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Daily Archives: Aug. 19, 2007
Notable calls for Brownback to pack it in
Aug. 19, 20071:05 a.m.
Some leading conservatives now think Sam Brownback is overstaying his welcome in the presidential race. Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, admires the Kansas senator’s pro-life views but thinks Brownback’s campaign is being driven by “attacks on other candidates for not being pro-life enough, or more precisely for not being pro-life soon enough. I find this pointless.” He also wrote: “The spectacle of such a self-consciously Christian candidate running perhaps the most negative of any of the campaigns is jarring and discomfiting.”
And Townhall.com columnist Michael Medved wrote, “For the sake of Uncle Sam, it’s time for this Sam to say ‘Uncle,’ before he does lasting damage to his honorable reputation by further pointless and slashing attacks on his fellow Republicans.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Cowtown still needs county’s help, too
Aug. 19, 20071:04 a.m.
The Sedgwick County Commission took a step away from Old Cowtown Museum last week in terms of financial support, just as the city of Wichita took over the cash-strapped cultural treasure. About $300,000 of a once-earmarked $519,000 from the county still could end up supporting Cowtown, but $115,000 was redirected as part of the passage of the county’s 2008 budget. It’s not surprising that the county would reassess its role at Cowtown, now that Wichita has opted to be responsible for Cowtown’s operations. But the county has been a crucial partner in working through Cowtown’s problems for the past year. Bowing out now would only make the city’s task more difficult.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Give kids a financial education, too
Aug. 19, 20071:02 a.m.
It’s good to hear that more Wichita teens will be learning basic money management skills along with their reading and writing under a financial planning unit offered to high school history classes districtwide. Few kids are taught how to effectively manage their money, build good credit, and plan for their retirement, noted teacher Marquis Murphy of the Youth Educational Empowerment Project. Yet these are core skills expected of adults.
Society pays a heavy price dealing with credit card debt, bankruptcies and other fallout from financial illiteracy. Money management should be an important part of a student’s education.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Ready to criticize Bush foreign policy
Aug. 19, 20071:01 a.m.
Predictably, the debate over a president’s foreign policy credentials has spread from the Democrats to the Republicans, with some among the latter willing to distance themselves from the Bush years:
“We’ve got to walk more humbly and a lot more wisely than the current president,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. “I really believe this next president needs to go in with knowledge on foreign policy and not learn it on the job” — a swipe at GOP rivals and former governors Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., mocked President Bush’s warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a holdover from the Soviet era: “When I look into Mr. Putin’s eyes, I see three letters: a ‘K,’ and a ‘G’ and a ‘B.’”
“Is he trying to make problems for the United States of America? Absolutely, yes,” McCain added.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Will there be a doctor in the community? County?
Aug. 19, 20071:00 a.m.
Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, made an important point last week about what could ail rural communities in the future: “Young families will not take the risk of raising their families where they cannot access health care,” Moran told a Hays gathering of the Kansas Hospital Association.
Stating his support for the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and his concerns about Medicare reimbursement rate cuts, Moran also said, “Health care costs, I think, is the No. 1 issue we face in this country. . . . Everyone ought to be coming together to try to find ways to at least slow the ever-escalating cost of health care.”
Of course, first everybody has to get past arguing about Michael Moore.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
