Kansas City Star: Opinion

Farmers' role in climate change benefits everyone

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Climate change legislation that could create dynamic new markets for clean energy solutions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is moving through Congress. Congress must recognize the contributions of farmers, ranchers and forestland owners when establishing a viable and equitable system. Solutions from the land don’t only benefit agriculture and forestry — they make good tools in our nation’s fight against climate change.

Our most vulnerable people deserve a full chance in life

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

“My boy is going to have the same opportunities as everyone else.” Mama Gump, from “Forrest Gump”

Beware smoke screens masquerading as 'reforms'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

“Guarded optimism” characterizes community reaction to Superintendent John Covington’s new administration. There are hopeful signs. He has brought in new top executives whose appointments seem to be based on merit, not connections. And a budget cutting process is under way.

Health reform need not be bloated, expensive

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

As I’ve met with patients, doctors, small business owners and families to talk about health care, one thing is very clear: Missourians want to keep what works and fix what is broken. They are tired of bills whose importance is measured in length, rather than effectiveness. But the Washington Democrats’ response is to introduce a budget-busting, 1,990-page health care plan. This plan is so unwieldy that no one knows exactly what’s in it. We do know that it will cost more than $1 trillion, increase premium costs, put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor and pay for most of it with Medicare cuts.

Orderly Afghanistan exit should be planned, executed

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

I support a phased withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan, starting Jan. 1 and ending no later than Dec. 31, 2012. The Afghan people have suffered enough and the U.S. government should promote a negotiated settlement to the war. Afghanistan has been at war almost continually since 1979. We’ve been over there since 2001. At the end of 2012 we’ll have been there 11 years. That’s more than long enough to achieve our mission. And 32 years of war is too long for the Afghans.

A health care plan so flawed even some Democrats have doubts

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

This may sound surprising, but Republicans don’t have a monopoly on opposition to health care reform. Some Democrats also have doubts — if not on the merits of the plans before Congress, then on the decision to put health care ahead of reviving the economy. Here’s what three have to say. Start with Robert Reich, labor secretary during the Clinton administration. As Reich wrote recently on his blog, he supports “genuine health reform.” But he questions Obama’s priorities.

Lee Judge / The Kansas City Star (November 13, 2009) For more cartoons.

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:48 CST

Tim Goheen / McClatchy Newspapers (November 11, 2009)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:37 CST

Jim Morin / Miami Herald (November 11, 2009)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:27 CST

Lee Judge / The Kansas City Star (November 11, 2009) For more cartoons.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:27 CST

Rex Babin / Sacramento Bee (November 11, 2009)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:27 CST

We should bring the troops home, not send more

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

WASHINGTON | The most dreadful burden of the presidency — the power to send men and women to die for their country — seems to weigh heavily on Barack Obama these days. He went to Dover Air Force Base to salute the coffins of fallen troops. He gave a moving speech at the memorial service for victims of the killings at Fort Hood. On Veterans Day, after the traditional wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery, he took an unscheduled walk among the rows of marble headstones in Section 60, where the dead from our two ongoing wars are buried.

The strange messages we send our kids during the holidays

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Once again, the holidays are upon us — the frenzied season that begins with Halloween and ends in January with a ride on the resolutions bandwagon. For me, it is a love/hate thing, a time of year full of contradictions and questions.

A strategy for getting health care through Congress

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

There are some things we will never understand. Death, for one. I overheard a woman in the drugstore say, “He went in to the hospital yesterday and he was eating his supper and then he fell asleep and then he died. I don’t get it.” She didn’t seem grief-stricken, just uncomprehending. Why did it have to happen now? The paranoia that has seized the Republican Party is beyond my understanding.

Should Congress create a panel to suggest entitlement reforms that Congress would have to accept or reject on an up-or-down vote? Yes

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

In the post-Katrina world, if the country knew that a Category Five hurricane was headed for us, and we knew where it was going to hit, and we knew the size of the hurricane, and we knew the damage it was going to do, the government would be absolutely irresponsible not to respond to that. Well, what we have coming at us is a Category Five fiscal hurricane. So when to comes to entitlements, you’ve got to be willing to address not only reform and how you deliver better benefits at a lower cost under Medicare and Medicaid, and better benefits at a reasonable cost under Social Security, but you also have to address the tax side of the ledger.

Should Congress create a panel to suggest entitlement reforms that Congress would have to accept or reject on an up-or-down vote? No

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

President Obama should resist calls for a budget commission whose recommendations would be put to an up-or-down vote, bypassing congressional deliberations. Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire calls it a way to “require people to join hands and jump off the political cliff together.” But unpopular choices are not necessarily wise ones. The main focus of such a commission would be to force cutbacks in Social Security and other social insurance programs.

The GOP's strategy for defeating health care

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Something as sweeping as health care reform, we’re being told, should have bipartisan support. The creation of the interstate highway system did. And the Civil Rights Act. Ditto the Social Security Act of 1935. Well, no kidding. Of course health care reform should have bipartisan support — just as so many of our Republican congressmen are insisting. As they work feverishly to keep any trace of bipartisanship from seeping into the vote counts.

Obama's Afghan approach needs some steel

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

The decision on President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy finally seems close. After a process attacked as dithering and praised as deliberative, all the serious options appear to include a larger American commitment. America’s best military minds have argued that rescuing the situation in Afghanistan requires a decisive shift in strategy and an increase in resources. The Afghan population needs more protection, which would make local leaders more secure and cooperative, which would produce more actionable intelligence. It is the virtuous cycle that succeeded in Iraq. But, as in Iraq, it requires more troops.

