Cessna Aircraft’s planned layoffs are twice as big as projected last week. The company is cutting 2,000 positions, vice president Jim Walters said in a memo to employees today. Sixty-day layoff notices will be issued within the next few weeks, with separations to occur in March.
George W. Bush’s last scheduled news conference fit the pattern of his exit interviews so far. He reluctantly acknowledged only a few disappointments (Abu Graib, no WMDs) or mistakes (”Mission Accomplished” banner, some of his rhetoric, and not making immigration reform the centerpiece of his second term) while defending his record on Iraq, post-Katrina New Orleans, detainee treatment, the economy and even Social Security reform (a nonstarter). “I think it’s a good, strong record,” he said, going on to repeat his contention that he’s been criticized because he made tough decisions. He also took issue with the contention that U.S. image has suffered overseas on his watch, insisting that “people still understand America stands for freedom.” Sadly, such comments only underscore the impression that he’s been governing as if in another world.
As he wondered if Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson didn’t pass on a gubernatorial run because he was destined to be the possum to the Peterbilt of either Sam Brownback or Ron Thornburgh, the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Ric Anderson dreamed up some potential candidates who’d give the Democrats “wow” factor in 2010. In addition to 3rd District Rep. Dennis Moore, Topekan Steve Boyda, and what would have to be a party-switching Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, Anderson suggested:
– Former “Daily Show” correspondent Rob Riggle, who grew up in Overland Park. “Riggle is a political satirist who holds a master’s degree in public administration and is a Marine Corps veteran” now working on a CBS sitcom, Anderson says, “but if Al Franken can compete for a Senate seat. . . .”
– Joe Walsh (in photo). “OK, this one is strictly for the ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if?’ file, but the rock guitarist and Wichita native has shown a quirky interest in politics. He staged a mock campaign for president in 1980 and also sought the vice presidency 12 years later. If nothing else, think of the inaugural party.”
Will an added bureaucrat guarantee more competence and less waste in the next presidential administration? In any case, President-elect Barack Obama appointed a chief performance officer last week. Nancy Killefer (in photo), a former Clinton administration official who now directs a management consulting firm, will work with federal agencies to find efficiencies, set performance standards, hold managers accountable and, as Obama put it Wednesday, “put government on the side of taxpayers.” That’s stuff you would have expected from George W. Bush, the “first MBA president.”
Muhammad Saad Iqbal, from Pakistan, was held in U.S. custody for six years, which included being sent to Egypt to be tortured, even though U.S. officials decided after the first two days that he wasn’t a threat, the New York Times reported. Iqbal was never charged with a crime and was finally released last August after spending five years in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Iqbal, who plans to sue the U.S. government, claims that when he was in Egypt he was beaten, covered with a hood, given drugs and subjected to electric shocks.
Cessna Aircraft’s planned layoffs are twice as big as projected last week. The company is cutting 2,000 positions, vice president Jim Walters said in a memo to employees today. Sixty-day layoff notices will be issued within the next few weeks, with separations to occur in March.
