http://www.kansascity.com/273/index.xml News, sports and entertainment from The Kansas City Star en-us Copyright 2012Kansas City Star Opinion 60 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:47:58 CST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys 1.1.fi feedback@kansascity.com (Feedback) http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/03/3350167/lee-judge-cartoon-archive.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/03/3350167/lee-judge-cartoon-archive.html#storylink=rss Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:56 CDT Check out our collection of sharp political and cultural jabs by Kansas City Star cartoonist Lee Judge. 1579515 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/07/3415692/as-i-see-it-gary-bachman-on-guns.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/07/3415692/as-i-see-it-gary-bachman-on-guns.html#storylink=rss Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00 CST "I remain unconvinced that allowing concealed firearms on campus assures any increased measure of security," writes Gary E. Bachman, an associate professor at Park University. "I believe that they would likely constitute an increase in the overall measure of danger across all college campuses." 1579507 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/31/3401990/lets-leverage-the-power-of-hope.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/31/3401990/lets-leverage-the-power-of-hope.html#storylink=rss Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00 CST "If we really want to prepare our youth for life -- including academic success -- we can't expect everything to happen in the classroom," writes Cathy Tisdale, the president of Camp Fire USA. "… We need to talk about and galvanize the power of hope. It makes a big difference in kids' lives." 1579507 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/29/3395664/fair-policy-on-food-stamps-for.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/29/3395664/fair-policy-on-food-stamps-for.html#storylink=rss Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:00 CST On the change in policy that eliminates food stamps for children whose parents are illegal immigrants, Wm. Jeff Kahrs, the interim acting secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, writes: "SRS remains committed to providing assistance to those who genuinely qualify for it, as well as to equal treatment under the law. The previous policy discriminated against Kansas citizens." 1579507 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/24/3389399/a-tribute-to-the-cops-on-the-beat.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/24/3389399/a-tribute-to-the-cops-on-the-beat.html#storylink=rss Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00 CST "Cops get frustrated and their supervisors feel pressure but both value what each brings to the table," writes Judie Becker of Leawood. "So they keep working at making it work. Somehow the relationship lasts for more than three decades and we are better off and probably safer too because of it." 1579507 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/22/3382989/our-children-can-learn-can-we.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/22/3382989/our-children-can-learn-can-we.html#storylink=rss Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:00 CST "As we seek solutions for the seeming intractable problem of Kansas City Public Schools, we as a community are presented with the opportunity for a fresh start," Rebecca Haessig writes. "… But until we change our mind-set about what is possible for our schools … there is no superintendent, 'best practice' or 'road map' capable of fundamentally changing the trajectory of our schools." 1579507 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417674/kc-areas-interests-get-lost-in.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417674/kc-areas-interests-get-lost-in.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Both the Missouri General Assembly and the Kansas Legislature too often are next to useless in promoting a brighter future for the region. This is unacceptable given the challenges facing us. 1579525 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3418477/backlash-against-kobach-on-immigration.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3418477/backlash-against-kobach-on-immigration.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00 CST 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. 1579526 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/05/3409262/how-black-airmen-finally-slipped.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/05/3409262/how-black-airmen-finally-slipped.html#storylink=rss Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00 CST Something unusual happened at the premiere of the film, "Red Tails," at the AMC theater in Olathe. People applauded during the movie and when it ended. They also cheered, laughed and cried during the film. The movie that George Lucas produced about the Tuskegee Airmen has had that effect on audiences. "Red Tails" is particularly pertinent during Black History Month. 1579524 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419890/note-to-harvards-self-loathing.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419890/note-to-harvards-self-loathing.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST It was the morning after the Florida primary and a clip from Mitt Romney's victory speech came floating out of the car radio. 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419878/obamas-assault-on-the-poor.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419878/obamas-assault-on-the-poor.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Some issues fade; others fester. The Obama administration's contraceptive mandate on religious charities, hospitals and universities is the festering kind. 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417677/the-time-for-us-to-worry-is-now.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417677/the-time-for-us-to-worry-is-now.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The Obama administration has built up international pressure on Iran. A premature Israeli strike would undercut those U.S. efforts before they have played themselves out. 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417676/a-un-but-for-good-guys.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417676/a-un-but-for-good-guys.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00 CST The governments in Russia and China very much want to uphold the principle that every now and then the state must crush people who want freedom. That is why they vetoed a fairly toothless United Nations resolution condemning the regime in Syria and calling for President Bashar Assad, the lipless murderer who runs the place, to step down. 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/07/3415690/fairness-and-responsibility-for.