By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
If you see the current fictional film called “Pirate Radio” (yawn), a non-fiction DJ of the time was John Peel. He was not a pirate. The documentary about his music box is more interesting than this current film...
Kansas has a new Teacher of the Year.
Karen Tritt, a Spanish teacher at Shawnee Mission West High School, has been named the 2010 Kansas Teacher of the Year, according to the Shawnee Mission School District website.
The announcement came at an awards dinner in Wichita last evening.
By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
The point of the letter is to oppose health care legislation. Instead, it shines a light on a different issue: The death of real debate in this country.
By Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Compliments didn’t come often in my family.
As a matter of fact, it rains more frequently in deserts. Compliments from my parents had to be earned through exemplary efforts. Anything less was just getting by.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Calm down, Kansas City. The clumsy ouster of City Manager Wayne Cauthen isn't the end of the world.
By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
David Brooks recently called for a root-and-branch renovation approach for the Republican Party in an interesting column about Senator John Thune, South Dakota (R). The root-and-branch part is indigenous to our region.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Bad news for Barack Obama fans: The new Gallup Poll shows only 49 percent of Americans approve of his performance in office.
What a stunning turnaround from the heady days of near-70 percent approval ratings in early 2009.
George Harris Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel 2008
Maybe the legal minds out there can straighten me out on this. What is wrong with President Obama sounding confident about the conviction of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?.
By Larry Marsh, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist
I learned the Army way of cooking a turkey from a former Army cook in the early 1960s. I was just a kitchen boy at a girls camp in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania. I asked her how many she cooked for in the Army. She replied: "One hundred - - - every twenty minutes."
By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
Shortly after Thanksgiving, President Barack Obama is expected to announce the way forward for the United States in Afghanistan. There is no simple solution, but it is clear that a radical rethink of our effort is needed.
By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
The whole phenomenon of Sarah Palin, I admit, is a mystery to me.
By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
This one bears watching. The Wall Street Journal reports that an important climate research center in Britain was hacked Thursday, and lots of embarrassing e-mails were dumped on line -- including one that talked about "hid[ing] the decline," an apparent reference to global climate data and different techniques for slicing and dicing the information.
Click READ MORE for larger version.
By Justin Sorg, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist
Well, this is it, my final column. I wanted to go out on a high note. Maybe do some hard-hitting investigative journalism; real Pulitzer Prize-worthy, in-your-face, busting off the page, flying dragon kicktype stuff.
But, that’s a lot of work, and I’m fairly lazy, so that idea was quickly shelved.
By Matthew Schofield, Kansas City Star editorial board columnist
The Irish knew the Frenchman had cheated. The Frenchman admitted he'd cheated. The millions who were watching on television very clearly saw the cheat.
And there are even videos, looping videos, that show the brief (two seconds) of cheating, again and again, all over the internet.
By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
With a mixture of wit, charm and excellent advice, Michael Kaiser this week challenged Kansas City to improve its already vibrant arts scene. It’s a worthy challenge.
By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
When Hillary Clinton made her first visit to Beijing as secretary of state, she remarked that human rights could not be permitted to “interfere” with larger concerns, such as global climate change and financial-market mayhem.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Four city managers have served Kansas City since 1987 when I began covering City Hall. In that 22 years, only one has been fired -- Wayne Cauthen on Thursday.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Troy Schulte is the new acting city manager in Kansas City, replacing the fired Wayne Cauthen. But who is Schulte?
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
As a critic of Wayne Cauthen's general job performance the last few years, I'm not surprised nor disappointed he's out as city manager.
I do wish Mayor Mark Funkhouser would have arranged the firing in a more professional, less messy way.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
The firing of Kansas City's first black city manager, Wayne Cauthen, wasn't based on his race. It was based on his inability to meet the managerial expectations of seven of his bosses on the City Council.
By Arturo Mora, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist 2009
With the first big Senate vote set for Saturday on Senator Harry Reid’s version of healthcare reform, America inches closer to joining the rest of the developed world with a responsible healthcare system. It’s been a hard slog, but it was never going to be easy given the religious fervor in some circles about the sacred free market system. Once the task is done, however, it’s time for President Obama to laser beam on jobs, jobs, jobs. And furthermore, jobs.
By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
Mayor Mark Funkhouser awkwardly forced City Manager Wayne Cauthen out of office Thursday, and in the process opened another unnecessary rift on the City Council.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Mayor Mark Funkhouser got his way Thursday when a council majority decided to fire City Manager Wayne Cauthen. Opponents correctly criticized the mayor for how he handled the matter. However....
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
How's this for bad timing: On Friday, Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the City Council will hold their annual legislative lunch.
It's where Kansas City's elected officials tell their local state lawmakers what they want to see happen during the 2010 legislative session in Jefferson City.
By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
The CBO says Harry Reid's 2,000-page monster bill will cut the deficit over a decade by nearly $130 billion. But the CBO had to swallow some Democratic fantasies to get that result.
By Miriam Pepper, Kansas City Star editorial page editor
The last time Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser tried to oust the city manager two years ago he failed to communicate with his council colleagues. And this time? Same story; no lesson learned.
By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Probably not, although today's Wall Street Journal led with grim news about housing: new starts tanked and mortgage delinquencies increased. And yet: Leading indicators rose for the seventh straight month and initial claims for jobless benefits dropped for the 11th straight week. The economy still seems to be moving in the right direction. These reports come from the Carpe Diem blog , where you can find lots of interesting stuff, including another look at the odds for health care reform by the end of the year, as judged by the Intrade prediction market.
By Matthew Schofield, Kansas City Star editorial board columnist
Kansas City is the 20th most dangerous city in the United States for pedestrians, according to a Transportation for America study.
By E. Thomas McClanahan, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
It's an interesting question, and Attorney General Eric Holder didn't have a clue during his Senate testimony. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tied the AG in knots with that query, and another Holder could not answer: Has there been any other instance in which an enemy combatant was picked up in a combat zone and then tried in a civilian court?
