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Daily Archives: Oct. 13, 2007
Abortions still happen, legal or not
Oct. 13, 20071:03 a.m.
Those who think overturning Roe v. Wade will stop most abortions should consider research published Friday. A study of abortion trends from 1995 to 2003 by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization found that women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, the Associated Press reported. “The legal status of abortion has never dissuaded women and couples, who, for whatever reason, seek to end pregnancy,” said Beth Fredrick of the International Women’s Health Coalition.
Of particular concern of the study was that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, nearly 97 percent of which occurred in poor countries.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Edwards aiming for Clinton nose
Oct. 13, 20071:02 a.m.
John Edwards’ father once told him that should he get in a fight and have to hit back, “aim for the nose; you sort of get more bang for your buck there.”
That seems to be Edwards’ general strategy these days, attacking Hillary Clinton, who has jumped out to a 6 percentage point lead in Iowa. Edwards, who has recently criticized Clinton’s policy for Iraq, compares the front-runner to 2004′s Howard Dean. He was expected to be a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination, yet fell to a third place Iowa finish behind Edwards.
“I lived through the inevitability of Howard Dean,” Edwards said.
Posted by Kristin Mehler
Downtown needs leadership
Oct. 13, 20071:01 a.m.
As head of the nonprofit Wichita Downtown Development Corp., Ed Wolverton has been an effective advocate for downtown Wichita during a time of exciting growth, marked by a new arena, downtown condos and apartments, and riverfront development. We wish him well in his new position in Greensboro, N.C. It’s troubling, though, to hear Wolverton say that the group’s pro-casino stance hurt his relations with some (unnamed) government leaders and other downtown groups and developers, and that his group was “treated disrespectfully in some instances.”
The new leader of the organization should have the freedom to advocate vigorously on behalf of downtown, and to take stands without fear of being held back by petty single-issue politics. Downtown needs effective leadership.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Where political song and dance is more than metaphor
Oct. 13, 20071:00 a.m.
The fuss leading up to Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses is the subject of “Caucus! The Musical” by Robert John Ford, now in rehearsals for a late December opening in Des Moines and, in another version, a staging in New Hampshire. “What the candidates do is all song and dance,” Ford told the Los Angeles Times.
Among the musical’s characters is one described as “Pat Robertson blended with a bit of Sam Brownback.”
The lyrics of one song, “Anything for a Vote,” include the lines “Bill Bradley washed my pickups” and “Kucinich cured my hiccups,” as well as this:
“It was caucus week in ’88
“When Mike Dukakis stopped quite late
“And asked, ‘What can I do to win your trust?’
“I said, ‘For starters, you can clean
Behind that soda pop machine,
“’Get rid of all that grime and all that dust.’
“As he was scrubbing down the floors,
“And Windexing the cafe doors,
“I kicked back and enjoyed a root beer float.
“Why tell him I’m Republican
“Until he got the dishes done?
“Anything for a vote.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
