Patrick Salerno may be a great candidate for Wichita city manager, but without any other candidates to compare him with, it’s difficult to tell. After saying it planned to bring in other finalists for the position, the City Council rushed approval Thursday to begin negotiating with Salerno for the job. The quick decision presumably was because Salerno is also a candidate for the city manager job in Durham, N.C. But the fact that Durham is having such a difficult time deciding and has considered looking beyond Salerno and its other finalists raises more questions about Salerno, who was forced out of his previous job in Sunrise, Fla.
Bill Clinton would like Hillary Clinton considered as Barack Obama’s running mate, according to Clinton friends — though it is uncertain what Hillary or Obama thinks of the idea. Bill reportedly thinks that if Hillary doesn’t win the nomination this year, the vice presidency might be the best path for her to become president in 2016.
John McCain will satisfy few people with his fuzzy stand on gay marriage, as articulated to Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show. “People should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue,†he told DeGeneres, who plans to marry partner Portia de Rossi in light of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision.
DeGeneres responded by likening gay rights to civil rights and voting rights. “It just feels like there is this old way of thinking that we are not all the same. We are all the same people, all of us. You’re no different than I am. Our love is the same. . . . When someone says, ‘You can have a contract, and you’ll still have insurance, and you’ll get all that,’ it sounds to me like saying, ‘Well, you can sit there; you just can’t sit there.’ That’s what it sounds like to me. It feels like — it doesn’feel inclusive.â€
You can watch the video on the show’s Web site.
Especially as American education slides back toward “the basics,†one element of the landslide “American Idol†victory of David Cook deserves some notice — his gratitude to his Blue Springs, Mo., elementary music teacher, Fredalyn Gentry, who appeared on Wednesday’s finale. Asked what went through his head when he heard his name called, Cook said: “That my music teacher, Mrs. Gentry, made me sing in the Christmas pageant in second grade. Now I’m here. The ride has been pretty nuts.†Let it also be noted that Cook, now a cool rocker, appeared in high school productions of “The Music Man,†“West Side Story,†“The Taming of the Shrew†and “Singin’ in the Rain.†(His pratfall-filled “Make ’Em Laugh†from a 2001 “Singin’ in the Rain†can be seen, sort of, on YouTube.) Who says arts education is a frill?
What a relief that partisanship has been set aside on Capitol Hill regarding Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and his diagnosis of a cancerous brain tumor. When the news of Kennedy’s condition came via BlackBerry to lunching GOP lawmakers Tuesday, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., led his colleagues in a prayer for the liberal lion so many Republicans have reviled for so long. “I prayed for grace and peace for Sen. Kennedy and his family,†Brownback told an aide. “I prayed for healing.†Brownback was a natural choice, given that he and Kennedy have collaborated on issues such as illegal immigration and Down syndrome.
It wasn’t only FBI agents who complained about interrogation techniques used on detainees. According to a Justice Department report released this week, so did former Attorney General John Ashcroft (in photo), FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, then assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division. One of their concerns was that the abuse could taint any legal proceedings against the detainees. And that has happened. A top Pentagon official recently chose to drop charges against a detainee who was roughly interrogated at Guantanamo, the Washington Post reported.
Patrick Salerno may be a great candidate for Wichita city manager, but without any other candidates to compare him with, it’s difficult to tell. After saying it planned to bring in other finalists for the position, the City Council rushed approval Thursday to begin negotiating with Salerno for the job. The quick decision presumably was because Salerno is also a candidate for the city manager job in Durham, N.C. But the fact that Durham is having such a difficult time deciding and has considered looking beyond Salerno and its other finalists raises more questions about Salerno, who was forced out of his previous job in Sunrise, Fla.
