Posted by Joel Mathis September 28, 2004 at 10:28 a.m.

Unlikely partners

Sit down. Take a deep breath. It's true.Sam Brownback and Hillary Clinton are working together in the U.S. Senate.We're kidding of course -- not about them working together, but about the impossibility of a conservative Republican and liberal Democrat having any common ground. In this case, they do.[The Associated Press][1] reports that the two, along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman -- best described as a conservative Democrat -- are co-sponsoring a bill to study the effects of electronic media on young children. "The Children and Media Research Advancement Act would establish a panel of experts to study, for example, whether long exposure to such passive entertainment contributes to childhood obesity, the senator (Clinton) said in a speech to the Westchester Children's Association. "Clinton, D-N.Y., said the typical child is exposed to 40,000 TV commercials each year as advertisers spend $15 billion on ads aimed at children. She said aggression, sleep deprivation, attention disorders and poor self-image also could be examined in relation to the onslaught of electronic media. "'This is beginning to undermine our children's ability to learn and to control their own emotions,' the senator said."Clinton said the bill has 'good bipartisan support' including co-sponsors Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn."Ducking the questionsMany Kansas politicians are apparently uncomfortable with letting voters know where they stand on issues.[The Lawrence Journal-World][2] reports: Two-thirds of Kansas candidates running for legislative and congressional offices refused to answer a questionnaire to provide voters with an idea how they stand on the issues, a nonpartisan voter research group said Monday. "'This is not only illogical, it is dangerous to our democratic process,' said Richard Kimball, president of Project Vote Smart. "Kimball said political consultants and leaders of both major political parties were telling their candidates to not answer Vote Smart's National Political Awareness Test for fear opponents will use or distort their answers while campaigning against them. "Of the 296 candidates in Kansas for Congress and Legislature, 65 percent refused to answer questions on major issues, the report showed."Among those who refused to answer: Brownback, U.S. Reps. Jerry Moran and Dennis Moore, and Nancy Boyda the challenger to U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun.One other link today:Jim Ryun links[Campaign ad claims Boyda opposed hunt for bin Laden][3]Taking vacationCongressional Briefing is taking a vacation. We'll return Tuesday, Oct. 5.How to contactAs always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][4] [1]: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--hillaryclinton0927sep27,0,1078757.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire [2]: http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/182788 [3]: http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/182763 [4]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed