Opinion

It’s 2012, and we’re arguing about birth control

Oh, dear, what is that baying? It sounds like the religious right has let slip the dogs of culture war.

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Backlash against Kris Kobach on immigration is growing
Feb 9, 1:16 AM
Backlash built this week against Kris Kobach for gallivanting state-to-state, drumming up support for laws bent on driving illegal immigrants out. But the rebukes aren’t coming from his usual critics. Supporters of the Kansas secretary of state are barking back now.
- Read the Press-Register's editorial
- Read the self-deportation report
Jim Caccamo put the kids first — always
Feb 5, 11:22 PM
Jim Caccamo’s example is a lesson to those who take unfair jabs at Catholicism, painting all of its faithful in a negative light because of the scandals. The church is its people, those who fill the pews. And Caccamo, who is resigning as chairman of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese’s Independent Review Board, is among the finest.
War against drug cartels needs new focus, strategy
Feb 6, 6:16 PM
A bit of respect, please, for the drug cartels. For their ingenuity, technological shrewdness and ability to adapt their products and services to a changing marketplace.
Kansas avoids the real issue in food-stamp controversy
Feb 2, 1:09 AM
Kansas is running out of excuses. Social and Rehabilitation Services officials are digging in their heels, defending a change in how food stamps are allotted. Kansas used to handle the benefits in a morally responsible manner. Now, hundreds if not thousands of U.S.-born children have been severed from aid.
Time to change behavior, not just change subjects
Jan 31, 5:50 PM
A recent report by the Violence Policy Center has reconfirmed what most of us already know: Black people are killing black people at astounding rates. But that’s not the end. It ought to be the beginning. What if we looked at consequences beyond the act? For the unresolved grief, played out for years and compounded death after death.
Buyer finds trouble with purchase of foreclosed home
Jan 29, 11:59 PM

To say Jack Douglas got the runaround when he tried to pay cash for a foreclosed house is a huge understatement. He got ripped off. Literally, by the vandals who stripped out the furnace, water heater and most of the water pipes. And indirectly by others involved in the sale.
Our zoos say much about us
Jan 26, 7:42 AM
Most people accept that zoos are preferred, a coexistence between humans and animals. Without zoos, our penchant to see animals from unrealistic perspectives would thrive. So in some ways, the animals need us. And we need them.
A bit less buttah, a bit more love for Paula Deen
Jan 23, 8:12 PM
Don’t expect Paula Deen to go cold turkey on the hoecakes. If she did, she wouldn’t be Paula Deen. And her ardent fans — people who stand to learn from her newfound health challenges — would disengage.
Homeless need solutions as complex as their problems
Jan 22, 7:50 PM
Nothing will change until people grasp that a poorly performing public school system, inadequate public transportation, a lack of affordable housing and unemployment have more to do with homelessness than the more ready rationale — someone choosing to live on the street. Blame is just easier.
Court ruling equating money with speech still rankles
Jan 19, 10:15 AM
The U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission launched the era of the super PACs, entities that are separate from a candidate and able to reap unlimited contributions with little regulatory oversight. And the money isn’t affecting things in a good way, no matter what your political leanings.
KC gets chance to show off jazz
Jan 15, 11:34 PM
Come summer, every baseball sportswriter in the country will descend on the 18th and Vine district. The All-Star Game will bring them to town. And the jazz district, with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as the lead draw, better be ready. So it was a no-brainer for the city to trot out the checkbook recently and cough up $20,000 out of the tourism budget to resuscitate the Mutual Musicians Foundation.
Ron Paul: The Great Contrarian
Jan 16, 10:27 PM
Does Ron Paul matter? The Texas congressman doesn’t have a chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination. In fact, it’s looking like no one does against Mitt Romney.
Family drama turns to a hopeful chapter
Jan 12, 11:30 AM

