June 6
Lee Judge’s cartoons
Check out our collection of sharp political and cultural jabs by Kansas City Star cartoonist Lee Judge. Also, his cartoon archives:
July-December 2012 January-July 2012 June-December 2011May 24
When will military get serious about reforming its culture of sexual hostility?
The U.S. military has proved to be a sexually hostile environment for women — and for a fair number of men as well. By the Pentagon’s own measures, women are more likely to become victims of sexual assault while in the military than in civilian life.
May 24
Kathleen Sebelius and the ‘fourth scandal’
One can envision the hearings. The outraged congressmen and the pompous senators grilling the secretary, with no answer likely to satisfy. The TV lights and live coverage on Fox. A new revelation (or non-revelation) popping up every couple of days. Is it any wonder good people are reluctant to go into public service these days?
May 23
Nixon must protect Missouri by rejecting bad bills on taxes, guns, abortion, workers’ rights
Veto-proof Republican majorities in Missouri’s House and Senate reduce the chances that Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon can reverse the damage done in the last legislative session. Still, hope springs eternal. So here is our Fantasy Veto Session for Missouri.
May 22
Missouri is failing to protect at-risk children
Watching over at-risk children has to be a state’s top priority. It must be done transparently. Darkness and secrecy are exactly the conditions that allow child abuse to thrive.
May 22
How to wisely use KC’s taxes: We’ve heard this before
Led by Mayor Sly James, Kansas City’s elected officials work well together in setting priorities for using city funds. But don’t get carried away: History shows politicians, city managers and staff members routinely talk a good game about setting priorities and wisely spending public funds.
May 21
A party bus that flouted the rules
The recent death of a young woman who fell from a party bus is a vivid reminder for the public, other party bus operators and government officials that strict rules exist for good reasons.
May 21
The can-do spirit rises after Oklahoma tornado
Moore, Okla., rebuilt after a devastating 1999 tornado and will be challenged to do so again. That’s the essential spirit that has brought Joplin, Mo., Greensburg, Kan., and other cities back from the rubble.
May 21
Judges should be picked on merit
“The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan belongs to the people of Missouri,” writes Missouri Bar President Patrick B. Starke of Lee’s Summit, “and we must not let politicians and out-of-state special interests with big money steal it.”
May 20
Did a sweatshop worker die for your sneakers?
Consumers need to keep pressing companies to follow through on their ethical commitments and codes of conduct. We need to make it clear that responsibility for poor working conditions and safety lapses rests with them, not just with third parties overseas.
May 20
Don’t mess with school standards in Kansas
Many school districts have spent the last two years designing curricula around the Common Core standards, and state assessment tests have been overhauled to reflect what students will be learning. To overturn the efforts now would require millions of dollars to draw up new standards and design new curricula and tests.
May 19
Good move on Kansas City Zoo’s ‘free day’
After excessive crowds and a brawl marred a free admission weekend event in April, the Kansas City Zoo will let Jackson and Clay county residents in for free on Tuesday, June 25, a switch from plans to do that on Saturday, June 29.
May 19
U.S. must promote peaceful solutions in China vs. India feud
Because India and China share a border, the whole planet holds its breath if they are at each other’s throats, as they were again earlier this month in a border dispute in the remote Ladakh region of the rugged Himalayas, where the exact location of the boundary between the two powers has never been clear.
May 19
We’ve come a long way, but there’s a long way to go
Julia Hill, a civil rights pioneer and a former president of the Kansas City school board, cautions that people have to turn away from texting, social media and cellphones and talk with others. It is the only way problems will be identified and solved. Civil rights advances in the next 50 years will only occur if everyone is involved.
May 19
By not acting on Medicaid, Missouri legislature failed to help patients
“Missouri needs a Medicaid reform plan that brings the most value for our state, including returning our citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars from Washington and addressing the health care needs of Missourians,” writes Herb B. Kuhn of the Missouri Hospital Association. “Let’s focus on what we can accomplish.”
May 18
KC improves basic services, but more progress is needed
Kansas City is using facts to more efficiently spend hundreds of millions in tax revenues to deliver better basic services to local residents. Citizen satisfaction reports and a new study show some progress has been made. But much more is needed.
May 18
Hostess unions, the bell Ding Dongs for thee
Hostess has a new owner, who is opening the plants that make Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dong brands. Only they are reopening without any unions. That’s one big step for American capitalism. And one big step backward for unions.
May 17
Capitol Watch: Failure and inertia in Jefferson City
Missouri’s 2013 session was good for gun owners and wealthy individuals who would benefit from income tax cuts. For most everybody else, the session was a bust. Missouri deserves better than what it gets from this legislature.
May 17
By many measures, Iraq is tumbling down the abyss
A great deal has been written about the miserable failure of the Iraq war. Much lost — 4,500 American lives and $2.2 trillion, 13 percent of the national debt — and little if anything gained. We traded one despot for another, and right now the nation is on the verge of civil war.
May 17
The lessons of the Kermit Gosnell verdict
The principles implicated by the murder trial of the Pennsylvania abortion doctor make the trial and the static nature of public opinion significant news items. The significance, however, has been lost in a debate focused on the media rather than the weightier issues the case necessarily entails.
