9 hours and 45 minutes ago
There may be good science behind a federal task force recommendation that women in their 40s don’t need annual mammograms, but it was bad timing for the Obama administration. Coming in the midst of the heated debate about health care reform, the recommendation became instant fodder for those claiming that the government is going to ration health care and get between patients and their doctors. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius responded Wednesday that the task force does “not set federal policy and they don’t determine what services are covered by the federal government.” But that’s unlikely to quell concerns.
The campaign of Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, looked childish and desperate in sending out an e-mail falsely claiming that Senate rival Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, had been endorsed by the Communist Party USA. But as Washburn University political science professor Robert Beatty hoped, perhaps the incident may lead to an intelligent discussion about U.S. policy. Perhaps — though probably not. As Moran correctly argues, decades of U.S. embargoes haven’t brought an end to communist rule in Cuba and actually may have helped prop it up. Lifting some trade and travel bans to Cuba would benefit Kansas farmers and could help spread democracy.
The public is evenly divided on the proposed health care reforms, with 49 percent opposed and 48 percent supportive, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The public also doubts that the reform will help control costs, with 56 percent saying that overall health care costs will go up. But 66 percent support requiring all large employers to provide health insurance coverage or face fines, and 53 percent support a public insurance option (72 percent support one limited to those who lack access to coverage).
The public still favors President Obama over Republicans in handling the economy (52 to 37 percent) and health care (50 to 37 percent), though the gaps have narrowed some during the year. And 61 percent of those surveyed think that GOP leaders mainly criticize Obama’s proposals without offering alternatives.
In 2003, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., made a principled argument against filibustering judicial nominations. “We are really changing the constitutional design of what it takes to basically nominate and approve any judge,” he said. In 2005, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., also correctly argued that “all of the president’s nominees — both now and in the future — deserve a fair up or down vote.” So shouldn’t that mean that they both were among the 10 GOP lawmakers who voted Tuesday to end the filibuster of President Obama’s nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton (in photo)? It should, but they weren’t.
Native Kansan and Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., hopes that lawmakers from both parties will finally declare a truce in their partisan fights over judicial nominations, thus ending such hypocrisy. “The Hamilton nomination would be a good time to do that,” he said. But apparently not for Roberts and Brownback.
Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, was one of nearly four dozen Republican and Democratic House members who submitted statements into the official record about health care reform that were written, in whole or in part, by lobbyists for a biotechnology company, the New York Times reported. Jenkins and Reps. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Lee Terry, R-Neb., used nearly identical words in criticizing the health care reform bill, but each also said: “I do believe the sections relating to the creation of a market for biosimilar products is one area of the bill that strikes the appropriate balance in providing lower cost options.” So not only do lobbyists help write bills, they help write what lawmakers say.
UPDATE: Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., also submitted text written by lobbyists.
Kansas’ GOP members of Congress oppose cutting billions of dollars in federal subsidies to privately run Medicare Advantage plans as a way to help pay for health care reform. But Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger says the cuts make sense. “When Congress is looking for savings, this is a very appropriate place to look,” Praeger told the Kansas Health Institute News Service. “I mean, keep in mind, Advantage plans are supposed to be costing less, not more.” Praeger said the private plans currently cost 13 to 14 percent more than traditional Medicare.
Officially, the Great Recession is over, at least for the United States. The economy recorded 3.5 percent annual growth for the third quarter of 2009. Fortunately, the administration of then-President Bush recognized the severity of the crisis and provided emergency financing for U.S. banks teetering on the brink of insolvency. Those efforts were followed up by the stimulus measures passed by his successor, President Obama. A $787 billion package is still percolating through the U.S. economy, providing a much-needed boost for spending as demand evaporated. Additional measures found some success, such as the Cash for Clunkers program, which encouraged consumers to trade in old cars for newer, more fuel-efficient models, and a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers that helped revive a housing market whose implosion had set off the global crisis. Orders for durable goods rose 22.3 percent in the third quarter. That number was eclipsed by the 23.4 percent rise in housing sales, spurred by an $8,000 tax credit. The result was 3.5 percent growth, a return to the average rate recorded over the past 80 years. — Japan Times editorial, iStockAnalyst.com
The recession is over, we are told. The Commerce Department announced that the economy grew in the third quarter of 2009 by 3.5 percent. Great, huh? Maybe not. About half that growth came from the Cash for Clunkers program, which transferred into the third quarter auto sales that would have occurred later. The tax credit of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers stimulated some house sales. Most of the effect of the $787 billion stimulus package has already been felt. “There were few signs in the new data,” wrote the Washington Post’s Neil Irwin, “that the private sector will be able to sustain that growth once the government pulls back.” No one has much confidence that unemployment will decline significantly any time soon — or that the policies of the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders will stimulate the creation of new jobs. Higher tax rates on high earners, which will take effect next year, will certainly not create jobs. — Michael Barone, the Washington Examiner
The amount of carbon dioxide that all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in the world collectively emit into the atmosphere is “actually less than the carbon emissions every year that result from the chopping down and clearing of tropical forests in places like Brazil, Indonesia and the Congo,” columnist Thomas Friedman wrote. “We are now losing a tropical forest the size of New York State every year, and the carbon that releases into the atmosphere now accounts for roughly 17 percent of all global emissions contributing to climate change.”
