Judging from the content of the weekend news shows, the resignation of one Idaho senator matters far more than the resignation of the nation’s attorney general. On the formerissue, there were suggestions of a double standard at work in the GOP, given that Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is out (ahem) but Louisiana Sen. David Vitter apparently has been forgiven for his admitted sin as a client of the "D.C. Madam."
One reaction stood out in all the Republicans’ rush to abandon Craig: "I’d like to see Larry Craig seek to withdraw the guilty plea, and fight the case. I’d like to see him fight the case, because I think he could be vindicated," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on "Fox News Sunday." Was that a rare show of party loyalty? Was it naivete? Or is Specter serious in thinking a conservative Republican can survive an arrest and guilty plea involving soliciting gay sex in a men’s room?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The new book "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush," by journalist Robert Draper, has a lot of juicy anecdotes about dissent in the White House, the Washington Post reported. For example, Draper claims that Karl Rove told Bush not to pick Dick Cheney as a running mate, calling the choice "worse than a safe pick — it was needy." And Rove reportedly expressed concern about selecting Harriet Miers for the U.S. Supreme Court but was "shouted down."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Wichita’s school district is using $1,500 bonuses to try to keep teachers at its high-poverty schools. In an Education Week commentary about the teacher turnover at the nation’s inner-city schools, writer Jonathan Kozol points to the “mandated miseries” forced on such schools by “that mighty angst machine known as No Child Left Behind.” Teachers say they are discouraged by the “systematic crushing of their creativity and intellect, the threatened desiccation of their personalities, and the degradation of their sense of self-respect under the weight of heavy-handed, business-modeled” instructional systems, Kozol wrote. Sounds like a bad situation in which to work, let alone learn. Among other things, Kozol counsels young teachers to stand fast to their principles and reach out to veteran colleagues, their students’ parents and their principals.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Did you catch this? A Colorado Springs school banned tag because some kids — gasp! — were being chased against their will. More evidence that we’re turning kids into sheltered wimps.
“It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,” said Cindy Fesgen, assistant principal of the school, who said running games are permitted as long as kids don’t chase one another.
Good grief. And we wonder why there’s an obesity crisis among kids.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The Sen. Larry Craig scandal has alerted us to toe-tapping and secretive hand gestures. As a public service, here are some other subtle come-on signals to avoid in public bathroom stalls:
– A sock puppet appears from beneath the divider and asks you your name.
– A voice from the next stall sings, “Come Fly With Me.”
– A hand slides a Senate business card into your stall and asks, “What do you think of that?”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Eight of the 10 past living Kansas lieutenant governors met in Topeka last week, the first-ever such reunion. They had lunch with current Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson (in photo), who organized the gathering as part of a volunteering initiative he is spearheading. “There were a lot of stories told,” Parkinson said. Shelby Smith of Wichita, who served from 1975 to 1979, said the past officeholders joked about how, during their tenures, their most important duty was going to the Liberal pancake race each year. When Smith was in office, he joked that his job was to go on top of the Capitol dome and watch for approaching glaciers. Jokes aside, Parkinson said that listening to his predecessors made it clear that how much a lieutenant governor can accomplish depends on his relationship with the governor.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
