Daily Archives: Nov. 27, 2007

How much is Kline working, where is he living?

Nov. 27, 20071:36 p.m.

KlinesmilingGranted, you don’t have to be in the office to be working. But a Kansas City television station’s report that Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline averages only 29 hours per week at the office — based on a review of Kline’s parking key data — supports complaints that he isn’t doing much to earn his $143,000-a-year salary.
The station also questioned whether Kline really lives in Johnson County, as required by law. During a several-week period, the TV station watched the apartment that Kline claims is his residence and never saw him arriving or leaving. But it did see him at his home in Topeka.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (223)

Huckabee right about Saudis

Nov. 27, 20071:34 p.m.

HuckabeemugKudos to GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for his straight talk on America’s sick relationship with its “ally” in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia.
Huckabee blasted a Saudi court’s outrageous decision to punish a woman who was gang-raped by giving her six months in jail and 200 lashes.
He also suggested that America’s willingness to look the other way on such human rights abuses was the direct result of our dependence on Saudi oil.
“America has allowed itself to become enslaved to Saudi oil. It’s absurd. It’s embarrassing,” he said.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (173)

Open thread 11/27

Nov. 27, 20071:05 a.m.

Thread

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (167)

Paperwork sparse on Clinton as first lady

Nov. 27, 20071:04 a.m.

Glickman If Hillary Clinton wants to be assessed in part on her eight-year record as first lady, the nation ought to be able to access that record. Yet as the Chicago Tribune reported, the only item released by the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library involving Hillary Clinton is a condolence letter she wrote. Among the unavailable items are 3 million pages of documents relating to her health care task force. The glacial pace of government archivists is partly to blame, but both Clintons should do more to expedite the release of the first lady’s papers.
And among the items being withheld by federal archivists for stated reasons of confidentiality, the Los Angeles Times reported, is a May 1993 memo to Clinton about a meeting with then-Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., and then-Rep. Dan Glickman (in photo), D-Wichita. Glickman told the Times that Clinton was in “listening mode” during the meeting, which occurred when he and Kassebaum were pushing their own health care proposal: “I don’t think there was anything in the proposal that Sen. Kassebaum and I had that was particularly secret. It was not anything that I would call of national import.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (105)

When doctors are also drug sales reps

Nov. 27, 20071:02 a.m.

Doctorwithpatient If you have ever worried about whether doctors have too cozy of a relationship with pharmaceutical companies, a long commentary by a Massachusetts psychiatrist in the New York Times magazine won’t ease those fears. He recounts how even conscientious doctors can be lured (with plenty of cash) into becoming de facto sales representatives for the drug companies.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Health and safety | Comments (25)

Coal-plant rejection hurt Sebelius some

Nov. 27, 20071:01 a.m.

SebeliuscoallovinKansans’ opinion of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius suffered some in the days after her administration declined to allow two proposed coal-fired power plants near Holcomb, though it is still high. She dropped 5 points in a month to 64 percent job approval in the latest SurveyUSA poll. That’s her lowest statewide approval rating since May. The biggest drop was west of U.S. 81. In October, she had a 76 percent approval in western Kansas; this month, it plummeted to 53 percent. In the Wichita area, Sebelius’ approval dropped from 67 to 56 percent in a month. But, hey — she’s up 5 points in eastern Kansas (to 72 percent) and holding strong among liberals (76 percent).
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (22)

Fire station site no bargain

Nov. 27, 20071:00 a.m.

Firetruckwichita Long term, what matters is that south Wichita will get its much-needed new fire station next year, and that City Hall has worked out a deal to buy a house on the preferred site at Denker and Hydraulic. But short term, as they make the purchase final today, City Council members should expect some Wichitans to question whether the site really was worth the $225,000 price — especially because Cornejo & Sons had offered the city free land for the fire station seven blocks away. But as City Council member Jim Skelton told The Eagle: “That station is going to be able to provide the fastest service to the most people.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Wichita government | Comments (11)