Sarah Palin has begun media promotion for her book, which complains about the media. She taped an appearance on “Oprah” in which she says she knew that her interview with Katie Couric went badly (though her book accuses Couric of “badgering” her). She’s also doing a Barbara Walters interview. Palin reportedly complains in the book about how she was handled by the McCain campaign. She also said that she was stuck with a $50,000 legal bill related to vetting as a vice president candidate, but the McCain campaign said it had no knowledge of that and didn’t think it happened.
Critics have complained that President Obama is “dithering” on deciding whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. But two classified cables sent to Washington, D.C., by the U.S. ambassador in Kabul illustrate how the decision isn’t as simple as some portray it. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, a retired three-star general who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006-07, warned against sending more troops until Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government becomes less corrupt and more competent, the Washington Post reported. The success of a surge in troops depends on a partnership with the Afghan government, and U.S. diplomats say they have seen little sign that Karzai plans to deal with corruption and other management problems.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that the United States has limited options in dealing with Karzai.
The Kansas Department of Corrections could help its budget problems if it could deport nearly 300 inmates who are potentially illegal immigrants. But doing so either isn’t possible because of a lack of extradition agreements or may not be effective. Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz told a joint House-Senate committee Tuesday that about 80 of 293 inmates who were born in other countries and may be illegal immigrants might be eligible for deportation, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. But deportation may not guarantee that inmates would remain in prison in their home countries. If inmates are freed, they could return to the United States, which might endanger public safety, Werholtz said. The inmates in question come from 28 different countries, though most (200) are from Mexico.
Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats, 48 to 44 percent, among registered voters on the latest Gallup survey question asking: “If the election was held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your congressional district?” Last month, Republicans trailed by 2 percentage points. The gain came from independent voters, who favored GOP candidates by 22 points.
Rep. Joseph Cao, R-La., the sole House Republican to vote for the health reform bill, said he has been getting some “pretty nasty responses” from people upset with his vote. “From downright racist remarks just to hate speech, you name it, we have it,” Cao told the New York Times. But he has no regrets about his vote, saying that it was “based on my own conscience that people should have health care.” Cao, who represents a Democratic-leaning district, said that “we have to go beyond partisan politics” and do what is “right for America.”
One challenge to reducing — or even stabilizing — the Sedgwick County Jail population is that decisions at the state level can work against those efforts. For example, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Davis said last week that state courts will have to close their doors for one week each month beginning in February if the Legislature doesn’t restore $8 million to the judiciary budget. If that happens, it could slow trials and hearings and increase the time some inmates stay in the jail. The state also is increasing the penalties for repeat drunken driving starting next July, which could result in an annual increase of about 3,700 bed days in the jail. State cuts to some mental health services and to programs aimed at helping parolees integrate into society also may lead to more inmates.
Given that there are eyewitnesses to the murder of George Tiller, maybe Scott Roeder doesn’t have much to lose by confessing and saying that he plans to use the “necessity defense” at his upcoming trial, claiming that he killed Tiller to prevent a greater harm. But local pro-life groups reject Roeder’s claim that the murder was justifiable, and his public defender says that the “necessity defense” isn’t even allowed in Kansas.
On this Veterans Day, it’s troubling that new estimates show the number of homeless veterans in Kansas has been increasing, as is the case nationally. There were 712 homeless vets in Kansas in 2008, up from 689 in 2007 and 601 in 2006, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. To its credit, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a comprehensive plan to end homelessness among veterans that includes expanded support services and help with education, jobs, health care and housing. Local efforts to combat chronic homelessness should also help veterans get off the street and into stable housing. As Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said last week, “Those who have served this nation as veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope.”
