KMBC:
“Hopefully they all have tape on their mouths,” Savorelli joked.
The four young gators had apparently been confiscated and they would have been put down otherwise, so Savorelli offered to take them in.
From K-State:
A heartfelt collaboration:
K-STATE RESEARCHER AND SONS SHED LIGHT ON PLAQUE, HEART DISEASEMANHATTAN — Kansas State University’s David L. Wetzel, a professor of grain science and industry, is known around the world for using microspectroscopy to do chemical analysis of single cells and parts of cells. That is, he uses the spectrum of light to get information about biological samples. (more…)
The federal government is investigating whether any additional crimes have been committed in connection with the murder of Wichita late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller.
The United States Department of Justice announced today that the civil rights division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas will be examining evidence in the case to determine whether any violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or any other federal statutes has taken place.
The act was enacted in 1994, and it makes it a federal crime to “injure, intimidate, or interfere with those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health care services.”
According to the FBI’s web site, these crimes could include death threats, murder, assault, arson, property damage, harassing phone calls, hate mail and blockades.
There were other factors, to be sure (such as the war of attrition between Moran and McAuliffe), but the WaPo endorsement did seem to prompt a second look at a guy who was looking like a third place finisher a few months ago.
The vwelcomes Creigh Deeds to the race by reminding voters of his rivals’ assessment of his weaknesses:
Despite prevailing in tonight’s gubernatorial primary, even Democrats know Creigh Deeds’ record of hiking taxes makes him unelectable this fall.
It’s no surprise that Democrat Terry McAuliffe said “Bob already beat Creigh once and he beat him on the gas tax.”
Brian Moran’s campaign also blasted Deeds in an ad saying, “raising the gas tax in the middle of a recession only hurts working people.”
TNR:
On June 12, Iranian voters will choose among four leading candidates for president, but their real choice is singular: whether to continue on the course plotted by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This ought to be a no-brainer: Ahmadinejad has made a mess of the economy, clamped down on political dissent and social freedoms, militarized the state, and earned the enmity of much of the world. In large Iranian cities, even those who voted for him in 2005 are almost unanimous in their disappointment. But in Iranian elections, demographics are everything. It all depends on who, exactly, shows up to the polls.
Yes, a liberal blogger for AOL got fired, right after he published a swiftly-removed criticism of the Playboy piece.
Needless to say, AOL (in the form of their political site’s editor, Melinda Henneberger) is doing its level best to push back against even the suggestion that there was any causal relationship between Tommy Christopher’s Playboy criticism and his firing. First Ms. Henneberger claimed that Mr. Christopher was going to be let go anyway. Newsbusters quickly published an article that indicated that they had emails showing that Christopher was on good terms with AOL up to the very day of the firing. Newsbusters also addressed Henneberger’s claim to not have even seen the article in question with a screenshot of the record of her deleting it** (and here’s another one of an internal AOL email indicating that the whole subject should be dropped). Henneberger is now claiming that while she apparently did delete that article, after all, she didn’t actually read it; and that any internal/external emails out there that indicate that Christopher wasn’t getting fired until after this happened are not reflective of what was going on in real life; and how dare anyone criticize the motives of somebody who has worked for such bastions of journalistic integrity and couth as the New York Times, Newsweek, & Slate***. And oh, yes: she wants you to know that Playboy is disgusting. The exact quote is “Everything they do degrades women!”
Good to know, given that AOL/Time Warner has been doing business with the women-degraders for some time now.
RCP:
RealClearWorld, the one-stop shop for the best international news and analysis, is co-sponsoring a special policy discussion on this week’s Iran presidential election. Hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, RCW will offer a live webcast of the event, which features Washington Institute’s Mehdi Khalaji, American Enterprise Institute’s Ali Alfoneh, as well as Iran expert - and regular RCW contributor - Meir Javedanfar.
The event takes place Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
Be sure to check out what will be a fascinating look into what the election could mean for the average Iranian, as well as for President Obama’s foreign policy.
Poll:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 36% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Twenty-eight percent (28%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +8 (see trends).
TWS:
Senators Lieberman and Graham have just concluded a press conference held in response to a still unconfirmed move by the Democratic leadership in the House to strip from the supplemental appropriations bill an amendment that would bar the release of detainee photos. That amendment, the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act, had been attached to the supplemental by a unanimous voice vote in the Senate and with the explicit support of the White House. However, as THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported last Friday, the Democratic leadership has been unable to secure the votes necessary to pass the supplemental and is moving to strip out the Graham-Lieberman amendment under pressure from House liberals. (more…)
While it’s still unclear who will turn out to vote in Virginia’s Democratic primary, much less who will win, the campaigns and other veteran observers agree that the once-sleepy spring contest will probably more closely resemble the low turnout model of 2006 - when 155,784 voters nominated Jim Webb, then thought to be an uphill challenger against then-Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) - than the 980,997 who turned out in last year’s historic presidential primary.
