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News media can tell you what’s the matter with Kansas. But you have to do the repairs.
The news media won’t save you. The news media — even the opinionated and outspoken parts of it like this opinion section — won’t save Kansas or the United States. I wish more people understood this, because if you want our nation to see a revival in civic participation and progressive values, you have to […]
Report on legislators in ‘far-right’ Facebook groups doesn’t tell real story of Kansas extremism
By any measure, the Kansas Legislature has a problem with right-wing extremism. Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson physician, introduced legislation that would give him an exemption for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients. Sen. Mike Thompson shared in the viral skepticism, while also agitating against wind power. And Rep. Cheryl Helmer spewed a torrent of lies […]
Hey, Kansas Democrats: Your internal strife distracts activists when you can least afford it
The headline in the Kansas City Star was the kind that no political organization of any stripe wants to see: “ ’He was a bully.’ KS Dems director made toxic workplace, ex-employees say. Party stands by him.” Kansas Democratic Party executive director Ben Meers has been accused by four former employees of creating that aforementioned toxic […]
Closing of Topeka deli Porubsky’s marks end of an era — and earns tribute from Sen. Jerry Moran
We live in an age of cookie-cutter culture. Drive around most places in Kansas — and the United States — and you’ll find the same Walmarts, the same Taco Bells, the same Applebees. You’ll see people dressed in the same clothes, driving the same cars, speaking in the same neutral accent. What you won’t find […]
Another day in America and Kansas: Senseless murder of children and a fifth-grade graduation
The same day that a shooter opened fire at a school in Uvalde, Texas, I attended my son’s fifth-grade graduation. The same day that 19 students from that school died, along with two teachers, I stood next to my husband and applauded after our camera-shy son took a certificate from his teacher. The same day […]
One group’s not-so-impossible dream: progressive majorities in the Kansas Statehouse by 2026
Cast your mind ahead to November of 2026. In that month, in that year, activists in Kansas could well be celebrating as voters send progressive majorities in both the state House and Senate. Wait, you say. What? That’s the ambitious aim of the nonprofit group Prairie Roots, headed up by executive director Peyton Browning. The […]
While Ukraine repels Russia, Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas votes against NATO support and $40B in aid
As Ukrainians battle to save themselves from Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war of choice, a U.S. representative from Kansas isn’t helping them. In two big votes over the last two months, Rep. Ron Estes has voted against supporting NATO and sending $40 billion in military and economic support to Ukraine. In the earlier case, he […]
Simple reforms could make the Kansas Legislature more transparent. Leaders don’t want that.
Kansas Reflector editor Sherman Smith published a must-read analysis last week. “How the Kansas Legislature avoids public scrutiny by hiding in darkness” included detail after detail showing how an institution with Republican supermajorities nonetheless takes shortcut after shortcut to conceal its actions. Others have written about these problems before. The Kansas City Star published a […]
With COVID-19 an unwanted houseguest, I gave thanks for vaccines and grew frustrated with society
After two years and two months, COVID-19 finally arrived for my family. That meant much of last week was consumed with resting, checking temperatures, sneezing, coughing, ordering delivery and taking rapid tests. I wouldn’t recommend it as a family getaway package. (I suppose the ordering delivery part was OK.) Yet our experience showed how far […]
Abortion rights are in peril in Kansas and the U.S. Shock and outrage won’t change that.
Sometimes, advocates should look to their opponents for inspiration. The leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade offers such an opportunity for pro-choice activists in Kansas and the United States. Emotions have run high as the land’s highest court appears ready to punt abortion rights back to the states. But emotions don’t suffice […]
Kansas Legislature wraps up veto session, and it surprisingly wasn’t a total Dumpster fire
It could have been worse. That’s not the kind of statement that inspires excitement and applause, or rouses one’s fellow Kansans to ecstasies of celebration. It’s still an accurate summary of the 2022 Legislature, which saw its veto session careen to a close early Friday. At various points, chamber leaders or arch-conservative legislators proposed a […]
In wake of latest Andover tornado, a newfound appreciation of risk in Kansas and beyond
Few events shaped my childhood like the one-two punch of the Hesston tornado in 1990 and the Andover tornado in 1991. My family lived only 18 miles away from Andover, and the notion that a storm could descend from nowhere and wreak destruction terrified me. Those memories flooded back Friday night, when another powerful tornado […]