Tale of two cities

Today's front page brought an interesting (and inadvertent) contrast in city governance over the last two years. Former Commissioner Janet English passed away. That story recalls a different time when the buzzword was "progressive." The current commission, faced with revenue shortfalls, uses the buzzphrase "core services" as they make cuts and refocus

Conflict of Interest

Should have posted this several days ago but better late than never.
Obama looks clean in this Blago scandal but I must say that the acceptance of Obama's internal investigation is odd. It's about all he can do, but it is also akin to the fox guarding the henhouse.

Barack the magic Negro

Is this really defensible? Obama will probably get 98, instead of 93 percent, of the African American vote next time

Here we go again

Anti-immigration forces revving up again.

Quote of the day

"A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier."
H.L. Mencken, journalist writer, 1949


(This is on my first amendment calendar from the Freedom Forum)

Inauguration

Anybody know anybody going to the Obama inauguration?

Brown-back

He's leaving the Senate as promised (nice to see somebody let go of power as they promised) although Gov. ain't a bad job, either.

This sets up a real competition for U.S. Senator between Reps. Jerry Moran and Tiahrt on the Republican side, with Gov. Sebelius — unless she gets tapped by Obama between now and 2010 — as the only big name on the Democratic side. Brownback would then have a pretty clear path to Governor with Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson? or Rep. Dennis Moore perhaps standing in his way? (look out for Dennis McKinney, the newly appointed state Treasurer, too)

Kansas hasn't had a Democratic Senator since the 1930s.

Rick Warren

Be interesting to see how Obama handles http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifthis

So What?

Chuck Todd, when he spoke in Winfield in October, said Bush could have been a more successful president if he'd paid at least some attention to public and world opinion and adjusted accordingly. There's a level of self-denial that's astonishing. Cheney too.

Taggart Wall

We need more young adults like this

Passenger rail

Sen. Goodwin was a champion for this, but will be leaving office. Will another local champion step up? Doesn't seem like Kasha Kelley or Steve Abrams are too excited about it. Doesn't seem to fit into their mission as spending hawks. Winfield Rep. Ed Trimmer is an advocate, but could that set up a conflict between Ark City and Winfield on who might get the stop in Cowley County?

Appearances

As one reader pointed out, this doesn't look good for an institution entrusted with a new tax to build a mutli-million dollar facility. Although personnel dust ups from time to time are common in public agencies. A follow up will come Sat. There obviously is more to the story that probably we'll ever get. Sounds like there's been some concern that Macy-Mills was in trouble for firing the CFO.

Shearon resigns

Marci Shearon will leave at the end of the year. She and the school have been through some rough patches (Coach Lolar flap, Jodi Sanderholm tragedy, latest violence at school flap) but all and all it seems like her four-plus years there has been successful — graduation rates improving and recent national recognition, and assessments in reading and math seem to have improved.

Interesting to read about her accepting the post back in 2004

Spring elections

Spring elections will be here before you know it. Will Pat McDonald, Joel Hockenbury and Scott Margolius run again for city commission. Will Darin Reese stay on after taking his kids out of public schools

Universal health care

Most U.S. doctorsfavor it.

Government run health care for everybody seems like too much, but the existing alternative ain't working. Obama's plan seems to make sense — create a national pool to lower costs and help small businesses with tax breaks/subsidies when catastrophic events drive up their costs. This basic strategy doesn't force anybody to have insurance but is suppose to lower costs so that people could afford it.