News opinion 2008-08-01 Andanh.com

Senate leader ignoring will of the people Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:32:06 -0500
What in tarnation is the matter with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democratic leadership in Washington? Since Reid’s party took control of Congress in 2006 the average price of gas has gone from $2.34 to more than $4 per gallon. Americans are feeling intense pain while fueling their cars and trucks. Farmers and truckers are reeling from high diesel prices. Closer to home, Kentuckians are now spending about 8 percent of their income on gas - higher than residents of all but eight states - according to data from the Oil Price Information Service. In Bowling Green, we learned this week that our city’s only cab service has closed its doors, citing the strain of higher fuel prices. A number of their customers were Medicaid patients who used the cab service to visit their doctors. What is Reid and company’s answer to the No. 1 domestic issue facing our country? Initially, they got off to a promising start. With Republican support, Congress addressed the conservation side of the energy equation by legislating an increase in fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. Unfortunately, things spiraled rapidly downhill after that as the Democratic leadership utterly failed to address the supply side. First, Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revived the widely discredited windfall profits tax from the Jimmy Carter era. History suggests this misguided legislation actually depressed domestic oil production thereby making us more dependent on foreign sources. To his credit, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led the fight to block this very bad idea. Reid’s latest solution to the pain all Americans are enduring is legislation that focuses narrowly on speculators while not allowing Republican amendments which would include lifting the congressional moratoriums on offshore drilling and exploration of oil share resources in our Western states that would actually address supply issues. A July 23 article in the New York Times reported that a federal task force after a review of both public and private data concluded that “speculators could not be fairly blamed for rising prices” of oil. Sen. Reid, your fellow citizens are much smarter than you think. They know that gas prices are being driven far more by unprecedented worldwide demand than by speculation. You are clearly out of step with the 77 percent of Americans who, polls show, want us to increase domestic production. McConnell has introduced the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008, which would lift congressional moratoriums on offshore drilling and oil shale development while addressing conservation considerations by providing increased research and development for advanced batteries for plug-in electric ideas and trucks. His bill also would authorize increased funding and staffing for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which overseas energy trading. This provision should broaden the appeal of his bill to those like Reid who are now focusing exclusively on speculators. T. Boone Pickens has also advanced some very creative ideas involving solar and wind power and usage of natural gas, a cleaner burning fossil fuel, to power vehicles. Pickens’ ideas for clean energy sources definitely need to be part of our national energy discussion. But a meaningful energy discussion can only take place if Reid will allow amendments on the Senate floor to his speculation bill. If we fail to address both the conservation side and supply side to allow us time to develop and build the infrastructure for clean energy sources, the American people will know who to blame for high gas prices. Memo to Sen. Reid: If you look in the mirror, it won’t be energy traders you’ll be seeing.

The value of life Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:29:43 -0500
Most inhumanities start small, like the beginning of a tsunami, but then build, as they head toward inevitable and unstoppable destruction. It is difficult to pinpoint the precise beginning of the cultural tsunami that has devalued human life. Did it begin with the subjugation of women? Did it begin with slavery? The Nazis made their contribution with the Holocaust and Josef Mengele’s hideous human experiments. Surely unrestricted abortion added to the growing list of inhumanities. Now we have the next wave. Randy Stroup is a 53-year-old Oregon man who has prostrate cancer, but no insurance to cover his medical treatment. The state pays for treatment in some cases, but it has denied help to Stroup. State officials have determined that chemotherapy would be too expensive and so they have offered him an alternative: death. Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law allows taxpayers to pay for someone to kill Stroup, because it’s cheaper than trying to heal him. How twisted is this? Some have called this a “chilling” corruption of medical ethics, but medical ethics have been in the deep freeze for some time. The American Medical Association, which once strongly opposed abortion, now buys into the “choice” argument despite Hippocrates’ admonition that physicians make a habit of two things -- “to help, or at least to do no harm.” How much is a human life worth? Body parts and bone marrow can fetch some pretty high prices, but a human life is more than the sum of its body parts. The reason this is important is that the federal government is now placing a price tag on individual lives and if government ever gets to run health care from Washington, bureaucrats will start making decisions similar to the one made for Randy Stroup. Various government agencies contribute estimates for a concept known as the “Value of Statistical Life.” Like housing prices, the value of life has gone down in the eyes of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA says human life this year is worth $7.22 million. That’s a drop from its previous estimate of $8.04 million. The Department of Transportation calculates the value of human life at $5.8 million, an increase from $3 million. At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, human life is unchanged from the last estimate of $5 million. According to The Washington Post, several federal agencies have come up with figures for the dollar value of a human life to analyze the costs and benefits of new programs they believe will save lives. Saving lives is the announced intention, but if government gains the power to determine when a life is no longer “worth” saving and orders the plug to be pulled or the death pill to be administered, then what? This is the future of the socialized medicine that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party wish to impose on us. In a culture that values all life, difficult decisions can be made about a life that is at an end and should be allowed to “go.” That is a far cry from having a government bureaucrat or panel of “experts” play God and decide, based on cost alone, when your or my life no longer has value in the eyes of the state. How we view and value ourselves affects how we view and value others. If we are mere evolutionary accidents with no moral value greater than cole slaw, then we quickly begin viewing others as part of the vegetable family. But if we are something far more special, even to the point of having a Creator who has “endowed” us with value beyond that of gold, silver and paper money, then should we not be treated as such, even by the state? The Randy Stroup case won’t be the last of its kind. Just as Jack Kevorkian’s illegal assisted suicide preceded its legalization in Oregon, so, too, will Randy Stroup be the test case in what amounts to mandated medical euthanasia ordered by the state. When pro-lifers warned about the “slippery slope” more than three decades ago, they were dismissed as alarmists. Not anymore. Their prophecy is now being fulfilled.

