Kansans’ 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
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.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Expectations are so low for the Mideast conference that begins tonight in Annapolis, Md., that success may be defined as no fistfights. The participants are so weak (including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in photo from meeting today with Bush), the issues are so tough and the uninvited so key (Hamas, Iran) that lack of progress will surprise no one. But President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice deserve credit for optimistically — though belatedly — taking a leading role on the issue of a revived peace process. And it was encouraging to see Syria sign on. Maybe the two-day Annapolis event at least won’t go down in the history books as a gathering that made matters worse.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Think Iraq has cooled as an issue in Congress because of the progress of Gen. David Petraeus’ troop surge? A heated exchange on “Fox News Sunday†between Sen. Carl Levin (in photo), D-Mich., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., signaled there will be more Senate floor fireworks over war funding.
Levin: “Why in the name of heaven are we not willing to at least establish a goal for the removal of most of our troops that’s not binding?â€
Graham: “Why in the name of heaven would we undercut the most successful military operation in counterinsurgency in American history, maybe world history, because of this idea of putting — capping troop strength, changing the mission, undercutting Petraeus?â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback took heat for neglecting his Senate duties during his 10-month presidential bid. But he’s trying to make it up to Kansans: He’s now sixth among the Senate’s vote missers, down from third place, with a 32.5 percent record of missed votes that’s better than continuing presidential wannabes John McCain, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama (as well as S.D. Sen. Tim Johnson, who has missed many votes for health reasons). Since Brownback ended his campaign Oct. 19, he has missed only two roll call votes.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
While many religious groups lead the charge in charity and social work, some ministry leaders are driving luxury cars to their obese facilities. The excessive spending has Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, asking: If Jesus rode a donkey, why do ministers need Rolls-Royces? Also, are these ministries misusing their tax-exempt status?
But Georgia Democratic state Rep. Randal Mangham argues that appearances matter. “It’s important for kids to see you don’t have to sell drugs to drive a nice car,†he told the Los Angeles Times.
Does he have a Bible verse to back that up?
Posted by Kristin Mehler
Here’s a heads-up on the increases proposed for room and board at state universities, as discussed this month before a possible vote next month by the Kansas Board of Regents:
The average student at Wichita State University would see room and board rise about $280, or 5 percent, to $5,860 a year.
At the University of Kansas, room and board would increase about $330, or 5.4 percent, to $6,474 a year. At Kansas State, a student could see room and board increase by $364, or 6 percent, to $6,448. At Fort Hays, Emporia and Pittsburg, average housing-and-food rates could go up by 4, 4.9 and 6 percent, respectively, or $241, $276 and $306 more a year.
University officials justifiably point to how reasonable their schools’ fees and tuition are compared with other Midwestern peer institutions, where room and board average $6,800 a year. But those who run higher education in the state need to be as sensitive to price as their would-be students are.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Of the foreign fighters who arrived in Iraq in the past year, 41 percent were from Saudi Arabia and 18 percent were from Libya, both supposed allies in the war on terrorism, the New York Times reported based on documents and computers discovered by U.S. forces during a raid in September. But the problem of foreign fighters in Iraq isn’t as big as the Bush administration often suggests, as their number is very small compared with the number of Iraqi insurgents. For example, of the more than 25,000 inmates in American detention centers in Iraq, only about 290 are foreigners, the Times reported.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
More evidence of why the next few years are crucial in jump-starting an energy revolution: A front-page Wall Street Journal article reported that “peak oil†theories that the world is fast approaching a ceiling on oil production are gaining mainstream acceptance from many energy analysts and oil companies. One expert said we already face a “crisis†in production between 2008 and 2012.
Then there’s the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which warns that the reality of climate change is “unequivocal†and requires immediate action, especially by major nations such as the United States and China.
“If there’s no action before 2012, that’s too late,†said Rajendra Pachauri, a panel scientist and economist. “What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.â€
It’s getting harder and harder to argue for business as usual.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The Hollywood writers’ strike doesn’t seem to be affecting actor/pol Fred Thompson, who got off a pretty good line about Democrats the other day, saying they “are apparently planning for careers in NASCAR. It’s a turn constantly to the left. They will soon wind up back where they started. And some of them are going faster than the others, but they’re all going in same direction in a not very perfect circle.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holma
Stories of what the No Child Left Behind law is doing to teaching can get ugly. So it was interesting to see the upbeat view of the law’s 2014 goal of full proficiency in reading held by Jeri Powers, the De Soto reading specialist and former third-grade teacher who was named Kansas’ 2008 Teacher of the Year: “If you go into teaching with the mind-set that they can’t become proficient, solid readers, they won’t. I know things about the law need to be tweaked, need to be changed. But I have seen some good things come out of it, too. I have noticed over the years that I have students who have achieved higher levels because I’m held more accountable, and I know more clearly what the goal is.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Barack Obama’s biggest selling points are that he tries to be forthright and that he’s “one of us.†So while confessions about experimenting with drugs could sink another candidate, they seem to help Obama, especially with the younger generation, which he hopes will be the boost that puts him in the White House.
