By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Michael Jackson isn't even buried yet, but his after-death story keeps getting stranger.

By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

White House economist Christina Romer was on TV today, saying the administration wouldn't rule out a second stimulus package. A second stimulus? Whoa. That's exactly what the country doesn't need.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Luann Ridgeway, the Missouri Senator who sponsored the bill to free motorcyclists from the onerous responsibility of wearing helmets, explained her helmet aversion this way in an interview with The Star earlier this year:

By Matthew Schofield, a member of The Star's editorial board

This is how the deal is supposed to work:

Talented young athletes agree to attend our colleges and universities and play sports. By playing their sports, they elevate the university.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

It appears a Missouri woman, Lori Drew, will get away with a MySpace cyberbulling incident that led to the suicide of a teenage girl. That's disappointing news.

From Thursday's L.A. Times Web site:

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson's latest budget cuts seem sensible, if painful.

Anemic tax collections forced the governor to make reductions beyond those that the Legislature authorized during its session.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Have to side with the environmentalists on this one: The EPA made the right call in demanding that Sunflower Electric apply for a new state permit to build a coal-fired power plant in western Kansas.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

It’s easy to make July 4 more about fireworks than freedom.

But in many places around the world, the liberties we enjoy do not exist. It’s worth remembering the plight of citizens elsewhere who dream of freedoms now denied. Consider just four nations:

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Kathie McClure travels the highways in a mini school bus painted purple and adorned with smiley faces. What the vehicle exudes in character it lacks in certain amenities — air conditioning being one.

By Larry Marsh, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist, 2009

California has reached a crisis point where it has run out of money to pay state employees. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature have ruled out a tax increase to pay state workers. To deal with this impasse, California is issuing IOUs to its employees. The Bank of America has agreed to accept these IOUs as real money at least until July 10. Should California be allowed to create its own money?

By Matthew Schofield, a member of The Star's editorial board

The thought is starting to percolate: With 60 votes in the Senate, the Democrats are looking at facing upcoming elections with no excuses.

It's an interesting idea. I mean, politicians having to rely on actual accomplishments?

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Hate to bust Omaha's bubble. But it's not going to catch up to KC anytime soon when it comes to population.

The recently released Census Bureau numbers mean nothing. You know, the "official" 2008 ones that showed KC with 451,572 people and Omaha with 438,646.

By Larry Marsh, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist, 2009

The world oil market is like a giant tank of oil. Canada and Mexico are just two spigots. Our national security does not depend on which spigots we're using, but on the price we are willing to pay for oil.

George Harris KC Star Reader Advisory Panel

I’d like to go on record as thanking the insurance companies for keeping the government out of the middle of the doctor-patient relationship. In the consideration of health care reform, we must be very sure the government doesn't take over for insurance companies.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Police Chief Jim Corwin has weighed in with his skewed version of how the whole police-purchasing-cars scheme went down.

Here's one of the lowlights:

By Matthew Schofield, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Iran Wednesday announced it was no longer interested in listening to the European Union regarding the country's nuclear program.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

For now, anyway, Ruth Madoff will face no charges in connection with the massive financial fraud that landed her husband Bernie a 150-year prison sentence, according to the New York Post.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Gotta hand it to Sarah Palin.

Fresh evidence surfaced this week that she has staying power -- the ability to shine brightly in the public eye despite her failed vice presidential campaign of 2008.

She's doing it with some old-fashioned publicity tricks:

-- Get sympathetic press.

By Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star Editorial Board columnist

John Covington on his first day of work as the new superintendent of the Kansas City School District promised to show up with a paintbrush later this month at a church-inspired effort to spruce up some schools.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Want to see what $1 million of your tax money bought for the Kansas City Police Department?

Sorry, no way.

That was the department’s astonishing and unacceptable position this week when The Star wanted to take photos of dozens of new police vehicles sitting in storage.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Kansas City police officials repeatedly claimed this spring they were scrounging for every available dollar to keep cops on the street.

Except, as it turns out, for a $1 million purchase of patrol cars — some of which might be stockpiled for up to two years.

In a breathtaking display of arrogance and poor judgment, police quietly purchased the additional cruisers in the midst of the city’s contentious budget process.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

KC taxpayers were not the only ones angered on Wednesday to see The Star publish a picture of a long row of police cars sitting idle in storage at KCI.

Police Department officials were angry, too, and surprised that the Aviation Department would take such a photograph and -- horror of horrors -- give it to The Star.

By Grant Martin, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices Columnist, 2009

Suffice it to say that I was not too surprised that Honduras didn't get as many blog postings as Michael Jackson or Governor Sanford. I was, however, surprised it didn't even get one!

George Harris, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel

It's just too easy to ridicule South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Not that I'm always above that sort of thing and not that I don't enjoy the humor in the mockery heaped on him, but I couldn't think of anything original to say.

By Larry Marsh, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist, 2009

Ever use that virtual "poke me" tool in Facebook? One day you will be able to give a friend enjoying their latté at a café halfway around the world a real nanonudge. (Yes, a real physical nudge.)

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

There’s jubilation in the streets of Iraq this week as U.S. forces turn over control of the cities to Iraqi forces.

Iraqis see the move as a step toward full independence. American efforts that made this milestone possible should not be underestimated.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Finally, Minnesota's election nightmare is over. It ended Tuesday when Norm Coleman conceded the state's 2008 U.S. Senate race to Al Franken.

The debacle had continued for almost eight months, as both Franken and Coleman fought for the right to serve in the Senate.