Daily Archives: April 14, 2009

Was Obama’s bow a big deal?

April 14, 200912:06 p.m.

BRITAIN G20 PALACE“Whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, Americans are often formidably awkward around monarchs,” columnist Kathleen Parker wrote about Barack Obama’s bow to Saudi King Abdullah, along with other awkward gestures by George W. Bush and other former presidents. Parker noted that every gesture and word counts when you’re the leader of the free world and said she believes that Americans should not bow to monarchs. Still, she said, the bow wasn’t as big a deal as some tried to make it. “Obama probably was trying to be respectful and, it appears, may even have lost his balance a little,” Parker said. “On a bright note, he didn’t throw up on the king, as George H.W. Bush managed to do upon the Japanese prime minister’s lap during dinner.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Obama | Comments (65)

Cap-and-trade too complicated?

April 14, 20096:04 a.m.

coalplant310Columnist and best-selling author Thomas Friedman noted how opponents of a cap-and-trade tax on carbon have been singing the same tune: President Obama “is going to raise your taxes and sacrifice U.S. jobs to combat this global-warming charade.” Americans for Prosperity had a commentary on Saturday’s Opinion page that made such an argument. Friedman agrees that the cap-and-trade proposal has problems — but because it is too complicated, not because it raises taxes or because global warming isn’t a serious concern.
“Americans will be willing to pay a tax for their children to be less threatened, breathe cleaner air and live in a more sustainable world with a stronger America,” Friedman wrote. “They are much less likely to support a firm in London trading offsets from an electric bill in Boston with a derivatives firm in New York in order to help fund an aluminum smelter in Beijing, which is what cap-and-trade is all about. People won’t support what they can’t explain.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Energy, Environment | Comments (102)

Open thread 4/14

April 14, 20096:03 a.m.

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By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (296)

Obama has anti-abortion groups in growth mode

April 14, 20096:02 a.m.

abortionanti1Just as Barack Obama’s election has been a stimulus package for the guns-and-ammo industry and Rush Limbaugh’s career, it’s been a boon for anti-abortion groups. The American Life League said its contributions have been 30 percent up over last year. Americans United for Life plans to expand its operations. An online petition calling on Notre Dame to cancel its invitation for the pro-choice president to speak at commencement was up to 262,000 signers Monday. “A lot of activists are waking up,” Joy Yearout, political director of the Susan B. Anthony List, told Politico. “For eight years we had President Bush and his veto pen to protect us — and we don’t have that anymore.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Abortion, President Obama | Comments (90)

Brownback: Faith helped make America strong

April 14, 20096:01 a.m.

brownbackraisedhand5“America has always been, and remains, a deeply religious nation. At our best, we live up to our national ideals of defending the equality and dignity of each and every human life. Public policy decisions are all about deciding what type of nation we shall be. And the sacredness of the human person is a principle that tends to get lost in that decision-making process as societies become more secular.” — Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., in a CNSNews.com commentary about polls showing a decline in religious observance

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas delegation, Religion | Comments (29)

Take bird-strike threat seriously

April 14, 20096:00 a.m.

airplanetakeoff5It’s good that city of Wichita and Sedgwick County leaders met Friday to study the threat of bird strikes at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, and that they are trying to come up with a comprehensive plan for land use around the airport. Last year, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and the Sedgwick County Commission — with notable objections by commissioners Kelly Parks and Gwen Welshimer — dismissed this threat in approving a 31-acre pond just three miles south of the airport. Airport officials warned that the pond not only could increase the hazard for aircraft crews, passengers and people on the ground but also risk revocation or suspension of the airport’s operating certificate and the loss of future federal grant-in-aid funding.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Aviation, Sedgwick County, Wichita government | Comments (2)