Paul Wolfowitz may see himself as guiltless in the episode that led to his resignation as president of the World Bank. But nearly everyone else sees the glaring ethical problem in his engineering of a job transfer and exorbitant pay hike for his girlfriend. The fact that the former Defense Department deputy and Iraq war architect believed he was acting in good faith is only further evidence of his lack of good judgment.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Heads should roll over Wichita losing the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships for 2011. The tournament was expected to have a $100 million economic impact.
It’s still unclear exactly why the USBC pulled out; people in the know aren’t talking much. But as our editorial today states, it appears to be another case of City Hall being too inflexible when opportunity knocks. That’s also the conclusion reflected in Carrie Rengers’ business column today.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Another Republican lawmaker is calling on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign: our own Sen. Pat Roberts. "When you have to spend more time up here on Capitol Hill instead of running the Justice Department, maybe you ought to think about it," Roberts said Wednesday.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Sen. John McCain deserves kudos for his strong, principled opposition to torture in Tuesday’s debate. He made the point — not a popular one in an age of TV fantasy “24” ethics — that America’s history and ideals are solidly against torture. And that includes the use of water-boarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
McCain pointed out that the hypothetical “ticking bomb” scenario was a one in a million situation. In such an event, the president should take full responsibility and directly authorize whatever it requires to save lives.
But that’s the rare exception. If America truly is the last best hope of civilization, then it must oppose torture in its laws and practice. McCain said the knowledge that America was morally principled in its treatment of captives gave him strength during his own captivity and torture in Vietnam.
And he pointed out that military leaders — as opposed to armchair warriors — overwhelmingly back his position. See Gen. David Petraeus’ recent strong anti-torture letter to the troops.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
More details about the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program and Alberto Gonzales’ role in it from Senate testimony this week: Gonzales, then the White House counsel, and former chief of staff Andrew Card pressured former Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize the wiretapping while Ashcroft was in intensive care at the hospital. Ashcroft refused because he questioned its legality. President Bush then authorized the spying without the Justice Department’s certification that it was legal.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Prince Harry isn’t going to Iraq after all. Surprise, surprise. Reported threats from militants to kidnap or kill him led Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt to believe the prince’s deployment would pose an “unacceptable” threat to Harry and the men who served alongside him, the BBC reported.
Though some Brits don’t appreciate how the military seems to be placing more value on the prince’s life than on the other soldiers deployed in Iraq, his presence would no doubt put the rest of the regiment at an unnecessary risk.
Posted by Andie Clum
Comedian Stephen Colbert pretended to criticize Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ behavior as an even bigger disaster than the tornado, mocking the White House’s contention that she didn’t properly ask for aid. “How is the White House supposed to know a town has been wiped out?” he said. “They’re not meteorologists.”
On the same subject, comedian Bill Maher offered this among his “New Rules” on his HBO show Friday: “You can’t send the National Guard to Iraq and then claim it’s still here. The helicopters, the Humvees, the men — like Dorothy and Toto, they’re not in Kansas anymore. Sorry, Mr. President, but the last documented case of a National Guardsman able to be in two places at one time was you.”
Earlier in the show, Maher wondered whether the “Greenville” tornado would cause Kansans to make the connection between their GOP voting habits and “the fact that, yes, the relief was slow to come because your National Guard was in a rathole in the Persian Gulf.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
No one can accuse Sen. Sam Brownback of hypocrisy in urging Kansas and other states to divest their state employee pension funds from companies that do business with the genocidal government of Sudan, which Kansas is now doing. Filed Tuesday, Brownback’s financial disclosure forms for the presidential campaign show he has sold tens of thousands of dollars in mutual fund holdings to get his own investments out of Sudan. Good for him.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
