Probable GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson had said that he didn’t recall doing any lobbying work for a pro-choice organization, but billing records indicate he spent nearly 20 hours helping the group that wanted to ease some federal restriction on abortion counseling, the New York Times reported. Will that make him not pure enough for the GOP base, even though Thompson’s voting record while he was a senator was solidly pro-life? Perhaps more troubling for pro-lifers is that Thompson said in a 1994 campaign questionnaire that he didn’t believe abortion should be criminalized. Based on states’ rights, he also has opposed a constitutional amendment banning all abortion.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The board of directors of Dow Jones agreed to a tentative deal Tuesday night to sell the Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch (in photo) and his News Corp. for $5 billion. The final decision must still be made by the Bancroft family, which has a controlling interest in Dow Jones.
Former Eagle editor Buzz Merritt argued in a commentary on our pages this week that the sale matters to you even if you don’t read the Journal. That’s because most of the national and world news come from five providers: the Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press.
If the owners of major newspapers are more interested in squeezing out profits than in quality news reporting, democracy suffers — because citizens don’t get the information they need to make good decisions and monitor the government.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Wondering how more than 200 U.S. mayors failed to convince Congress to repeal the Tiahrt amendment restricting access to gun-trace data?
“Right issue, wrong approach,” Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., told the New York Sun, characterizing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s lobbying as threatening. “I think the mayor, every so often, forgets that we live . . . in a legislative world.”
Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson opined in the Chicago Sun-Times (referring to “Tom Tiahrt”) that “both Democrats and Republicans are terrorized by the gun lobby.” The New York Times editorialized: “Leadership of Congress has shifted to the Democrats, but the National Rifle Association’s power to block sensible steps to curb gun violence endures.”
And in an editorial “Dodging a bullet” (that referred to “Ted Tiahrt”), the Colorado Springs Gazette argued that gun-trace data already is available to local law enforcement agencies: “Current law gives them the access they need to be able to link firearms used in different crimes, so the gun-controllers’ claim that the amendment cripples that ability doesn’t hold water.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Tuesday’s teleconference with United States Bowling Congress officials left Wichita leaders with a go-ahead to rebid for the 2011 Open Championships. That’s a “maybe” rather than an “all is forgiven.” But it’s a great development considering the May heartbreak of the city’s loss of the 2011 tournament, which will bring an estimated $100 million and 60,000 to 80,000 bowlers to any host city. It means whatever Wichita did wasn’t fatal to its potential to host future Bowling Congress events. Now, leaders with the city and the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau need to take full advantage of the second chance, being as accommodating as possible and making their rebid an offer too good to refuse.
Posted by Rhonda Holman