As arrests multiply in the cases of the failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, the British investigation looks more and more impressive. Authorities seem to have spent the two years since the transit bombings sharpening their intelligence gathering on extremist elements. They also got lucky, though, because the would-be bombers made so many mistakes. It’s hardly encouraging news that those in custody include at least three physicians — individuals who don’t fit the terrorist profile of a disaffected, disenfranchised youth. Why would such educated professionals be drawn to such activities?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Mark McCormick’s column today relates a shocking incident in which several bystanders in a Wichita convenience store ignored or actually stepped over a woman who had been stabbed in an altercation and was bleeding to death. One customer paused to take a picture of the victim with her cell phone. What they didn’t do was offer help or call police.
The woman later died at a hospital — in part, we’d say, from criminal neglect.
As Police Chief Norman Williams asked, “What happened to our respect for life?”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
What do we make of this? A Washington Post piece reports that an embattled President Bush, besieged by bad news and dismal polls, has been inviting leading historians, theologians and philosophers in to help him find answers to questions such as: What is the nature of good and evil in the post-Sept. 11 world? How will history judge what we’ve done? Do people abroad hate the United States or just Bush’s personality?
(On that latter question, one historian told Bush it was partly him they hate.)
Sounds like a remarkable exercise for a president not given to self-examination or reflection. Give Bush some credit for even asking the Big Questions.
Still, the dialogue doesn’t appear to be leading Bush to any change of course or epiphany.
Friends describe the president as “serene” and “amazingly calm.” That’s because, they say, Bush believes he’s doing the right thing and his legacy is in the hands of history and God.
In other words, despite the rap sessions, he’s pretty much made up his mind.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Good for the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission for addressing public concerns about the availability and accessibility of arena parking, even as the county awaits a mobility and parking study. “I think that time has arrived that we need to come together publicly and give the public an understanding that we’re working together and trying to solve parking issues,” County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer said at a joint city-county meeting Friday, drawing assent from Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer. Obviously, the other partner in this issue is private business, which should and will have a role in meeting parking needs. But potential arenagoers need to know their elected officials are listening to them, and not just to consultants, about where they’re expected to park.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Recent articles in the state have reflected how right Alexa Posny seems for her new job as Kansas education commissioner, underscoring her experience as an educator and, most recently, director of the U.S. Education Department’s special ed programs and her record as an advocate for student achievement — “a cheerleader for all kids,” as she puts it. As expectations for Kansas public schools ramp up, thanks to the No Child Left Behind law and state funding increases, it will be great to again have somebody in that crucial role who not only knows and values what the schools are doing right but also knows what she’s doing.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