McCain, Obama not far apart on affirmative action Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:29:43 -0500
Sen. John McCain’s flip-flop on affirmative action made headlines last weekend. But a closer look at this mother of all hot-button racial issues reveals that he and Sen. Barack Obama aren’t all that far apart. During an interview on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” McCain sounded like he had flipped when he said he supported an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative in his home state Arizona. Backed by Ward Connerly, a California-based anti-affirmative action activist, the measure is almost identical to one that McCain opposed a decade ago. The proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution would ban “preferential treatment” on the basis of “race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.” Although McCain admitted he has “not seen the details,” he said that he supported it because “I have always opposed quotas.” Yet, his opposition to race-based hiring quotas did not stop him from opposing a similar plan proposed by the Arizona legislature 10 years ago. “Rather than engage in divisive ballot initiatives,” he told a Hispanic group at the time, “we must have a dialogue and cooperation and mutual efforts together to provide for every child in America to fulfill their expectations.” Now that similar Connerly-backed initiatives have won handily in California, Washington and Michigan, McCain appears to have changed his tune in a way that should please his party’s conservative wing. Yet, contrary to the assertions of many opponents, affirmative action is more than “quotas.” And if McCain is still seeking “dialogue and cooperation,” so is Obama. The Illinois Democrat explained later that morning at the Unity: Journalists of Color conference in Chicago that he, too, opposes quotas. Yet he also opposed the Arizona measure because “these kinds of Ward Connerly referenda or initiatives” are too often designed not so much “to solve a big problem” as “to drive a wedge between people.” Obama expressed a sensible discomfort, especially with the way affirmative action too often overlooks the truly underprivileged. “Frankly, if you’ve got 50 percent of African American or Latino kids dropping out of high school,” he said, “it doesn’t really matter what you do in terms of affirmative action. Those kids are not getting into college.” Instead of viewing affirmative action as “a shortcut to solving some of these broader, long-term structural problems,” Obama called for it to be re-thought and re-crafted in such a way that “some of our children who are advantaged aren’t getting more favorable treatment than a poor white kid who has struggled more.” Significantly both McCain and Obama turned to the military for examples of merit-based equal opportunity. During his overseas travels, Obama said, Iraqis and Afghans were “impressed” not only with our military effectiveness but also with our ethnic and gender diversity, including the fact that the second in command in Iraq is now an African American, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III. Our diversity, Obama said, “should be a source of pride. And when properly structured, affirmative action, I think, can be a part of that.” But how? I think McCain offered an excellent clue back in April. “If you’re talking about assuring equal and fair opportunity for all Americans and making sure that the practices of the U.S. military are emulated, the greatest equal opportunity employer in America, then I am all for it,” he said of affirmative action to a CBS News blogger. McCain knows. Our military has developed a version of affirmative action since the 1960s that has built the most diverse, yet also best educated military in American history. Yet Connerly should take note of this: As the recently deceased military consultant and Northwestern University sociologist Charles Moskos chronicled, our military made its progress by recognizing the dynamics of race, not by trying to pretend that race doesn’t exist. Military-style affirmative action sets goals, but not quotas or rigid timetables. Efforts are made to expand the eligible pool of women and nonwhites so more can be considered for promotion. If promotion boards fail to meet their goals, they have to show that, at least, they made an appropriate effort. This was the system that offered Colin Powell, who later became the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, consideration and eventual promotion to general after he was passed over for the smaller eligibility pool. “If you are talking about quotas, I am not for it,” McCain said in April. “(But) all of us are for affirmative action to try to give assistance to those who need it, whether it be African-American or other groups of Americans that need it.” I hope both presidential candidates get to chew over this issue in the debates. Our political and media cultures tend to focus on conflicts. On this issue the candidates might help us stumble onto some solutions.