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/07/3415690/fairness-and-responsibility-for.html#storylink=rss Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:00 CST "An economy that's built to last demands responsibility from everyone," President Barack Obama writes in a special op-ed column. " … And to recover from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, all of us need to take responsibility for our actions. I'll keep doing everything I can to make the future brighter for homeowners and families. But Congress needs to act, too." 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/06/3407157/mexicos-drug-cartels.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/06/3407157/mexicos-drug-cartels.html#storylink=rss Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00 CST 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. 1579520 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/06/3413477/the-wobbly-syrian-regime-presents.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/06/3413477/the-wobbly-syrian-regime-presents.html#storylink=rss Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Imperial regimes can crack when they are driven out of their major foreign outposts. The fall of the Berlin Wall did not just signal the liberation of Eastern Europe from Moscow. It prefigured the collapse of the Soviet Union itself just two years later. 1579520 http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/musings-on-life-in-kc.html http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/musings-on-life-in-kc.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11 CST These thoughts are not in order of importance: • Social Security inflation does not include food or fuel. • It takes longer to get something out of the package than to install it 1579510 http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/problem-with-israel.html http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/problem-with-israel.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11 CST Israel is about to drag the U.S. into a war with Iran 1579510 http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/many-wear-uniforms.html http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/many-wear-uniforms.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11 CST Uniforms promote unity of purpose, loyalty to belief and pride in one's self. Look around and think about it 1579510 http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/liberals-money-logic.html http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/liberals-money-logic.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11 CST A partnership and some associates buy an entity using 95 percent bank financing. Good stewardship and a favorable market appreciate the collateral asset 1579510 http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/making-kansas-a-draw.html http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/making-kansas-a-draw.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:11 CST Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback manages to identify yet another reason to lower taxes: the continued decline in Kansas population 1579510 http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/finally-real-mortgage-relief-homeowners/ http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/finally-real-mortgage-relief-homeowners/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:08 CST Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says Thursday's big mortgage settlement with several banks "doesn't solve everything." Well, no. Trillions of dollars in household wealth was lost in the housing bubble 1579509 http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/union-stations-winner-told-you-so/ http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/union-stations-winner-told-you-so/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:12 CST As someone who campaigned hard for the successful 1996 bistate sales tax election to save and restore Union Station, I have a few words about the latest good news regarding the depot: *Told you so.* I have long said that Union Station would be a good investment for this community, ... 1579509 http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/romneys-silly-faculty-lounge-attack-obama/ http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/romneys-silly-faculty-lounge-attack-obama/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:05 CST It was the morning after the Florida primary and a clip from Mitt Romney's victory speech came floating out of the car radio. "Like his colleagues in the faculty lounge who think they know better, President Obama demonizes and denigrates almost every sector of our economy," the GOP frontrunner declared 1579509 http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/quiet-please-kansas-legislators-hard-work/ http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/quiet-please-kansas-legislators-hard-work/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:20 CST Say this about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback: He doesn't back down from a fight 1579509 http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/dennis-moores-alzheimers-challenge/ http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/dennis-moores-alzheimers-challenge/#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:18 CST Former Rep. Dennis Moore and his family have a difficult road ahead as the former congressman struggles against Alzheimer's disease 1579509 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419907/the-stars-editorial-finally-real.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3419907/the-stars-editorial-finally-real.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says Thursday's big mortgage settlement with several banks "doesn't solve everything." 1579502 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417840/the-stars-editorial-shutting-libraries.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/08/3417840/the-stars-editorial-shutting-libraries.html#storylink=rss Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Given the significance of great parks and libraries in Johnson County, both the parks and library boards should be exploring the option of asking the County Commission to increase their annual funding for years to come. That's going to require putting together detailed plans on how those new revenues would build better parks and libraries. 1579512 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/30/3399489/mcclatchy-cartoons-for-the-week.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/30/3399489/mcclatchy-cartoons-for-the-week.html#storylink=rss Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:54 CST Political humor from all of McClatchy Newspapers' cartoonists, including Jim Morin, Rex Babin, Joel Pett and our own Lee Judge. 1579517