Wichita Eagle: Opinion

Make most of Douglas

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:14 CST

The Wichita City Council should endorse a Denver firm’s recommendations to end the inane one-lane eastbound squeeze in front of Eaton Place and otherwise help Douglas Avenue become the “vibrant signature street of Wichita.”

Unlike some items in the consultants’ wish list, the Eaton block should be an easy call.

It would be one thing if, as proposed a few years ago, the city had gone the way of Lawrence and adopted diagonal parking all along Douglas. But the 11-year experiment in angled parking in front of the Eaton has not been driver-friendly, forcing eastbound cars to merge from two lanes to one for a single block.

Opinion Line (Feb. 7)

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:14 CST

E-mail comments, 50 words or fewer, to opline@wichitaeagle.com or use the online form at Kansas.com/opinion.

Gov. Sam Brownback is on target on the food-stamp eligibility for children of illegals. Granted, it’s not the little kids’ fault; their parents are the criminals. But if we don’t do something to make this state unattractive to illegals, they will come in droves. We cannot endorse these criminal activities.

Opinion Line Extra (Feb. 7)

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:39 CST

The people complaining about the smoke in the Kansas Star Casino either have never been there or are lying. It is not smoky. You can’t even tell that people are smoking unless they are beside you. Cigarette smoke is the worst thing on my allergies, and I never have a problem there.

Instead of banning smoking in casinos, they need better ventilation. I have sat next to smokers at some casinos and never noticed it, because all the smoke was sucked away before it could reach me.

Letters to the editor on DD care, casino smoke, pay to play, Grinch, tuition

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:14 CST

Remove DD from KanCare proposal

We are still very concerned that long-term care services have not yet been removed from the Brownback administration’s KanCare managed-care proposal. Our daughter Julie is a 26-year-old young lady with severe intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

We understand that there needs to be a way to control spending, but the companies that are bidding on the managed-care contract do not have experience providing services to this population. Further, the services that exist for people with developmental disabilities in our community have been built from the ground up as a response to the needs of our community. They have been fine-tuned over decades to fit the specific needs of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Abortion, contraception battles raise other concerns

Kathleen Parker — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:39 CST

Two of the top news stories this past week have revolved around reproductive rights, though both raise far more troubling issues than a woman’s right to contraception or abortion.

The more compelling questions concern a person’s or an institution’s freedom of conscience and the right to act upon one’s moral beliefs without fear of intimidation and/or government coercion.

Both cases – one involving the Catholic Church and the other, Susan G. Komen for the Cure – deal with the ongoing conflict between the pro-life and pro-choice camps. And both are exposing the dangerous extent to which some pro-choice advocates, including the president of the United States, are willing to tread on fundamental freedoms in order to impose and secure ideological purity.

Consumer bureau’s structure needs reforming

Sen. Pat Roberts — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:15 CST

If you’ve watched the news lately, you know that there’s great controversy over President Obama’s recent “recess” appointment of Richard Cordray to be the director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You might be asking yourself, “Why the controversy over an agency dedicated to consumer financial protection in the wake of MF Global and other financial scandals? It must be a good thing, right?”

Wrong.

There’s more to the story of the bureau than meets the eye. Here’s what’s really happening: The president wants to avoid a Senate debate over the agency and its mission. Making a “recess appointment” – when there was no recess – of its leader while Congress was working at home proves the point that the administration wanted to avoid greater congressional scrutiny.

Kansas Views (Feb. 6)

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:16 CST

Closed meetings – If the governor wants to discuss public business with legislative committee members, all of the committee members – not just the Republicans – should be involved, and the discussions should take place in a public setting so the people of Kansas can know exactly what is being said. The Kansas Open Meetings Act is intended to protect that process, as well as the people’s right to know what their government is doing.

Lawrence Journal-World

A press release from the governor’s office didn’t do much to quiet any suspicions of state law being violated. Titled “Governor; Staff Took Precautions to Ensure Legislators Didn’t Violate Law,” the statement reminds us that the governor himself is not subject to KOMA requirements. True enough, but we already were aware of that. It is followed by a quote from Caleb Stegall, the governor’s chief counsel: “The governor did remind and admonish everyone present at the beginning of each legislative dinner that legislative committees must be aware of and comply with all KOMA requirements.” We don’t doubt the sincerity of that statement either. But merely warning people not to violate the open meetings law is not sufficient. If any business or affairs of the particular legislative committee were discussed, even if no agreement was reached, that would be a violation.

Rest in love, peace … and soul

Leonard Pitts — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:56 CST

This was for us.

And that was a new thing, so we gathered faithfully to the television as that hardworking cartoon engine chugged across the screen, rainbow smoke pouring from its stack, the announcer calling us to order once upon a Saturday. This was “Sooooooul Train,” he said, darn near yodeling the name, “the hippest trip in America, 60 nonstop minutes across the tracks of your mind, with guest stars.…”

And, oh, the guest stars: Gladys Knight, slinky and gorgeous, lip-synching “Friendship Train” as the Pips whirled behind her; the Jackson 5 rocking “Dancing Machine,” Michael gliding as if to make a liar out of Newton; Marvin Gaye, so besotted by some nubile young dancer he forgot to lip-synch “Let’s Get It On.”

Letters to the editor on 99 percent, Bel Aire schools, guns, elephants

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:55 CST

The 99 percent are trying to succeed

An Opinion Line contributor claimed that most of those in the 1 percent started out in the 99 percent, and that their smarts and long, hard work were rewarded by a capitalist nation. The comment ended: “Try it; it works.”

