Daily Archives: March 22, 2008

State Dept. busybodies not busy enough

March 22, 20085:04 a.m.

passports.jpgIt doesn’t sound like another Filegate, but the State Department said Friday that the passport files of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain had been breached by multiple employees, not all of whom have been canned. Why not? Never mind the invasion of privacy and apparent violation of department policy. If employees, contract or otherwise, have time to check out presidential candidates’ passport files, they have too much time on their hands.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under U.S. politics | Comments (142)

Open thread 3/22

March 22, 20085:03 a.m.

thread

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (77)

How could subprime loans cause crisis?

March 22, 20085:02 a.m.

FYI: David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote an easy-to-understand commentary explaining how subprime mortgage loans — which are a small percentage of the mortgage business — could cause so much havoc in the financial markets and threaten our entire economy.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy | Comments (177)

How good was budget for Wichita?

March 22, 20085:01 a.m.

wardjim1.jpgAn Eagle headline Friday said “House budget good for Wichita.” But the budget, which passed the House without a single Democratic vote, was good for Wichita only to a point, argued Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward (in photo), D-Wichita, to The Eagle editorial board. Yes, it contains money for aviation training and research and the Equus Beds recharging project, but “we don’t really take care of people who need our help,” Ward said, noting that the budget left out spending for Meals on Wheels, early childhood education and other social services. Republicans have suggested additional spending needs will be addressed during the wrap-up session that starts April 30.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (5)