It’s too bad that Tony Blair’s legacy likely will be dominated by Iraq. The British prime minister, who announced today his plans to step down on June 27, has had a remarkable 10 years in office.
His most recent and likely greatest achievement was the formation of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales also elected their own parliaments during his tenure. Blair’s tax and trade policy transformed both the British economy and his Labour Party. And Blair championed combating AIDS in Africa and curbing global warming, as well as other social causes.
But much of the British public thought that Blair was too close with President Bush. Rather than just backing Bush’s push to invade Iraq, Blair was an outspoken supporter. In fact, Blair was much better at making the case for war than Bush or any other U.S. official.
Blair asked forgiveness today for his mistakes, and he acknowledged that some might judge Iraq to be one of them. "But believe one thing if nothing else," he said, "I did what I thought was right for the country."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The day before Vice President Dick Cheney was in Iraq pressing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make more political progress, 11 moderate GOP House lawmakers met with President Bush and issued their own warning. They told Bush Tuesday that conditions needed to improve in Iraq by this fall or he would lose support from more Republicans. Even more important, they told Bush that the war was unsustainable without public support, which he doesn’t have now. It’s too soon to judge which meeting was more successful.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Because Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is a stalwart supporter of abortion rights, there was suspense about whether she would sign Alexa’s Law, which the Legislature passed to allow prosecutors to charge a pregnant woman’s attacker for harming the unborn child as well as the woman. But the heartbreaking story and sincere emotion surrounding this bill made it almost impossible to oppose. The family of Chelsea Brooks and the public wanted this legislation too much to be denied. It eases slippery-slope concerns that bills aimed at protecting fetuses from violence have been passed in more than 30 states without sparking any widespread threat to abortion rights.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The newly moderate Kansas school board has repealed another of the former conservative majority’s standards —“abstinence only” sex education — replacing it with a comprehensive policy that emphasizes abstinence but also provides information on contraception.
It’s a more balanced and educationally sound approach, especially considering a study released last month showing that “abstinence only” programs don’t really change the behavior of teens.
The board also rescinded the standard that parents sign permission slips for their children to attend sex ed classes, instead leaving it up to local school districts to decide.
As always, the changes are advisory and won’t have much of an effect on the Wichita school district, which already emphasizes comprehensive sex ed and parental opt-in, but it’s a welcome shift of focus and sign of the board’s return to mainstream common sense.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted to increase fuel efficiency standards to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That’s an increase of about 40 percent from the current levels of 25 mpg for cars and trucks. Raising the mileage standards is a good way to help the environment and help reduce demand for foreign oil.
posted by Phillip Brownlee
Kansas is one of five states to be targeted by a new coalition of Christian leaders and organization advocating a more humane policy on immigration reform, the New York Times reported. Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform wants Kansans to lobby their lawmakers to strengthen border controls but also give illegal immigrants ways to gain legal residency, a position similar to that held by President Bush, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and others (including The Eagle editorial board). The coalition includes mostly evangelical Christian leaders, such as the Rev. Joel Osteen, whose faith compels them to show compassion for the weak and the alien.
“The attacks were appalling, but they don’t pose the threat politicians make them out to be,” Rosa Brooks wrote in the Los Angeles Times. And she urges the American public to keep the event in perspective. “We’re more likely to die on the road than as a result of al-Qaida’s machinations,” Brooks wrote.
What do you think? Is the American public falling prey to a “fear of terrorism” campaign? Is it making the public too willing to give up civil liberties?
Posted by Patrice Hein