Pro-Con: Should President Obama seek tough “fair trade” concessions from Chinese leaders? Yes

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

This month President Obama will meet with Chinese leaders to discuss, among other things, trade. If he tries to negotiate anything other than a typical free-wheeling North American Free Trade Agreement-style contract, his critics will predict doom and call him a protectionist. Of course, that’s the first thing they say upon waking up each morning. Our $2 billion per day trade deficit shows we have been ineffective protectionists.

Pro-Con: Should President Obama seek tough “fair trade” concessions from Chinese leaders? No

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

President Obama’s visit to China is an opportunity for the United States to pursue a more sincere partnership. The United States needs China to continue financing its debt; China needs U.S. markets to sell its goods. But there’s much more.

How area cities handled the smoking-ban issue

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Today — after plenty of contentious debates, too many delays but also many positive moves by elected officials and voters — good laws now protect the great majority of area residents from second-hand smoke in restaurants, bars, office buildings and other public places.

Pro-Con | Should juveniles serve life sentences for crimes other than homicide?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

No one disputes that most juvenile offenders should be treated differently from adults. The question is whether judges will be able to impose a life sentence on persons individually determined to be far worse than the typical teen miscreant. More fundamentally, the question is who should decide what range of punishments are available for the very worst. Should that decision rest with the people, through the normal democratic process? Or should the Supreme Court read this limitation into the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment,” which has never contained such a limit before? Supporters of a constitutional cutoff at the 18th birthday cite research showing that juveniles are in general less mature than adults and that the brain continues to change into early adulthood.

Why did Nidal Hasan get a pass from the FBI?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Apparently, the FBI’s investigation of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was not even that thorough. When the FBI “investigated,” it seems they went looking for a reason not to investigate — and they found it. No dots there.

Pro-Con | Is the recession truly over? Yes

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Officially, the Great Recession is over, at least for the United States. The economy recorded 3.5 percent annual growth for the third quarter of 2009. Fortunately, the administration of then-President George W. Bush recognized the severity of the crisis and provided emergency financing for U.S. banks teetering on the brink of insolvency. Those efforts were followed up by the stimulus measures passed by his successor, President Barack Obama. A $787-billion package is still percolating through the U.S. economy, providing a much-needed boost for spending as demand evaporated.

Pro-Con | Is the recession truly over? No

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

The recession is over, we are told. The Commerce Department announced that the economy grew in the third quarter of 2009 by 3.5 percent. Great, huh? Maybe not. About half that growth came from the Cash for Clunkers program, which transferred into the third quarter auto sales that would have occurred later. The tax credit of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers stimulated some house sales. Most of the effect of the $787 billion stimulus package, we are told by the Obama White House, has already been felt.

Complex families

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:04 CST

Could we learn anything by studying someone else’s dysfunctional or interesting family? The family saga story in fiction and non continues to be popular. The holiday film rollout always has a home for the holiday meal gathering of strangeness set of selections that run together year after year. read more

Clinton vs. Palin, on a coffee date

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:45 CST

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist Talk about a made-for-media event: Sarah Palin sitting down for coffee with Hillary Clinton. read more

Nairobi Bus Rolls with God

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:24 CST

By Greg Moore, The Kansas City Star Kenyans are God-fearing people. And though I haven’t been to church since coming to Nairobi more than a month ago, I did ride the bus last week. read more

Improving journalism through diversity

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:00 CST

By Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist Earnest L. Perry has helped make diversity count at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. Since 2005, he has been chair and associate professor of journalism studies. No African American held such a position when I was a student in the mid-70s. read more

A capital way to save money at City Hall

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:00 CST

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board Given Kansas City’s tight budget, does it make sense to create a new, permanent agency at City Hall? Absolutely, because a proposed Capital Projects Management Department would benefit Kansas Citians in two important ways. read more

End-of-life care provisions

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:30 CST

I am a graduate social work student planning a career in hospice. I was recently informed of the Advance Care Planning Consult Provision (ACPCP) proposed in the House health care reform bill. There has been a great deal of misunderstanding...

Wavering on Afghanistan

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:30 CST

Our naive, gullible and inexperienced president is trying to vote “present” or to abstain on making a decision about the war in Afghanistan just like he did in the Illinois legislature and in the Senate. It will not work this...

Bring back the draft

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:30 CST

Let’s get real with our two-war strategy. We need national service with a draft component. Insurgency strategies deal with hearts and minds of the affected population(s). We are also an affected population but disproportionately, resulting in too much theorizing and...

Show respect during anthem

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:30 CST

I was volunteering with a church group taking tickets at Starlight Theatre. When the national anthem began, a Starlight employee standing by our gate said in a booming voice, “Everyone, please, no talking.” We all could hear the music. As...

Obama deserves better

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:30 CST

President Obama has been the recipient of criticism, anger and vitriol unheard of in modern presidential politics. I believe this reaction stems from three primary factors: His ideology, with which many disagree. Racial prejudice, which is still alive and well...

A new park to save the plains

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

In 1987, two Rutgers’ University researchers ignited a prairie fire by suggesting much of the high plains, including a large swath of Kansas farmland, should be returned to its natural state — what they called a Buffalo Commons. The idea, which envisioned parts of 10 prairie states being transformed into a massive short-grass prairie national park, was derided as impractical, impossible and un-American. It was called city-logic. Farmers questioned why the Easterners hadn’t suggested returning New York City to its wild roots. “The idea offended me,” said former Kansas Governor Mike Hayden, once a harsh Buffalo Commons critic.

KC must work harder to satisfy residents

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Kansas Citians gave a big thumbs down to City Hall’s leadership in a recent citizen satisfaction report. With good reasons, people are disappointed not only with elected officials — whose satisfaction rating was a dismal 16 percent — but also with City Manager Wayne Cauthen and his staff, who registered only 19 percent approval.