A whopping 64 percent of Americans disapprove of how George W. Bush is doing his job, according to a new Gallup Poll. But it gets even worse. A record 50 percent of the public “strongly disapprove.†That’s the highest rate since Gallup began asking this poll question more than 30 years ago. Richard Nixon had the previous high of 48 percent strong disapproval during the height of the Watergate scandal.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Here is something to consider this Veterans Day: Homeless shelters and agencies are seeing a steady increase in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
More than 400 veterans of these wars already are homeless, and an estimated 1,500 are at high risk of becoming homeless, the New York Times reported. Some of the factors leading to the surge are post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, high housing costs and sexual assault suffered while in the service. Overall, 1 in 4 homeless men are veterans.
“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,†said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.â€
Posted by Kristin Mehler
All the attention went to the offense taken over what Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said about Kansas wine during a Seattle appearance last week. She had other observations about Kansas, though, recalling that at the time of her 2002 election, “I think Kansans, like many American people of a variety of faiths, were alarmed at interference by those who sought to impose their tenets of belief in our public life. If you want to teach creationism, do it in a theology course, but don’t interfere with science classes.â€
She also said: “Most Kansans consider themselves religious — and connect with a specific religion — but don’t want religion practiced in the courtroom or the public schoolroom. A lot of people felt that social justice, the (Iraq) war, poverty — the plight of the least of our brethren — should be what people of faith concern themselves with.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby wants to work with utilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. But utility officials last week said there wasn’t much they could do.
“There is no large-scale, proven technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,†said Karla Olsen, a spokeswoman for Westar Energy, according to an article in the Lawrence Journal-World.
So what are we to make of Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s claims that its experimental algae-biofuels project at the proposed Holcomb plant would have rendered the facility almost carbon-neutral?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
