As our editorial today states, the local Hispanics upset about a new driver’s license renewal requirement did themselves no favors by shouting at and calling Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon a liar at a Wichita meeting last weekend. They came off as noncitizens demanding rights to which they are not legally entitled. Plus, the residents’ beef is mostly with Congress and the federal immigration boondoggle, not with Wagnon or state lawmakers.
That said, the residents’ plight is real and difficult. Many have visas and are in the process of attaining legal status, but they lack Social Security numbers and proof of citizenship. Some of them have had Kansas driver’s licenses for years. But early this year, the state, as part of the federal Real ID Act, stopped accepting license holders’ affidavits stating that they are legal residents. So suddenly, it’s unlawful for them to drive — something of a necessity in transit-challenged Wichita. The result is that we’re likely to have more people driving without licenses and insurance.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Some of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ testimony before Congress has seemed contradictory and misleading. But perjury charges, which some Senate Democrats want filed against Gonzales, likely would be difficult to prove. What is clear is that Gonzales has little support on Capitol Hill, including among Republicans. “I do not find your testimony credible, candidly,” Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told Gonzales during hearings Tuesday. But Gonzales still has the support of the person who matters most to keeping his job: President Bush. Specter said that Bush was sticking by Gonzales out of personal loyalty — regardless of what Congress or the public thinks.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It’s significant that the board of directors of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce voted Wednesday to oppose expanded gambling in Sedgwick County. That’s not an easy stance to take, given the diversity of business interests that the chamber represents. But the vote speaks to the strong conviction of many business leaders — including past chamber chairmen who urged the board to oppose gambling — that a casino would have an overall negative impact on local businesses and the economy.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A New York Times profile of Ron Paul, the libertarian-oriented Republican presidential candidate who also is a physician and congressman, noted that "there is something homespun about Paul, reminiscent of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.’" "But," the article continued, "there is also something cosmopolitan and radical about him; his speeches can bring to mind the World Social Forum or the French international-affairs periodical Le Monde Diplomatique. . . . The word ‘empire’ crops up a lot in his speeches."
Meanwhile, online political strategist Patrick Ruffini predicted that Paul will come in second in the Iowa straw poll.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The University of Kansas student who posed a video question during the Democratic debate Monday was annoyed that the candidates mostly laughed off his question. Jordan Williams, a junior from Coffeyville, asked via a YouTube video about complaints that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., isn’t black enough and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., isn’t feminine enough.
"I wanted them to indict the American public for having these preconceived notions," Williams told the Lawrence Journal-World. "It’s sad that we live in a country that puts people in such specific boxes of how they are supposed to act."
Welcome to the world of politics.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee