More than five months after they were presented, the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations are finally finding favor in the Bush administration. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and others are developing plans that would emphasize political rather than military progress in Iraq, as the group urged. As it also recommended, the new approach would focus on regional diplomacy and training Iraqi security forces. About time.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, proudly posed Wednesday with their new grandson, Samuel David Cheney. Their lesbian daughter, Mary Cheney, gave birth to the baby and will raise him with her longtime partner, Heather Poe.
To his credit, Cheney has always been consistent in his support for gay relationships, saying during the 2004 campaign that "freedom means freedom for everyone." But the baby is a potent reminder of the extent to which politics is personal.
When those involved are family, you tend to want the best for them, and a chance for dignity and a full life, whether they’re straight or gay.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The British are reporting no significant problems since their integration and acceptance of gays in the military in 2000. The process has gone rather smoothly and hasn’t sparked the problems of harassment, blackmail, discord or bullying that many thought would occur.
So is it time for the United States to do the same and allow openly gay soldiers in the military? Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thinks so. He told the New York Times that when the military is stretched so thin, the United States “must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.”
So now it’s OK because we really need them?
Gen. Peter Pace, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune in March that he supports the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays because he thinks homosexuality is immoral.
Posted by Andie Clum
In her testimony before Congress Wednesday, Monica Goodling, the former White House liaison for the Justice Department, denied any involvement in creating the list of eight U.S. attorneys allegedly fired for political — not performance — reasons. “I did not hold the keys to the kingdom,” she said.
Which leaves the question: Who did hold the keys? Why do we still not know the circumstances surrounding how the list was created and by whom? With all the denials and stonewalling going on, is it really credible at this point to think the White House wasn’t involved?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The presidential candidates’ financial disclosures so far will give voters some perspective on where and what these people are coming from. As a commentary by Michael Goodwin on Wednesday’s Opinion pages put it: “Consider that Democrat Barack Obama, worth more than $1 million, is the pauper in the top-tier club. Republican Mitt Romney tops the fortune fortunate with a stash estimated at $250 million.” Romney could be outmoneyed, though, should the GOP race gain New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, estimated to be worth $5.5 billion to more than $20 billion. Meanwhile, median family income in American in 2005 was $46,326. As Goodwin asks of the millionaires who would be president: “Can they relate to the average American? Are they too rich to understand the struggles of the people they want to serve?”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Wichita school board’s recently completed memorandum of understanding with the Wichita Police Department on school resource officers gives police the sole authority to determine how and when Tasers are deployed in schools. This deferral to police on the actual rules of engagement probably makes sense: Why would school officials micromanage officers’ use of standard equipment they normally carry, whether batons or Tasers?
Still, dealing with adolescent teens in a school setting raises the bar of sensitivity and good judgment. Because Tasers are potentially lethal — a homeless woman in Oklahoma City died last week after having been stunned by a Taser — police should use Tasers on students only when absolutely necessary.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
In declaring that Rudy Giuliani won the second GOP presidential debate, Time magazine’s Joe Klein counted Sam Brownback among the six also-rans, then got painfully specific about why he thinks Kansas’ senior senator is likely to lose even the battle of the religious conservatives to the “colorful and funny” Mike Huckabee: “Brownback appears bland, by comparison, young and not very authoritative, a Senator who seems like a member of the House.” Ouch.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
