We should have seen this coming when Phil Ruffin appeared briefly on “The Apprentice: Los Angeles” — a possible Wichita casino involving The Donald, who partners with Ruffin in several Las Vegas ventures. The gambling expansion that passed the Kansas Legislature would seem to prohibit Ruffin from being involved in any area casino because he owns Wichita Greyhound Park, where he plans to add slot machines and a Gilley’s. Still, Ruffin told The Eagle he’s thinking about some kind of downtown casino involving both his famously coiffed partner and his property at Broadway and Douglas. It’s way too early to name a front-runner in the local casino sweepstakes (voters have to approve the idea first). But a Wichita high-rise casino bearing the Trump name and opulence certainly would attract regional attention and, presumably, gamblers. Just don’t expect Rosie O’Donnell to perform opening night.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
At $400 billion and counting, and four years after President Bush’s “mission accomplished” speech, the Iraq war and rebuilding ought to be amounting to something substantive and permanent and positive. The latest audit by Inspector General Stuart Bowen Jr. paints a depressing picture of corruption, destruction and poor maintenance of reconstruction projects. All of which means more U.S. tax dollars — and more fuel for Democrats’ fire in opposing the war.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
What the “D.C. Madam” says are 46 pounds of phone records involving 10,000 clients are beginning to hit the fan. Randall Tobias, head of foreign aid programs for President Bush, resigned Friday after acknowledging to ABC News that he used the escort service owned by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, though he said it was “to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage,” not for sex. Palfrey denies that her employees were prostitutes, saying she was in the sexual fantasy business. But as she faces criminal charges, she said: “I’m sure as heck not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone four to eight years, because I’m shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever.” Hypocrisy alert: Tobias’ responsibilities included coordinating global AIDS relief, which he did by favoring abstinence over condom use and by requiring aid recipients to swear their opposition to prostitution and sex trafficking.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
President Bush said that pulling out of Iraq “could unleash chaos in Iraq that could spread across the entire region. It would be an invitation to the enemy to attack America and our friends around the world.” But some of his senior aides think that such doomsday predictions are exaggerated, Newsweek reported. They say that the likelihood of a regional war is low, and they note that Osama bin Laden already has a safe haven in Pakistan for planning attacks.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Suggesting it’s time for American education to stop “adding spaceship wings to pioneer wagons,” Josh Anderson, the language arts teacher at Olathe Northwest High School who is Kansas’ 2007 Teacher of the Year, offers this three-point plan for reforming K-12 education to fit the 21st century:
– Provide every child with preschool education.
– Scale back elementary school curriculum to core information.
– Require exit exams at sixth, eighth and 10th grades, and don’t let kids move on until they pass.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Hatch Act of 1939 prohibits federal employees from participating in partisan political activities during taxpayer-paid office hours. Yet there have been numerous instances in which White House officials have conducted political activities at federal agencies. “How many government agencies might have been despoiled by the White House’s substitution of political machinations for honorable service?” a New York Times editorial asked. “Taxpayers deserve answers.”
Posted by Patrice Hein
Like many Kansans, many Americans apparently think there ought to be a law against "robocalls," those automated and sometimes deceptive political phone calls that were received last fall by nearly two-thirds of registered voters nationally. The calls currently are exempt from laws establishing no-call lists. Kansas’ legislators opted only to mandate that the messages identify the calls’ sponsor. And any attempt to limit campaign messages risks trampling the First Amendment, but Nebraska and Missouri are among the states ready to go further. “People said they didn’t want calls in the middle of the night,” said Christy Abraham, legal counsel for a committee in the Nebraska Legislature. “They said we don’t want 17 calls in a row. And they said we want to know who’s calling.” She added: “The courts seem to be upholding these as far as permissible restrictions. We’re going to try it and see what happens.”
Posted by Rhonda Holma