It’s safe to say that "trust us" no longer works on Capitol Hill, given the skepticism of senators Tuesday in response to the Bush administration’s lobbying for more and updated domestic spying powers. Two hours of testimony by National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell and others left the Senate Intelligence Committee seemingly unconvinced of anything except that they needed more information on warrantless wiretapping and other matters. Still, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act dates from the 1970s. If the nation’s outmoded intelligence tools are putting the nation at risk, senators shouldn’t let the Bush administration’s past excesses keep them from acting now.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez famously called the current president "the devil." He might need a more complicated nickname for Rudy Giuliani, should the former New York City mayor win the White House. Giuliani, whose law firm represents an American subsidiary of the Chavez-controlled Citgo oil company, nevertheless blasted Chavez in a speech Tuesday: "Isn’t it annoying, upsetting and even in some cases a matter of national security that we have to send money to our enemies? We need a president who knows how to get things done so we don’t have to be sending money to Chavez." So Chavez can send it to U.S. law firms, many would add.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The casualty count in Iraq again hit close to home when Army Sgt. Alex Funcheon of Bel Aire was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb. Funcheon had enlisted in 2004 and been deployed in October. He was 21. “He knew what was expected of him, and he was going to do it,” his mother, Karen Funcheon, told The Eagle.
Our community cannot ease the pain of loss for Funcheon’s loved ones, but it can keep them in our hearts and prayers and try to honor his courage and sacrifice. In this and all wars, there is no measuring the debt owed to those willing to leave their homes and families to fight for our nation and liberty.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The newly transformed Keeper of the Plains site was open to casual strollers this week, and the new setting for Wichita’s iconic symbol is awe-inspiring.
Judging by the sneak peek, the Keeper plaza is going to be the must-see experience for any visitor to Wichita.
The graceful bridge offers soaring views of the Keeper statue and of Exploration Place downriver.
An attractive interpretive exhibit at the statue’s base gives a concise, meaningful overview of Plains Indian life and culture.
The views at night, when the bridge and statue will be lighted, promise to be dazzling.
The city will formally rededicate the Keeper at 9:45 p.m. May 18 in a fireworks-and-music extravaganza that will show off all the site’s new features, from lights to cascading water. It’s going to be the place to be that night.
This new Keeper will be a focus of civic pride for Wichitans for many years to come.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
In another interview aimed at getting above his underdog status, Sen. John McCain left no doubt on “Fox News Sunday” about where he stands on torture. Asked about former CIA Director George Tenet’s contention that the United States obtained lifesaving information through harsh interrogation of al-Qaida suspects, the former Vietnam War POW said he didn’t care what Tenet said: “The fact is if you torture someone, they’re going to tell you anything they think you want to know. It is an affront to everything we stand for and believe in. . . . We cannot torture people and maintain our moral superiority in the world.” He also said that as president, he probably would close Guantanamo Bay and move those detainees to Kansas’ own Fort Leavenworth.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
No less a conservative icon than William F. Buckley thinks America isn’t winning the war in Iraq. “It is simply untrue that we are making decisive progress in Iraq,” he said in a column. And that, he believes, is a grave political problem for George W. Bush and the future of the Republican Party.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