Christopher Beam of Slate writes, “Among young voters, to whom Obama is making particularly strong overtures, it’s unlikely anyone will hold his past against him.â€
Posted by Kristin Mehler
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its list of the top 10 last names in America. Squeezed in with the Smiths and Johnsons are the Garcias and Rodriguezes, coming in at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.
The poll backhandedly points to a demographic shift in our country. Studies indicate a possible Hispanic majority in the next 20 years.
Immigration is becoming less and less of an abstract issue that can be dismissed with deportation. It’s literally changing our country, and we are beyond the point of turning back.
Posted by Kristin Mehler
The war in Iraq is going better, North Korea is dismantling its nuclear program, and the budget deficit is falling — all good news for President Bush, the Washington Post reported. Yet his job approval rating remains stuck at 33 percent. Why? It’s likely that much of the public has already made up its mind about Bush and Iraq, and it will take substantial, sustained good news for those views to change significantly.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A promotional excerpt from former White House spokesman Scott McClellan’s upcoming book has the political world buzzing — and calling for an investigation. At issue are McClellan’s assurances to the White House press (and thus the public) in 2003 that then-White House political adviser Karl Rove and former vice presidential Chief of Staff Lewis Libby had no involvement with the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame. But McClellan’s book, “What Happened,†makes this confession:
“It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff, and the president himself.â€
Did President Bush knowingly ask McClellan to lie? The book’s publisher said that Bush told McClellan “something that wasn’t true, but the president didn’t know it wasn’t true.â€
Not surprisingly, Democrats aren’t convinced and have called for an investigation. But GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee may have had the best response. He told MSNBC: “It’s one of those moments where I’m glad to not be a Washington insider.â€
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Kansas Energy Council voted 14-13 last week to remove background information about greenhouse gases from its Web site, exposing a widening rift that has made the advisory group largely irrelevant.
“It’s important to leave it to Congress†to take a position on greenhouse gases, said Jeff Kennedy, a Wichita attorney for Kansas natural gas producers, in supporting the move.
But Bruce Snead, an energy efficiency expert with Kansas State University, called it “ludicrous†to remove from public view information that is relevant to the energy debate.
He’s right. What happened to educating policymakers and the public on energy issues?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Among the things Kansas seemingly misses by being taken as a sure thing for the GOP every four years is the potential to host a presidential debate. Announced Monday, the sites chosen for next fall’s debates between the major party nominees are the University of Mississippi in Oxford (Sept. 26), Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. (Oct. 7), and Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Oct. 15). Washington University in St. Louis landed the vice presidential debate (Oct. 2). Fine choices all, but how could the Commission on Presidential Debates overlook the bid by New Orleans? The excuse that the city hadn’t recovered enough from Hurricane Katrina to handle the event makes no sense, given that the Big Easy is booked for the Sugar Bowl in January and the NBA All-Star game in February.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Many Wichitans have a love-hate relationship with downtown: They wish Wichita’s downtown offered more things to do, but also fewer parking tickets and traffic hassles. A healthy core means a healthy city, though — a view held by 86 percent of respondents to the Wichita Downtown Development Corp.’s latest survey, up 10 points in two years. Slowly but surely, the group’s surveys are showing that people in the community recognize the new life in downtown and realize there is more to come. One result that Sedgwick County officials can hope is reversible, if parking is addressed properly — that 42 percent said the downtown arena project was not good for the community.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
In missing most presidential campaign ads, Kansas doesn’t miss much. One exception is Mike Huckabee’s ad with Chuck Norris, now playing in Iowa. The muscled actor calls the former Arkansas governor a “principled, authentic conservative†who will protect gun rights. But the best lines are Huckabee’s to deadpan: “There’s no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard, only another fist.†“When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he isn’t lifting himself up. He’s pushing the Earth down.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
