Marching backward on schools, guns, gays
School daze, continued
Another week, another grenade lobbed out of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.
The latest is a suggestion that evaluations of public school teachers be posted online for all to see. Tucked into the governor’s school financing proposal, the plan would rate teachers 50 percent on growth in …
GDP report bodes ill for Obama re-elect
Today’s report on fourth-quarter GDP was a disappointment. The consensus estimate was for a real growth rate of 3.2 percent but the number came in at 2.8. Worse, the average for the entire year was a lackluster 1.7 percent, too sluggish to bring down the jobless rate quickly and a … Read More ⇒
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What is Brownback thinking?
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback must have a closet office in his administration labeled “The Dumbest Ideas Department.” That’s the only way to understand how the governor could propose posting online the evaluations of Kansas teachers. Certainly parents would like to know whether their kids have the best instructors possible, but … Read More ⇒
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Bike rentals sound odd in a city where few walk
Good luck making the bike rentals go in downtown Kansas City. This is a barbecue, beer and fries town with high obesity rates, where few people walk, let alone ride bicycles. It’s ambitious to think that with the addition of bike rentals and the city adding bike lanes that people … Read More ⇒
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Snowbirds can fly home
Climate change has made it possible for all of those Missouri and Kansas snowbirds who fly south for the winter to actually stay in the Midwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is changing its planting zone map to reflect the consistently warmer weather hitting this region. Kansas City has shifted … Read More ⇒
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University, students to feel pain of Missouri budget cuts
Budget cuts proposed in Jefferson City always have a trickle down effect — like a large kitchen knife falling from the hand of one clumbsy chef onto the foot of another. The 12.5 percent proposed reduction for higher in Missouri will result in a $9.4 million drop in funding for … Read More ⇒
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Of Mitt and Newt: The Fights Hurt their Party Most
There have been excessive mud-throwing activities between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, the two GOP front-runners. You would think they care enough about their common cause and would be able to transcend their differences instead of exchanging slanders. But no. First, Newt Gingrich challenged Romney to release his tax return … Read More ⇒
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KC Public Schools alumni to debate their district’s future
LaToya Williams-Green and Ryan Wash were competitors in high school. She debated for Lincoln College Prep; he was a standout on Central High’s team. Both enrolled in Emporia State University and there they teamed up. They are Emporia’s first African-American debate duo, and, as seniors, are regarded as one of … Read More ⇒
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Good news for unified city/police health plan
After six years of feuding, the Police Department and City Hall are closer than ever to endorsing a unified health insurance plan that could save money for Kansas City taxpayers. This is an encouraging development. At a meeting scheduled today, high-ranking city and police officials will discuss what a consolidated … Read More ⇒
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Focus on reducing black homicides
It is not news in Kansas City that the murder rate is scandalously high and most of the victims are black. But research by the Violence Policy Center brings the problem into sharper focus. Using FBI crime data, the center has determined that Missouri’s rate of black homicides is the … Read More ⇒
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Another night, another fight
You know the old joke, I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out? That is how I feel about the GOP candidates for President right now. There is another GOP debate on tonight. I am very active on Twitter, in fact a little too active sometimes. I … Read More ⇒
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Brownback hasty, heartless in food stamp decision
Well, that didn’t take long. One day Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he’ll take a look at a new policy that cuts hundreds of children of illegal immigrants off of food stamp aid. Next day he says, yep, he’s reviewed the formula and he’s good with it. That’s not much … Read More ⇒
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Beware of misleading petitions in Missouri
I slowed down to make sure the guy with the clipboard outside of the Brookside Price Chopper would see me. It worked. “Hi,” he said. “Are you a registered voter in Jackson County?” “Well, yes I am,” I said heartily. I was hoping he would ask. “How would you like … Read More ⇒
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Bad economy keeps telescoping
The Federal Reserve decision Wednesday to hold interest rates near zero until late 2014 instead of 2013 is a signal that the struggling economy will continue to limp along longer than had been expected. That continues the disincentive for people to save and it works against people retiring to live … Read More ⇒
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New front in fighting childhood obesity
Improving the nutritional value of school lunches should help combat childhood obesity rates. That’s the goal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan for redoing school meals — the first significant change in 15 years. It’s long overdue considering that about a third of U.S. children are considered obese mostly … Read More ⇒
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Gov. Brewer gives Obama a finger
Gotta love Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. The tough-on-immigration governor got a little animated Wednesday in talking to President Barack Obama after he arrived at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. She got up close to the president and shoved her right index finger in Obama’s face. For Republicans, it’s only the latest … Read More ⇒
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The Resurrection
That was a thing of beauty on display in Lawrence and on TV the other night. Not for 60 years, since Clyde Lovellette was leading the Jayhawks to the national title in 1952, has basketball’s most beautiful shot been an important part of a KU game. Now it’s there for … Read More ⇒
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KC police have red faces over red-light camera fiasco
(CORRECTION: A Jan. 26 editorial should have said that the Kansas City Police Department released a revised version of its report on red-light cameras. News stories in The Star on Jan. 24 and 25 cited the revised data.) In preparing a new report on the effectiveness of red-light cameras, the … Read More ⇒
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Aiding homeless veterans: an update
This past November I wrote an ‘As I See It’ column for Veterans Day that apparently touched a nerve of compassion and generosity among readers. My son Francis, who served with the 10th Mountain Division in both Iraq and Afghanistan, died last Feb. 11th in a car accident. My column … Read More ⇒
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Brownback’s food stamp fiasco continues
Gov. Sam Brownback knew back in September that a new state policy would take food stamps away from hundreds of families led by illegal aliens but with children who are legal U.S. citizens. Check out the Topeka Capital-Journal article on the subject. So what to make of the news from … Read More ⇒
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KC’s urban core suddenly a hot topic
Kansas City’s urban core — the big chunk of the city that’s hardest hit by violent crime, poverty, poor schools, abandoned houses, boarded-up businesses, and crumbling sidewalks and water lines — is suddenly getting plenty of attention. It’s about time. Because that part of the city also is home to … Read More ⇒
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Take crosshairs threat to Missouri lawmakers seriously
Maybe a prank. Maybe a threat. Either way, not OK. As The Star’s Jason Hancock reports on Midwest Democracy, several Missouri lawmakers returned to their offices from a lunch break yesterday to find stickers depicting a rifle crosshairs on their nameplates. Sen. Jolie Justus, a Democrat from Kansas City, said … Read More ⇒
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State of the Union: The good, bad and pointless
George Washington set the precedent in 1790. Abraham Lincoln used his 1862 State of the Union speech to champion abolition. In 1941, Franklin Roosevelt declared four freedoms. Last night, President Obama used the third State of the Union address of his term to test market a few new campaign slogans. … Read More ⇒
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Obama makes effective case for his record
Americans on Tuesday night saw an upbeat and energetic president who left no doubt he was prepared to defend his record and fight for his re-election. Barack Obama, delivering his third State of the Union address, effectively highlighted his administration’s successes, such as the resurgence of the U.S. auto companies … Read More ⇒
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Inclusion Is Not A Crime
Yes, it was a campaign speech. Yes, it was chock-full of rhetoric. And yes, there were partisan shots across the bow. But most importantly it reiterated the conviction that President Obama has consistently championed: The challenges we face as a country are more nuanced than ever and we can overcome … Read More ⇒