Daily Archives: May 28, 2009

Roberts: ‘No’ vote but no bigot

May 28, 200912:41 p.m.

APTOPIX Obama Supreme CourtSen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., isn’t reserving judgment on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. He’s a “no” vote now, just as he was in 1998 when she was confirmed to the federal appeals court. “I did not feel that she was appropriate on the appeals court,” Roberts told KCMO Radio in Kansas City. “Since that time she has made statements on the role of the appeals court that I think is improper and incorrect.”
He discounted Sotomayor’s ethnicity, gender and background as factors that should influence such a vote. Asked whether he risked being tagged as a “bigot” for opposing Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic justice and only the third woman to serve on the court, Roberts said: “I’m a Marine and nothin’ much scares me. That’s not going to be a consideration in my vote.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas delegation, Supreme Court | Comments (67)

20,000 carrying by 2010?

May 28, 20096:03 a.m.

concealedgunJust as the Obama presidency has been a stimulus package for gun dealers, it has stepped up requests for concealed-carry permits in Kansas — to an average 45 per working day in 2009, compared with 23.6 per day in 2008 and 26.4 per day in 2007. “They are concerned about a lot of things and want to get a license before someone changes the law again,” Topeka concealed-carry instructor George Petersen told the Topeka Capital-Journal. So far, more than 4,000 of the 21,000 concealed-carry applicants to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office have been men ages 50 to 60, but six women older than 80 have sought permits. As of last week, the office had issued 19,100 licenses. That means the state is on track to have 20,000 concealed-carry permit holders by 2010.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Guns, Kansas government | Comments (114)

Open thread 5/28

May 28, 20096:02 a.m.

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By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (223)

Dollars to California for taking detainees?

May 28, 20096:01 a.m.

jailbars2In the wake of the voters’ rejection of budget-balancing measures last week, California wants a federal loan guarantee to deal with its $24 billion deficit. Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” columnist E.J. Dionne suggested an appealing deal: “California needs a bailout. And none of the states want the Gitmo prisoners. California agrees to take all of the prisoners, and then it gets its bailout.”
On CNN on Sunday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was cold to the idea of California taking detainees. “We only have one max security prison in California and it’s, right now, overbooked,” Boxer said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also has nixed reopening Alcatraz.
If California doesn’t work out, there is always Hardin, Mont., which has an empty prison and has volunteered to take the detainees — though the state’s two senators oppose the idea.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Terrorism | Comments (8)

Be more generous, like the poor

May 28, 20096:00 a.m.

Like the biblical account of the widow who gave “out of her poverty,” today’s poor are more generous than the rich. Americans in the lowest fifth of income levels gave 4.3 percent of their income to charity, compared with 2.1 percent for those in the highest fifth, according to a McClatchy analysis of 2007 data. Those with the second- and third-lowest income levels also gave a higher percent of their income to charities than the wealthiest Americans. The poor may be more generous because they are more likely than the wealthy to come in contact with and empathize with the needs of others. The poor also have a higher percentage of women and elderly and people who are religious, all of whom tend to be the most generous. It’s also noteworthy that, unlike the wealthy or middle class, the poor generally are unable to deduct their charitable contributions on their tax returns, because they don’t have enough itemized deductions. Yet as with the widow in the Bible, the poor rarely receive public praise or attention for their giving.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (40)