It will be years before the baby is old enough to understand the drama of her first few weeks. Her mother was terminally ill with cancer when Camila was delivered at Truman Medical Center, and she never really regained consciousness.
FBI’s rape definition brings stats in line with reality
Jan 9, 12:25 AM
On Friday, the FBI’s crime database joined reality. The agency issued a new definition for the crime of rape, rectifying a policy more than 80 years behind the times. The old definition had long contributed to skewed data and damaging attitudes.
Republicans looking for Mr. Right
Jan 9, 11:32 PM
Rick Santorum’s surprise showing in the Iowa caucuses, losing to Mitt Romney by a mere eight votes, may be the last 15 minutes of fame allotted to the social conservative also-rans in the 2012 presidential primaries.
Foolish gunfire disrupts holidays
Jan 5, 8:23 AM
Four days after his New Year’s Eve was rocked by semi-automatic gunfire in his neighborhood, Richard Wagner is still incensed. May he stay angry throughout 2012. And have the Missouri legislature join him.
KC school transfers could be a mess
Jan 1, 11:52 PM
The recent turmoil surrounding the Kansas City Public Schools feels like yesteryear, when the district was under court-ordered desegregation. Those were difficult times for the morale of this city and, most importantly, for the educational opportunities of students.
Our challenge for 2012: Get Americans working
Jan 3, 12:11 AM
2011 will be remembered as the year Americans woke up to the harm of growing disparities in wealth and income. Americans have funded their consumption by taking on more and more debt. In 2008, the bottom fell out for a lot of households, and things haven’t improved much since.
Student shifting began long ago
Dec 29, 12:19 AM
The sands of this hourglass are slipping away. On Sunday, Jan. 1, the Kansas City Public Schools lose accreditation. But the shifting of students has long been under way.
Bound to help in a time of need
Dec 26, 2:00 AM

Kansas Citians generously stepped up in recent days on the same cause for two very different reasons: because they felt a connection, or because they couldn’t fathom one. They came to the aid of Zenia Acedo, the 19-year-old now raising her five siblings after their mother died and their father was deported.
Celebrity sheriff may have failed at fighting crime
Dec 26, 10:11 PM
In the end, it may be children that finally rid Arizona of the bullying tactics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The adults there certainly haven’t been able to do it.
As life unravels, teenager is left to fend for her family
Dec 26, 1:59 AM

Zenia Acedo’s mother died of cancer a few weeks after doctors delivered her premature baby by C-section. Zenia’s father was deported to Mexico as the family planned his wife's funeral. As the eldest, 19-year-old Zenia now is the head of the family. She has four younger brothers and tiny Camila, who soon will leave Truman Medical Center.
Daily struggles of these Muslims are all American
Dec 19, 8:40 PM
Where is Archie Bunker when you need him? Perhaps an updated version of the reactionary, bigoted curmudgeon of “All in the Family” could illuminate the trend of bashing American Muslims, most recently on view in the activism of the Florida Family Association.
‘Nuclear option’ for KC schools: a weapon of mass delusion
Dec 19, 2:57 AM
No local school system has a magic answer to overcome the struggles many poor children face: parents with drug and alcohol addictions, a new address every few months and hunger, to list only a few. And if a plan to revive the Kansas City schools fails to help children learn, do we cobble the district back together?
KC man’s honesty duly attracts kudos
Dec 15, 12:32 AM
On Tuesday, Craig Colbert’s face was televised nationally as “The Good Samaritan of Kansas.” Cable news picked up on the story about Colbert finding a wad of cash in an Overland Park parking lot over the weekend. He’d thought about how long it might take for someone working for $10 an hour to save the amount. So he turned the money in to police.
Obama stands up for racial diversity in school policy
Dec 12, 9:42 PM
Barack Obama has deftly begun what could be his most significant legacy on racial equity. Did you miss it? Most people did.
Celebrations honor Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec 11, 8:33 PM
The smell of warm tortillas, fresh off the conveyor belt inside the store, wafted out to the sidewalk. Outside, three dance groups took turns spinning in a meditative prayer/performance as customers bustled by, squeezing into San Antonio Carniceria y Tortilleria.
Hyatt adds insult to injury with memorial decision
Jan 27, 12:10 PM

It’s easy to envision legal and public relations officials advising against further tying the Hyatt name to the 30-year-old disaster. But this isn’t about guilt. It’s about respect for the deceased and those still suffering.
Less Photoshop for healthier female images
Dec 5, 9:49 PM
Thanks to a computer science professor and a Ph.D. student, American women may soon rediscover the muffin top.

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