Daily Archives: Nov. 6, 2007

Mukasey vote was a close call

Nov. 6, 200712:23 p.m.

Mukaseymug The Senate Judiciary Committee made a difficult but correct decision today in approving the nomination of Michael Mukasey for attorney general. The full Senate is expected to vote next week.
Mukasey is well qualified but ran into opposition after refusing to tell the Judiciary Committee whether he thought waterboarding was torture. That’s a serious concern, given the loss of United State’s standing on human rights in recent years after reports of torture. But Mukasey must be careful about expressing legal opinions, and he said that he personally found the interrogation procedure "repugnant" and would enforce any waterboarding ban approved by Congress.
Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., the only two committee Democrats who voted to send the nomination forward, also had a practical argument for supporting Mukasey: He’s the best candidate we’re likely to get from the Bush administration.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under U.S. politics | Comments (329)

Giving Ron Paul his due

Nov. 6, 200712:16 p.m.

Paulronhand GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has set a new record for raising the most campaign money in one day on the Internet — an amazing $4.2 million.
Paul, who alone among the Republican field has the guts to call the Iraq War a mistake, is catching on with the public, and arguably the media haven’t been giving him his due, according to this column by Brent Budosky.
"The Ron Paul phenomenon is worth serious attention," he writes, "because in a campaign that is vapid and empty of substance, this guy is the real deal."
Paul is refreshing because he simply says what he thinks, and that helps explain his appeal, even among people who don’t agree with his views. People are tired of the double-talk and carefully parsed and test-marketed stands by candidates.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (54)

Open thread 11/06

Nov. 6, 20071:05 a.m.

Thread

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (31)

Clinton was there for all eight years

Nov. 6, 20071:04 a.m.

Clintonobama Barack Obama and John Edwards appear more frantic by the day to chip away at Hillary Clinton’s stunning lead for the Democratic presidential nomination. She may be unstoppable. One thing Obama told Newsweek about her first lady days deserves to stick, though: “On those areas where there is a record of her having done work, she certainly deserves credit for it. What she can’t do is have it both ways. She can’t embrace every success of Bill Clinton’s presidency and distance herself from every failure of Bill Clinton’s presidency.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (38)

Give writers percentage of high-tech windfall

Nov. 6, 20071:01 a.m.

Writersstrike Many strikes present complicated issues. Then there is the Writers Guild of America strike, which began Monday and could mean even more TV reruns than usual. The Hollywood companies stand to make a fortune off DVD sales, Internet downloads and the like. Writers’ residuals should reflect the windfall. “They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation,” said Jose Arroyo, a “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” writer. “We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money.” Problem solved.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Business | Comments (14)

Stickers for Skippy

Nov. 6, 20071:00 a.m.

Wallaby_bumper_sticker
Wallaby_cartoon Call it another case of life imitating art. Joe Freed, whose runaway wallaby, Skippy, sent Wichita into a frenzy of exotic pet debate, was apparently inspired by one of my recent editorial cartoons.
The drawing was of a bumper sticker that read: “You’ll take my wallaby when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers!” Freed called and asked if I’d mind if he had the stickers printed up. I was flattered and instantly consented.
With a quick hop, skip and a jump, a cartoon became reality.
Meanwhile, the Wichita City Council is scheduled to take a leap into the wallaby controversy at today’s meeting. Visit Freed’s Web site at freeskippy.com if you’d like to support his cause. Or go bounding down to City Hall at 9 a.m. Just look for the building with the strange bumper stickers in the parking lot.
Posted by Richard Crowson

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Wichita government | Comments (6)