On the same day that Democrats lost the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ mansions, the state-by-state push to limit taxes and spending lost momentum. Maine voters nixed a Taxpayer Bill of Rights measure 60 to 40 percent. Washington state voters defeated similar legislation 57 to 43 percent. In both cases, wrote Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, opponents “made a case for what government does, why it’s important and why cutbacks in public services can be harmful to citizens and the common good.” He further observed: “It’s true that Washington and Maine have been reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections. But this is precisely why the defeat of these anti-tax measures was so important. Anti-government crusaders were getting ready to argue that if TABOR measures could pass in blue states, theirs was the wave of the future.”
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.
Some are predicting that President Obama’s remarks at the Fort Hood memorial service will rank among his best. The text is worth reading. Among the standout phrases were these about the 13 who died in the shooting spree: “Their life’s work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — that is their legacy.”
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.”
As drivers cross from Oklahoma into Kansas on I-35, they see a sign touting the Web site HaysHasJobs.com, suggesting that parts of western Kansas want for workers rather than jobs. A new SurveyUSA poll, sponsored by KWCH, Channel 12, further suggests that the recession is being unevenly felt in Kansas. Asked about the economy’s impact on their lives over the past year, 29 percent of respondents in western Kansas said it had been major, compared with 39 percent statewide and 43 percent in northeast Kansas; 24 percent out west said there had been no impact at all (16 percent statewide). Asked whether they or someone they knew had lost a job in the past year, 77 percent of those polled statewide said “yes,” compared with 69 percent in western Kansas. And 44 percent of those polled statewide said they were in debt, compared with 33 percent in western Kansas.
“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.
Does President Obama’s White House need more governing professionals and fewer political hacks? Forbes columnist Dan Gerstein thinks so, suggesting Obama invite an “independent-thinking Democratic wise man like Bob Kerrey” aboard. Survey the president’s advisers, Gerstein wrote, and “what’s missing from this group, besides diversity of experience and interests, is a senior adviser or two with an independent point of view who could carry Obama’s post-partisan portfolio. Someone who would wake up every day thinking about how to form broad-based coalitions, to deepen the confidence and trust of independents and non-rabid Republicans in government, and push Obama to honor his promise to change politics-as-usual in Washington. Or at minimum, someone not ingrained or trained to think that the Republicans are the enemy.”
The wealthiest member of Kansas’ congressional delegation, Sen. Sam Brownback, ranks 77th overall among congressional and executive officials in Washington, D.C., with a net worth ranging from $3.1 million to $9.2 million, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The other Kansans’ standings: Republican Sen. Pat Roberts was 211th, with more than $1.4 million; Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, was 295th, with more than $718,000; Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Lenexa, was 336th, with more than $506,000; Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, was 435th, with more than $186,000; and Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, was 470th, with more than $105,000.
“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.
If President Obama were President Johnson, he would have used his signature on the spending bill that included $32 million for the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan as leverage over Kansas Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts. Kansas City Star columnist Steve Kraske noted that “Johnson, the master pol, would have demanded something: a tough vote, more cooperation or fewer criticisms in exchange for his help on something as major as NBAF.” Instead, Obama recently signed the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.
“In one short year, Obama’s slogan has gone from ‘Yes, we can’ to ‘Wow, this is freakin’ hard.’” — Conan O’Brien
“One year later, we’re still in Iraq. We’re still in Afghanistan. But, you know, at least we got rid of Paula Abdul.” — David Letterman
“The White House predicted there would be 120 million doses of swine flu vaccines available today. But right now, there are only 26 million. Yeah, they overshot by so much, they are all getting jobs as pilots for Northwest Airlines.” — Jimmy Fallon
Good for state Sen. Thomas “Tim” Owens, R-Overland Park, for his stated commitment to give a proposed repeal of Kansas’ unused death penalty more than a cursory glance in the legislative session that starts in January. “We are going to have a complete and thorough discussion of death penalty abolition,” said Owens, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since Kansas reinstated capital punishment in 1994, nine men have taken up residence on death row but no execution dates are in sight. Meanwhile, according to a 2003 study, capital cases are costing Kansas 70 percent more than noncapital cases.
