It seems in keeping with Donald Rumsfeld’s tenure as defense secretary that he did not use the words “Iraq” or “war” in his resignation letter, finally obtained this week by the Associated Press. The reality of the mess Rumsfeld helped start never seemed to register on him. More interesting is the letter’s date, a day before the Nov. 7, 2006, election. Ousted congressional Republicans may find little comfort in White House spokeswoman Dana Perino’s statement that the president delayed the announcement a day to avoid “the appearance of trying to make this a political decision.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was the big winner in Saturday’s Iowa straw poll, finishing second even though he spent a lot less money than other candidates. Part of his success is that Huckabee is “a candidate of considerable humor who stands apart in this oh-so-serious field of presidential contenders,” the New York Times reported. “Huckabee’s use of humor amounts to a style of politicking that many audiences have found engaging, and that stands out in an era of bloggers and journalists recording a candidate’s slightest slip,” the Times noted, adding that “his humor may go a long way in explaining why he finished ahead of a decidedly more somber Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Bush administration is close to declaring Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard unit a terrorist group — the first time a standing army of a foreign government has been so identified. The move would allow the United States to freeze assets and pursue other get-tough measures against the guard’s extensive networks, which the administration believes is supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As important, it would pressure foreign companies in Russia, China and elsewhere that enable Iran’s pursuit of uranium processing, which Tehran continues in defiance of United Nations efforts to shut it down.
Some worry the move could endanger diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States. But Iran, long identified as a state sponsor of terror, needs to know that there will be real consequences for defying the international community and acting in bad faith.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“It’s up to Sen. Brownback whether third best in Iowa’s straw poll is worth the third-worst Senate attendance record.” — Manhattan Mercury editorial
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Using marijuana in Kansas is a misdemeanor for first-timers and a felony for repeat offenders. But former Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan, a cancer survivor, wants to allow the use of marijuana, which can ease pain or chemotherapy-caused nausea, with a doctor’s prescription when other drugs fail. “If there’s a way to take away from that suffering, we ought to use it,” Stephan argued this week. He plans to raise the issue as part of the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition’s news conference Friday at the Statehouse.
His advocacy will get people talking, but 12 years after the Legislature last considered it, this still seems like a tough sell for conservative Kansas.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
