerous testing, helped turn him against the law.
The NCLB dissidents say they don’t necessarily want to repeal the law, which is up for reauthorization this year. But they do want to see some significant changes to give states more flexibility to meet educational goals.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Education | Comments (60)

Nice words for Wichita as bill advances

March 18, 20071:00 a.m.

“We have the opportunity now to take legislative action, support Wichita, support the people of Wichita, the people of Kansas,” said Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, chairman of the Senate budget committee, on the Senate’s approval of a bill to support the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame with $1.5 million in lottery revenue over the next three years. It’s good that lawmakers recognize both the state’s responsibility to this treasure trove of Kansas sports history and that, as Umbarger also said, the hall’s relocation to Wichita’s Old Town from Abilene gives it “great potential” for the future.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (7)