“There’s a difference between sensitivity and stupidity,” columnist Eugene Robinson wrote about the U.S. Army’s caution in intervening against Maj. Nidal Hasan (in photo), the alleged Fort Hood shooter. The Army reportedly didn’t deal aggressively with Hasan’s erratic behavior and anti-American comments at least partly because it was being sensitive to his Muslim faith. But this failure to act was no favor to other Muslim soldiers, whose loyalty some are now questioning as a result of last week’s shooting. It was “unfair to the thousands of Muslims who have served in the military, and continue to do so, with honor and distinction,” Robinson wrote.
“In order to ensure that today’s tentative recovery becomes a lasting expansion, the government must now make it a priority to deal with employment — particularly among small businesses,” economist Mark Zandi wrote in a New York Times commentary. He noted that businesses with fewer than 20 employees generated 40 percent of the job growth in the last economic expansion. Zandi recommends that policymakers empower the Small Business Administration to provide more credit, extend provisions in the current stimulus bill that allow money-losing firms to receive refunds of taxes paid on profits earned in previous years, and promote work-share programs.
A March 12 performance by comedic ventriloquist Jeff Dunham at Intrust Bank Arena seems out of place among concerts by Brad Paisley, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, and George Strait and Reba McEntire — something that would seem more suited to a smaller venue. But a New York Times Magazine profile of Dunham said that “he has recently achieved a surreal, ventriloquial megacelebrity and has had no problem finding enough Jeff Dunham fans to pack an arena wherever he goes.” It also reported that, “in the past year, he has played 150 shows and grossed $38 million in ticket sales, far more than any other comic.”
The liberal group Media Matters has launched a Web site that tracks the major financial backers of conservative activist groups, the “money behind the movement.” Listed at the top of the site, conservativetransparency.org, are foundations controlled by the Koch family. It reports that these foundations have contributed millions of dollars to the Cato Institute and Americans for Prosperity, “as well as to other influential conservative think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations, academic institutes and legal organizations, thus participating in every level of the policy process.”
It’s understandable that, as the state’s largest school district, USD 259 wants a place at the table during discussions about another possible school-finance lawsuit. But deciding at this time to become a full, voting member of Schools for Fair Funding — which the school board is considering at its meeting tonight — would make the district appear insensitive to the thousands of Kansans who have lost their jobs and to the other state programs that have had their budgets cut by much larger percentages. It’s also hard to justify spending an additional $60,000 to upgrade its affiliate membership when the district has so many other unmet needs.
When talking about budget problems, state lawmakers like to say that “everything is the table.” But they usually don’t mean it — refusing to consider tax increases or cuts to certain programs. However, the state’s budget shortfall is so serious — nearly half a billion dollars this fiscal year, according to new revenue estimates and including increased education costs — that lawmakers need to rise above their rigid ideologies and be open to all options. That includes more cuts to education and other important programs, delaying the phase-in of tax cuts, and increasing some taxes or eliminating some sales-tax exemptions.
The Obama White House’s inexplicable war on Fox News has magnified Fox’s stature among viewers. Far from marginalizing Fox and delegitimizing it as a news source, as intended, the feud has made more people than ever choose Fox News as their favored source of television infotainment. Fox’s ratings bumped up almost 10 percent in the two weeks after the White House decided to engage Fox News directly. And among advertisers’ favorite demographic — 25- to 54-year-olds — Fox’s ratings went up a whopping 14 percent. This is probably not the kind of change Obama voters thought they were voting for. Congratulations, Obama. You have transformed Fox into the most successful “news” channel ever. — D.K. Jamaal, Examiner.com
The breathless claim that Fox News’ ratings recently spiked thanks to the White House’s public critique is bogus hype. A detailed analysis of Nielsen ratings numbers clearly indicates that in the two weeks after the White House in mid-October sparked a media controversy by claiming Rupert Murdoch’s channel was not a legitimate news organization, Fox News’ ratings did not soar. They experienced no significant increase at all. Instead, in the two weeks after the initial verbal jousts with the White House, Fox News’ total day ratings virtually flatlined. Think about it. The unfolding controversy — which gobbled up untold hours and pages of news coverage as the Beltway press treated the dispute like a major news event — and the hubbub barely moved the ratings needle one inch in Fox News’ favor. — Eric Boehlert, Media Matters
The shooting at Fort Hood is so tragic and terrible. As President Obama stated, “these are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to the rest of us on a daily basis. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.” Suspect Maj. Nidal M. Hasan is in stable condition, and authorities are still trying to piece together what may have prompted the attack. In the meantime, our prayers should go out to the families of those killed and to the wounded, which includes a woman from Kansas.
