President Bush got what he wanted, as Congress passed a war-funding bill without a timetable for withdrawal. But unless there is significant progress in Iraq in the next few months, he can expect an even bigger battle when this funding runs out on Sept. 30. And the majority of Americans won’t be on his side. In fact, they already aren’t. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll found support for the war at its lowest level yet, with 61 percent of Americans saying that we should have stayed out of Iraq and 76 percent believing things are going badly there. Most Americans also support a timetable for withdrawal, with 63 percent saying the United States should set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq sometime in 2008. How long can a war continue if the public doesn’t support it?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The new Pew survey of Muslim Americans finds that they are generally satisfied with their communities and more moderate in their beliefs than Muslims in Western Europe — both reasons why they have more successfully assimilated here.
But the survey also revealed that 47 percent of respondents identified themselves as Muslims first and Americans second, and only 40 percent believe that groups of Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Moreover, 15 percent of Muslim Americans under age 30 said they believe that suicide bombings often or sometimes can be justified in defense of Islam.
There’s no denying that those numbers are disturbing.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The war of words continues between Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg over access to gun records.
Bloomberg has blamed the so-called Tiahrt amendment, which restricts access to federal gun-record trace data, for preventing local police departments from going after bad-apple firearms dealers — and he’s gone so far as to run TV ads in Wichita accusing Tiahrt of endangering public safety.
Tiahrt maintains that the restrictions are needed to protect undercover investigations.
Although they’ve made some efforts in recent months to negotiate, the two sides seem as far apart as ever, judging from an article in the New York Sun in which Tiahrt fired back at Bloomberg’s campaign: “I think it’s a self-serving effort to put a political agenda above the safety of our law enforcement officers.”
Bloomberg’s office countered that Tiahrt is the one with an agenda: shielding firearms dealers at the behest of the National Rifle Association: “If Todd Tiahrt is worried about protecting gun dealers who are violating the law, then we have to part ways,” said John Feinblatt, Bloomberg’s criminal justice coordinator.
Neither side seems willing to back down. But isn’t there a way to share the data with local police without endangering undercover cops? After all, before the Tiahrt amendment passed in 2003, the records were routinely shared, with no evidence that any officer was placed in danger.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Hurricane season starts on June 1, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency admits it isn’t ready. Not only are emergency response plans not completed, the levees that failed in New Orleans in 2005 are still not up to code. The director of the National Hurricane Center, which is responsible for predicting and tracking hurricanes, complained about not having enough resources. And as was our own governor recently noted, the National Guard is missing people and equipment needed for emergency responses.
While states are preparing on their own, citizens along the east and Gulf coasts must be wondering if FEMA and the United States will be there to back them up. Don’t count on it.
Posted by Andie Clum
One moment in the first GOP presidential debate has been little discussed — when 7 of 10 candidates nixed the idea of changing the Constitution to allow naturalized citizens (such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican National Committee chairman Mel Martinez) to run for president. Only Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee said yes; John McCain said maybe. Frank Rich of the New York Times saw this as pandering to the anti-immigration fervor in the nation. But is that link clear? Isn’t reluctance to amend the Constitution a valid reason?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