Gratitude Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:58:00 EST
You agreed to give back the $10,000 your campaign took from the political action committee of your friend and colleague Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who has been indicted on federal corruption charges. You're going to hand it over to charity.

McConnell: 'a whiner' Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:53:00 EST
Is Mitch McConnell interviewing for a job with The Courier-Journal? I see more letters in the Forum section written by him than any other person. Doesn't he have more important things to spend his time on, i.e., the war, the economy, health insurance, the high cost of food and gas?

The price is (not) right Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:53:00 EST
Most inhumanities start small, like the beginning of a tsunami, but then build, as they head toward inevitable and unstoppable destruction.

College challenge for rural kids Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:54:00 EST
Every summer, thousands of Americans enjoy vacation getaways to rural communities with little thought about the challenges facing those who live there year round: persistent poverty, a lack of major employers and skilled workers, and a large population of underachieving high school students whose futures will be stunted because they won't go to college.

Obama wins Iraq's primary Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:55:00 EST
In a stunning upset, Barack Obama last week won the Iraq primary. When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not once but several times expressed support for a U.S. troop withdrawal on a timetable that accorded roughly with Obama's 16-month proposal, he not only legitimized the plan.

Unable to participate Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:46:00 EST

Lunch With...Zhou Wenzhong Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:50:00 EST
First, I want to thank you for inviting me to the Courier. I am happy to be here. I also want to thank ResCare. Yesterday, I had a meeting with the governor and we discussed the relations between the state of Kentucky and China. I'd like to thank the governor and the people of Kentucky for their friendship and for their efforts in developing better relations between their great state and China and our two countries.

Readers' views Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

Paper's coverage of fire was unfair to business owner

As a faithful Herald-Leader reader, I am appalled at its coverage of the July 17 fire at Star Light . Magic. After reading the articles on the front page and the two- page spread inside, many people would reach the conclusion that the owner, Remy Simpson, was the culprit behind the fire.

The articles mentioned several times that he would not comment, which seemed to indicate his guilt. The poor man had lost his business and dog in the fire, but the paper focused on his lack of comments and an earlier fire. Maybe he was upset and grieving when asked if he wanted to comment.

Further reporting and investigation may have led to actual facts, instead of mere insinuations. I know Simpson, and he is a kind and honest man. He has always been devoted to his animals, friends and employees. Thank goodness WLEX-TV gave an accurate, fair report.

Refrain from fiscal quackery Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT

This editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune.

If you put a dubious baldness remedy on your scalp and find that you get no new hair, you may conclude that you wasted your money. Or, if you're an incurable optimist, you may conclude that you didn't spend enough and buy another batch of the stuff.

Last winter, our leaders in Washington agreed to lay out $168 billion in an effort to stimulate the economy, mostly through tax rebates. But although most of the checks have gone out, growth has remained weak.

Better for the nation Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

The political show at Fancy Farm might have to limp along without U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell if the Senate is in session for a second Saturday in a row.

Congress is scurrying to get something, anything, done before breaking for five weeks. McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, has been busy leading filibusters that:

. Blocked curbs on oil speculation that some think is contributing to price increases.

. Blocked home heating and cooling assistance for low-income, elderly and disabled people.

Restoring felons' voting rights Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear has taken an important step by making it possible for more Kentuckians to vote.

Who would think it would be possible for a governor to prevent people from voting, but that's the way it works here.

Kentucky is one of 10 states in which a felony conviction carries with it a lifetime loss of voting rights. Only the governor can restore those rights, according to our constitution.

For years, governors have routinely done just that when people who had served their time asked to vote again.

Publisher's Notebook: Deciding where to eat consumes lots of time

Chi-town shines for me
Something I left out of my review of “The Dark Knight” last week was how good Gotham City looked.

Chinese Dir