Daily Archives: Sept. 30, 2007

Open thread 9/30

Sept. 30, 20071:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (306)

Is global warming good for Kansas?

Sept. 30, 20071:04 a.m.

Everybody knows that House Speaker Melvin Neufeld (in photo), R-Ingalls, thinks the coal-fired plant expansion proposed near Holcomb is a good thing for Kansas. But Neufeld also thinks global warming is a good thing for Kansas. “We’re raising better crops. Our farm economy is better. Our cattle are better off than they were 100 years ago,” Neufeld told Harris News Service.
Cornfields will offset the plants’ carbon emissions, he said, and no one is sure what’s causing global warming. But “certainly climate change is a benefit,” he said.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Environment | Comments (172)

Brownback right about GOP debate no-shows

Sept. 30, 20071:02 a.m.

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback missed six of 11 Senate votes last week, including Thursday’s reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (which he voted against in August). His missed-vote record for the year is 36.7 percent, continuing to demonstrate how difficult it is to run for president while doing the work of the Senate. Brownback deserves credit for something else he did Thursday, though — showing up at Tavis Smiley’s GOP debate on minority issues, unlike top-tier candidates Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mitt Romney. “I think this is a disgrace that they are not here,” Brownback said at the debate. “I think it’s a disgrace to our country. I think it’s bad for our party, and I don’t think it’s good for our future.” He’s right.
Brownback enjoyed one victory in the Senate this week, having co-sponsored with Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., the resolution promoting a three-state political solution in Iraq that passed the Senate 75-23.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (22)

Giuliani too weird for White House?

Sept. 30, 20071:01 a.m.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board admires Rudy Giuliani’s campaign and record as mayor of New York City but devoted a full editorial last week to Giuliani’s strange behavior, most recently taking a phone call from his wife during his speech to the National Rifle Association. He once took two calls during an Oklahoma appearance, the editorial noted; combined with his messy marital history and family relationships, such incidents risk putting off voters. The editorial went on: “Giuliani ought to be aware of this vulnerability and do nothing to compound it. ‘That was just weird,’ one NRA audience member told the New York Post about the phone interruption. Mr. Giuliani doesn’t need more weird.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (26)

Tough to stand firm against helping kids

Sept. 30, 20071:00 a.m.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wasn’t kidding Tuesday when she referred to the legislative body as “the Children’s Congress” in trying to persuade President Bush not to veto the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. As Dana Milbank of the Washington Post noted, this year alone there have been hundreds of bills “for the kids,” including the “Kids Come First Act, the Protect Our Children First Act, the Prepare All Kids Act, the Early Childhood Investment Act, the Play Every Day Act, the Safe Babies Act, the Children’s Dental Health Improvement Act, and the Early Detection of Dyslexia in Children Act.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress | Comments (30)