Calling it the “Kennedy” bill is something of an overstatement. Senator Kennedy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, and his staff wrote the draft. By all reports, however, Chairman Kennedy’s health is preventing him from being heavily involved in the drafting. Senator Reid has designated Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) to supervise the process, but as best I can tell, it’s really the Kennedy committee staff who are making most of the key decisions. For now I will call it the Kennedy-Dodd bill. (more…)
From K-State:
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu
K-STATE QUARTER-SCALE TRACTOR TEAM TAKES SECOND PLACE AT INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Quarter-Scale Tractor Team has won second place at the 12th annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Competition sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, May 29-31, in Peoria, Ill.
For the competition, each student team designs, builds and demonstrates a utility or recreational pulling tractor. A panel of industry experts judged each design for innovation, maneuverability, sound level, serviceability, ergonomics, safety and manufacturability. Teams also participated in a performance demonstration made up of four tractor pulls. (more…)
A shoe-maker and a technology company are teaming up to develop footwear with a built-in GPS device that could help track down “wandering” seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
“The technology will provide the location of the individual wearing the shoes within 9m (30 feet), anywhere on the planet,” said Andrew Carle, an assistant professor at George Mason University who served as an advisor on the project.
From K-State:
K-STATE COORDINATING 10TH ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE
MANHATTAN — The 10th annual Governor’s Conference on Juvenile Justice, “Making a Difference — One Youth at a Time,” will be June 21-24 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 W. Watermen St., Wichita.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority, Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Spirit AeroSystems. It is coordinated by Kansas State University’s Division of Continuing Education. (more…)
Poll:
By a virtually identical margin, 67% to 16%, U.S. voters believe the same is true of well-qualified white and Hispanic judges.
Survey respondents were asked to imagine that two well-qualified judges heard a series of challenging legal cases and that the judges both carefully examined all the facts, studied the appropriate law and honestly tried to apply the law as it was written. (more…)
AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration.
The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.
From K-State:
K-STATE’S GREEK HONORARY, ORDER OF OMEGA, SELECTS NEW MEMBERS
MANHATTAN — Leadership, academic excellence and a commitment to the Greek community at Kansas State University earned several K-State students membership in the university’s Greek honorary, Order of Omega.
Members of Order of Omega promote Greek strength, integrity, leadership and service to the university and the Manhattan community. Faculty advisers to the honorary are Tim Lindemuth, editor of the K-State Alumni Association’s K-Stater magazine, and Alex Sune, a graduate assistant with K-State’s new student services. (more…)
RCP:
The Henderson Times-News reports that Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) flatly ruled out challenging Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in 2010 during a local event this morning. From the News-Times:
“I am not running for Senate,” the second-term Democrat said after a ground-breaking ceremony for a new building at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest Station in Asheville. “I am not running for Senate. I am not running for Senate. I have said that a thousand times, and I don’t know why they keep coming up (with the idea). Of course they keep coming up and running polls.
This belief is shared overwhelmingly by Republicans, Democrats and voters not affiliated with either party.
However, voters are more divided when asked how the legal system is actually performing today. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say the U.S. legal system generally provides unfair advantages to minorities, while 34% say it generally treats all Americans equally.
Eighteen percent (18%) of voters say the American legal system generally discriminates against minorities.
Here a partisan gap emerges. While nearly half of Republicans and unaffiliated voters think the legal system provides unfair advantage to minorities, just 24% of Democrats agree.
One-third of Democrats say the system discriminates against minorities, a view that has single-digit support among GOP voters and unaffiliateds.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of African-Americans say the legal system generally discriminates against minorities, a view shared by only 14% of whites.
Kansas State Sen. Jim Barnett, a Republican representing Emporia, has announced he is running for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.
Barnett is running as a candidate for the First Congressional District. The district is represented by Republican Rep. Jerry Moran, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat.
“I am a medical doctor, and it has become increasingly clear to me it is time for the House of Representatives to receive a House Call,” said Barnett in a statement issued Tuesday. “Washington is out of control. I will fight for everyday Kansans and roll my sleeves up to work on a prescription for prosperity for our nation.”
As a precaution, Nagin, his wife and one member of the mayor’s executive protection unit have been placed in a designated quarantine location in Shanghai. The mayor’s agenda is on indefinite hold, though he and the others are symptom-free.”Right now, everything is stopped and we will follow the lead of Shanghai medical officials,” spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said at a City Hall news conference Sunday afternoon. “He seemed fine. Just following the procedure.”The passenger showing syptoms is undergoing both quarantine and treatment.
