Last week the number was five — years of the Iraq war. This week the number is 4,000 — U.S. deaths so far in that war. As a military spokesman said, each death is “equally tragic,†lessening the significance of the tally. And, of course, the cost in U.S. lives does not compare with that of Iraqis, 82,000 to 89,000 according to one creditable count. There also are reasons to believe in the surge strategy, which has shown fragile progress in securing Iraq. But as we observed in October 2005, when the 2,000th U.S. death occurred, such milestones raise the question: “Is the sacrifice worth it?â€
With Congress having raised the federal minimum wage last year, it seemed only a matter of time before Kansas would do something — anything — about its embarrassing $2.65-an-hour minimum wage, the lowest in the land. But the majority of House Republicans saw no urgency last week, blocking a vote to increase the wage by returning a bill to committee. Officials estimate that the wage applies to 19,000 workers at small Kansas companies that aren’t covered by federal wage laws. The roll call is here.
“We’re paying the price for willful amnesia,†New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote about the financial crisis. “We chose to forget what happened in the 1930s — and having refused to learn from history, we’re repeating it.†Krugman argues that the banking crisis that followed the 1929 stock market crash “showed that unregulated, unsupervised financial markets can all too easily suffer catastrophic failure. As the decades passed, however, that lesson was forgotten — and now we’re relearning it, the hard way.â€
The 16 appointments so far to the citizen committee helping search for a new city manager say a lot about the Wichita City Council’s priorities — a predominance of real estate and business professionals, with a few nods to diversity and neighborhoods. To be sure, these people know Wichita well and will bring distinct perspectives to the search. But many have agendas, too. And there’s a good case to be made that members Ben Sciortino and Greg Ferris do not belong on such a panel, because their work has involved lobbying the City Council.
The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com:
OBAMA CONVERTS TO JUDAISM; Bold Attempt to Settle Religion Issue
LEWINSKY RELEASES WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULE; Heavily Redacted Document Raises Questions
FERRARO: I WISH I WERE A BLACK MAN; Racist Comments Wouldn’t Be Racist, Former Congresswoman Claims
SPITZER RESIGNS FROM EMPERORS VIP CLUB; Client No. 10 to Succeed New York Guv
BUSH REVEALS TAP WATER AS PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN; Hopes Doped Water Will Be His Legacy, President Says
Last week the number was five — years of the Iraq war. This week the number is 4,000 — U.S. deaths so far in that war. As a military spokesman said, each death is “equally tragic,†lessening the significance of the tally. And, of course, the cost in U.S. lives does not compare with that of Iraqis, 82,000 to 89,000 according to one creditable count. There also are reasons to believe in the surge strategy, which has shown fragile progress in securing Iraq. But as we observed in October 2005, when the 2,000th U.S. death occurred, such milestones raise the question: “Is the sacrifice worth it?â€
