Daily Archives: May 27, 2007

Open thread

May 27, 20071:04 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (130)

Tiahrt felt Murtha wrath, too

May 27, 20071:02 a.m.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., stirred up an ethics storm for himself by threatening Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., on the House floor, promising to pay back Rogers for opposing a $23 million earmark for the National Drug Intelligence Center in Murtha’s district. Murtha’s alleged threat — to deny Rogers’ district any earmarked spending projects — would violate the new Democrat-backed House rules, and Rogers unsuccessfully sought a rebuke of Murtha over it on Wednesday. But that was Murtha’s second recent floor outburst. Earlier this month, he similarly went after Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, in a floor exchange blurrily recorded by C-SPAN and now viewable on YouTube.com and in a blistering anti-Murtha ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee. As the Hill newspaper described it, “Murtha vented his anger against Tiahrt for voting to kill NDIC by unleashing a loud, finger-jabbing, spittle-spraying piece of his mind”; his threat against Tiahrt involved pulling support for any Boeing deal involving new military refueling tankers.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has defended Murtha’s reputation over the incidents, but they will test whether she and other Democratic leaders are serious about ethics reform.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas delegation | Comments (40)

National Guard is stretched too thin

May 27, 20071:01 a.m.

“In a year when Congress will be authorizing more than half a trillion dollars in national security spending, there is no excuse for keeping the National Guard on perilously short rations,” a New York Times editorial argued. It noted that despite manpower and equipment shortages, Kansas fortunately had enough Guard members to respond to the Greensburg tornado. “But if the next disaster is a Category 5 hurricane, a terrorist attack or a nationwide flu epidemic, we fear the Guard will not be ready.” And with good reason. The editorial noted: “More than 25,000 National Guard troops are now serving in Iraq, and that number is expected to rise significantly as part of President Bush’s troop buildup. Nearly 5,000 are in Afghanistan and roughly 6,000 are stationed along the Mexican border. Because of equipment left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan, domestically based Guard units have only 40 percent of the equipment they need for disaster response. Nearly 90 percent of stateside Guard units are rated less than fully ready because of equipment and training shortfalls.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Homeland security | Comments (26)

It is true: Wichita is a top city for families

May 27, 20071:00 a.m.

A new national ranking shows what Wichitans have long known: Our city is a great place for families. The 2007 report from Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation concluded that Wichita was the second best place for families to relocate among metropolitan areas between 575,000 and 1.25 million in population (we were edged out only by Knoxville, Tenn.). In addition to considering home and rental prices and taxes, the report also evaluated education and quality-of-life factors such as arts and culture, crime rates, air quality and physicians per capita.
In today’s mobile society in which workers are looking to balance job and family needs, Wichita leaders shouldn’t be shy about sharing our ranking. They should shout it from our very affordable rooftops.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under American life | Comments (39)