June 15
Farm bill fails to trim the fat for corporate interests
Unfortunately, hard-working family farmers are inevitably shorted by the monstrous farm bill that has little to do with family farming and much to do with government excess and waste.
June 14
Syrian rebels need more aid from the U.S.
Stepping up to stop the massacre of civilians by chemical warfare is a moral and just effort. But just how far that defense goes is a calculation that war-wary Americans must hear about in detail from the president soon.
June 14
A coup for Arizona’s governor on health care
Jan Brewer is no fan of the Affordable Care Act. But the Republican from a bright red state understands that getting low-income adults under the Medicaid umbrella makes sense.
June 14
Iran isn’t making any friends supporting Syria
Iran has lost the friendship and support of almost every Arab and Muslim state, leaving it as one of the least liked nations in the world. Its only true competitor for that title right now seems to be North Korea.
June 13
Finally, signs of progress on the Kansas-Missouri border
Behind-the-scenes movement is signaling some progress in the Kansas-Missouri economic “Border War” standoff. For the sake of the region, let’s hope it gets results.
June 13
Samantha Power is a superb choice for U.N. ambassador
If Samantha Power spends the next three years trying to make the United Nations work as a model institution, it will be frustrating and useless. If she spends the next three years calling attention to the moral and human consequences of collective decisions, it could make all the difference in the world.
June 12
America can’t ignore risks to trade of genetically modified crops
As a nation, we must decide if allowing companies like Monsanto to test and sell modified seed crops is worth the international economic risk and if it is, what regulations are needed to better protect against a future Oregon wheat incident.
June 12
Sugar protectionism means taxpayers lose out
The provisions by which Washington transfers wealth from 316 million American consumers to a few thousand sugar producers are part of a “temporary” commodity support program created during the Great Depression.
June 11
Labels on beef will protect consumers
After years of lobbying by consumer groups and a detailed exposé of the problem published last year in The Kansas City Star, the federal government finally appears ready to require mandatory labeling requirements for mechanically tenderized beef. That’s a much-needed step, and it shouldn’t have taken this long to get to it.
June 11
An urgency to help young students read
Mayor Sly James’ Turn the Page KC initiative, which has a goal of getting many more students' reading proficiency up to speed by the third-grade milestone, has won national praise for efforts to raise children’s reading ability by third grade.
June 11
Wheelchair law needs to be changed
“Medicare says a person in a complex wheelchair can’t roll out the door to go to work,” writes Finn Bullers, an advocate for people with disabilities. “Or attend a child’s soccer game. Or volunteer to help with third-grade “Rocket Math” at school. Does that make any sense?”
June 11
States are moving in the opposite direction of Washington
Last November’s elections resulted in one-party control of both the legislatures and governor’s offices in all but 13 states — the most single-party dominance in decades. This means many blue states are moving further left, while red states are heading rightward. It’s as if we’re seceding from each other without going through all the trouble of a civil war.
June 10
KC Symphony shines in its second year at Kauffman Center
All arts groups aim to balance the two most vital aspects of their existence — making creative achievements that stir our hearts and minds and building audiences to ensure the show can go on well into the future.
June 10
Laptops for all bodes well
Slowly, area school districts are providing students with laptop computers for use in classrooms and at home. Liberty Public Schools joins Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools in the venture.
June 10
Playing politics with mental health
There is a real life consequence to spreading ignorance about matters of health. As the military deals with record suicide rates, one shudders to think of the soldier, afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, who will read Neil Munro’s scribblings and feel affirmed in his belief that seeking help is somehow unmanly.
June 10
Obama proves to be both feckless and clueless
President Barack Obama doesn’t want U.S. boots on the ground. Fine. But between nothing and invasion lie many intermediate measures: arming the rebels, helping Turkey maintain a safe zone in northern Syria, grounding Assad’s murderous air force by attacking airfields — all the way up to enforcing a no-fly zone by destroying the regime’s air-defense system.
June 9
Kansas budget reflects Legislature’s dysfunction
The heavily conservative Kansas Legislature showed itself repeatedly this year to be meddlesome, callous to people’s needs and downright foolish in many instances. The new budget reflects those tendencies, and the state will have to live with it.
June 9
Regaining lost ground in civil rights and the arts
Jacqueline Chanda, the president of the Kansas City Art Institute, remains filled with the same hope for the present and future that her parents instilled in her during the civil rights movement. It fueled her career. That hope, with the community’s renewed push, can make the next 50 years in America the greatest of all for the arts.
June 9
Why are pets allowed on planes but not trains?
Four House members have proposed the Pets on Trains Act of 2013 to allow people to travel with their domestic pets. The act would require that Amtrak devote at least one car for kenneled pets for passengers traveling less than 750 miles. This important measure is long overdue.
June 8
Public needs say in massive data-mining surveillance
The great civil liberties traditions of this nation do not condone invasive sweeps of information from innocents to find the few bad guys. That debate belongs in Congress and on Main Street. It needs to happen soon, and Obama should call for it directly.
