Author

David Norlin

David Norlin

David Norlin of Salina is a retired teacher at Cloud County Community College, where he was department chair of Communications/English, specializing in media. He has twice run for the Kansas Legislature and has served on and chaired Salina’s Human Relations Commission, Planning Commission, and Access TV. He is an occasional columnist for the Salina Journal.

OPINION
A rainbow of colors reflects within a bubble floating Saturday around Stevens Park during the inaugural GC Pride Fest.

In a local dispute over Pride Month, profound questions about faith and government in Kansas

By: - August 10, 2023

Public officials’ actions can be flawed or a fraud. Yet some people applaud. June 12, Salina’s city commission offered a prime example. A routine proclamation was read and signed by the mayor. It recognized Pride Month and celebrated LGBTQ contributions to city, state and country. Standard stuff. Imagine everyone’s surprise, then, when new commissioner and […]

OPINION
Senate President Ty Masterson originally supported rolling back food sales tax relief on foods deemed unhealthy. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

In their paroxysms against ‘woke’ culture, Kansas legislators wound our health and environment

By: - April 27, 2023

“Woke culture run amok.” Thus spake Ty Masterson, Senate president, dismissing the governor, or any others blocking his agenda. This attitude, every day, damages the climate of our health and the health of our climate. Our health is damaged by our lack of Medicaid expansion. Any sane examination of that effort soon becomes, well, insane. […]

OPINION

Why do right-wing voices dominate the AM dial? Decades of change cemented shift.

By: - January 21, 2023

Say something on social media and it’s out there for eternity. No matter where, it can be traced. So you are ultimately accountable, for better or worse. Say something on AM talk radio, however, and it vanishes into the ether. If asked about it later, you can just shrug your shoulders and turn away. Imagine, […]

OPINION
Father Charles Coughlin delivers a radio speech.

How venomous voices from right-wing radio radicalized Kansas and the rest of America

By: - January 11, 2023

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. For better than half a lifetime, I’ve […]

OPINION
A "vote here" sign is displayed next to a tree outside the Shawnee County Election Office

Election results show Kansans willing to converse — but not take decisive action

By: - November 29, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. I walked doors this election. I talked […]

OPINION
Signs for and against the state constitutional amendment became a common sight throughout Kansas over summer. Now that the vote is over, we can take a step back. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Now’s the time for Kansans to wade out of the water of meaningless anti-abortion rhetoric

By: - September 8, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. There’s that old adage about fish not […]

OPINION
The Kansas Flint Hills stretch out near Matfield Green. For the purposes of the proposed North American Grasslands Conservation Act, “grasslands” includes tallgrass, mixed grass, and shortgrass, native prairie, sagebrush shrub-steppe, savanna grasslands, glades, and other related grassland ecosystems. (Shawna Bethell/Kansas Reflector)

What’s the matter? Consumerism and complacency threaten both Kansas and country

By: - July 7, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Thomas Frank […]

OPINION
Recent bills in the Kansas House pose threats to education, freedom and reason, writes David Norlin. (Getty Images)

As Kansas Legislature meddles in public education, words from great uncle George resonate today

By: - March 24, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. Among my first rules of debate: Never […]

OPINION

A year after the insurrection, Sen. Jerry Moran could stand on principle and safeguard our nation

By: - January 17, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of Communications/English, specializing in media. Dear Sen. Moran, I address you not […]

OPINION

Community media can bind us together. So why don’t we support it more?

By: - October 19, 2021

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of Communications/English, specializing in media.  On Sunday, June 27, a former Salina […]

OPINION

The Kansas Legislature’s majority suffers from a poverty of imagination and humility

By: - May 15, 2021

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of Communications/English, specializing in media.  Kansans are stereotyped as people growing wheat […]

OPINION

The Kansas Legislature’s power imbalance stifles legitimate debate

By: - February 6, 2021

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of Communications/English, specializing in media.  Our Legislature should be the ultimate debate […]