The clearest manifestation that this anxiety will take will be in how the Lisbon Treaty process is resolved. The Lisbon Treaty is the “Constitutional Treaty” that failed in French and Dutch elections several years ago, and recently in Ireland. In recent months, the Polish and Czech Parliaments have approved it, although the Presidents have refused, so far, to sign the bills. Ireland still has to put it on the ballot again, and, importantly the UK has to do something. The collapse of the Labour Party in the UK, combined with a majority of the vote in the UK for either anti-EU parties (BNP and UK) or skeptic parties (Tories), means that the British government has a crisis on their hands. The old Tony Blair promise of a referendum on a new “constitution” may become politically necessary. The UK may be the block to Lisbon, not Ireland. And all this is prior to the analysis of what The Economist calls “record abstention.” (more…)
AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Eager to show action on the ailing economy, President Barack Obama promised Monday to speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs will be created or saved.
Surrounded by his Cabinet, Obama emphasized what has become a dominant issue of public concern-an economy that keeps bleeding jobs-on the day after returning from a week of diplomacy and sightseeing in the Middle East and Europe.
IBD:
Meanwhile, to improve our long-term growth rate - which will make us all richer, and even ease the government’s fiscal strains - there are lots of things that we could do. Here are just a few:
- Free trade. Immediately approve free trade deals pending with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. This would give U.S. firms billions in new orders and create thousands of new jobs - right away. (more…)
From K-State:
DON FENTON TO HEAD DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING IN K-STATE’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MANHATTAN — Don Fenton, professor, has been named head of the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University. Fenton will assume his new duties Aug. 1.
Fenton joined the mechanical and nuclear engineering faculty at K-State in 1986 as an associate professor. He became a full professor in 1992 and has completed 22 years of service to the department. His recent teaching assignment areas include heat transfer, thermal systems, industrial projects senior design, electrical generating power plants, indoor environmental engineering, thermodynamics and honors research.
“I have every confidence in Don Fenton’s ability to take on the academic and administrative challenges of this position,” said John English, dean of the College of Engineering. “He is a valued colleague and we are extremely pleased that he will be at the helm of mechanical and nuclear engineering.”
Fenton earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from K-State in 1969, and completed both a master’s and doctorate in that discipline from the University of Illinois in 1970 and 1974, respectively. He began his career as a research engineer for the IIT Research Institute and then the New Mexico Solar Energy Institute. His first academic appointment was associate professor at New Mexico State University in 1977, where he remained until coming to K-State.
Fenton is a recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Region VIII Centennial Award and the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Ralph R. Teeter National Education Award, and he is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Summer Faculty Fellow.
Fenton will replace Mo Hosni, current department head and professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, who will return to his academic post and continue in a leadership role in the Big 12 Engineering Consortium.
From K-State:
ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE ACTIVITIES FEATURED AT K-STATE GROW WORKSHOP
MANHATTAN — Three days of science, technology, engineering and math exploration is the agenda planned for sixth- and seventh-grade girls June 10-12 at Kansas State University.
The 10th annual GROW, or Girls Researching Our World, Workshop will offer participants a variety of laboratory activities including “Acid Raindrops Keep Falling in My Lake,” “Bacteria: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Critters in a Prairie Stream,” “Wayfinding with Satellites” and “Chemistry in the Kitchen.” (more…)
Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?
That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.
County welfare directors are “in shock” at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state’s history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.
“It’s difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this,” Wagstaff said. “It would be devastating to the people we serve.”
Chris Christie’s campaign notices that the New Jersey press is fed up with Gov. Jon Corzine’s latest capitulation to public-sector unions. Of course, the real question will be how many of these papers can bring themselves to endorse Christie in the fall.
“It will take more than a recovery to get New Jersey back on track. It will take a new governor.” (Editorial, “CWA Agreement Vintage Corzine,” Asbury Park Press, 06/07/09)
“Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s reputation as a supposed financial wizard is officially dead. So is any notion that the New Jersey taxpayer is even close to a mild concern of his.” (Editorial, “Corzine crumbles to state unions on furlough deal that’s far too weak,” Home News Tribune, 06/07/09)
“Here’s the question for Corzine: Are his constituents the people of New Jersey or the members of the CWA?” (Editorial, “Corzine cut sweet deal with CWA,” Press of Atlantic City, 06/07/09)
After increasing 74 percent over the last 10 years, per pupil funding for Kansas K-12 education will likely face more reductions as the local economy slows and federal stimulus dollars run out over the next two years.
Despite the perception of deep cuts in response to the state’s budget crises, the reduction in kindergarten to 12th-grade education funding for the 2009-2010 school year is only $29 per pupil, after adding state, local, regular federal and federal stimulus dollars, according to the Kansas Department of Education.
WSJ:
By winning his first French Open Sunday, Roger Federer has rewritten the conventional wisdom about the state of his game. Before the tournament attention focused on his apparent decline, marked by three losses in his last three Grand Slam finals against Rafael Nadal in the last year, on three different surfaces. His frustrating campaign so far this year, marked by an uncharacteristic temper tantrum in Miami in April, didn’t help either.