Well, duh. Isn’t that exactly what those in the 99 percent are trying to do?

How lowering taxes on rich can raise revenue

Amity Shlaes — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:17 CST

Tax the rich. Forever. And not just in election years. The general assumption is that rate increases will be the new norm. The main reason for this is said to be democracy itself.

We have reached the point where just about half of all taxpayers, the lower-earning households, pay almost no income tax. Voters have no reason to endorse a tax cut that’s not for them. The group that pays high rates represents an electoral minority.

In other words, America has passed its tipping point on taxes. In fact, we are officially tipped.

Opinion Line (Feb. 6)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:56 CST

E-mail comments, 50 words or fewer, to opline@wichitaeagle.com or use the online form at Kansas.com/opinion.

All of my future charitable contributions will go to Planned Parenthood. One way to help the poor is to enable them to control the size of their families. They’ll be better able to care for the children they have.

Opinion Line Extra (Feb. 6)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:47 CST

Behind every form of terrorism is a religion to back it up.

How ridiculous for President Obama to think that Luke 12:48, “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required,” means that government is the beneficiary of the “required” part.

Wise to delay in AAA

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:57 CST

Though it looks bad, it makes sense for USD 259 to temporarily leave in place old busing policies for northeast Wichita. But the district needs to transition as soon as possible to a boundary plan that is equitable and meets the needs of neighborhood families.

The neighborhood – which is roughly bounded by Kellogg, Washington, 29th Street North and Oliver – is referred to by the district as the “assigned attendance area.” As part of a 1971 agreement, African-American children living in the AAA were bused to schools throughout the city to reduce segregation.

The district’s decision in 2008 to end the busing policy was based in part on an expectation that it would increase neighborhood school options for students living in the AAA and redraw boundaries to ensure that schools didn’t resegregate.

Market solutions best for Wichita

Bob Weeks — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:22 CST

In his State of the City address last week, Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer spoke on several topics that deserve discussion. As an example, several times he criticized those who act on “partisan agendas.” Partisan refers to following a party line, usually with a negative connotation.

But the Wichita City Council, even though it has four Republican members, almost always votes uniformly with Brewer (a Democrat). The only exception is Republican Michael O’Donnell. The other Republican members routinely vote in concert with the Democrats and liberals on the council.

Also, consider the many members of the business community who appeal to the city for subsidies and increased government intervention: Many of these are Republicans – c onservative Republicans, many have personally told me.

SRS out of excuses on food-stamp rule

Mary Sanchez — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:22 CST

Kansas is running out of excuses.

Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services officials are digging in their heels, defending a change in how food stamps are allotted.

Kansas used to handle the benefits in a morally responsible manner.

Governing challenge

H. Edward Flentje — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:22 CST

Gov. Sam Brownback deserves credit for tackling big, difficult spending issues – school finance, public pensions and Medicaid – but the road ahead may be rocky. As a key Brownback insider told me last fall: “The real issue is whether conservatives can govern.”

The statement reflected a mix of both optimism and skepticism as to whether the political success of the Reagan-era conservative movement from which Brownback had emerged could be translated into effective governance.

That conservative movement stems from an unwieldy coalition that Joe Aistrup and I characterized in a book we co-authored as a “polar alliance” arising from opposing cultural preferences. One pole advocates individual liberty and free markets and seeks to restrain the scope of government primarily on economic issues, such as taxing, spending and governmental regulation. The other pole strives to advance social order based on beliefs and expand the scope of government by intervening on issues such as abortion, school prayer, the teaching of evolution, election regulation and even economic growth, among others.

Letters to the editor on school closings, mortgage deductions, unions, voter ID, contraception mandate, state dog

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:58 CST

District: Show good faith to Bel Aire

As a former Bel Aire City Council member, I assisted in the naming of two USD 259 schools. I supported the district’s petition for all Bel Aire students to be served by USD 259, so students could attend neighborhood schools and not be divided with the Circle district. In 2008 I supported the USD 259 bond election, which promised a K-8 school and a comprehensive high school for our area to reduce overcrowding at Heights High School and Stucky Middle School.

Though I understand that budgets have changed, values should not. Citizen involvement, neighborhood schools, reducing overcrowding and respecting election promises should still be values upheld.

Opinion Line (Feb. 5)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:22 CST

E-mail comments, 50 words or fewer, to opline@wichitaeagle.com or use the online form at Kansas.com/opinion.

Rep. Gabby Giffords deserves all the praise and attention, but why more so than the thousands of veterans who have been disabled in the wars?

Christopher Rowland: A drawn-out, negative race could hurt GOP

Christopher Rowland — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:44 CST

Mitt Romney presented a potent case in Florida Tuesday that he is the strongest Republican candidate to challenge President Obama by clobbering Newt Gingrich in a third swing state.

First came Iowa, where Romney almost won and Gingrich placed a distant fourth. Then Romney trounced the field in New Hampshire. Gingrich did not break 10 percent in the Granite State. Then Florida.

All three states are more consequential in the general election than redder-than-red South Carolina, the scene of Gingrich’s only victory, because they represent the real prize: the political center.

Opinion Line (Feb. 4)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:50 CST

E-mail comments, 50 words or fewer, to opline@wichitaeagle.com or use the online form at Kansas.com/opinion.

There is nothing funnier than watching people smoke and gamble at the same time.