In two weeks’ time, three mass shootings killed 34 people and left dozens more injured. We were outraged and in shock, and for a few days we managed to sustain a collective call for new laws that would make our country safer. Now, we are moving on. This is our human nature, to search for ...
The protests in Hong Kong are heartbreaking to witness. I recall the gloom that accompanied the handover of sovereignty ceremony in 1997. Prince Charles was there. So was Tony Blair. Only eight years had passed since the communist Chinese government had mowed down an estimated 10,000 democracy ...
Perhaps you’ve heard of white fragility. The term was popularized by sociologist Robin DiAngelo in her 2018 book of the same name that seeks to explain why white people often find it so hard to discuss race, why the subject frequently makes them angry and defensive. Well, a textbook example ...
As evidenced by their support for mental health care and social services in general, Douglas County commissioners certainly are kindhearted. But they aren’t always business-minded. That was highlighted in their regrettable decision to seemingly forgo a search process to find the next county ...
Grand Rapids, Michigan — It is difficult to discourage and impossible to manage Justin Amash because he, unusual among politicians, does not want much and wants nothing inordinately. He would like to win a sixth term as congressman from this culturally distinctive slice of the Midwest. He ...
Former Speaker of the U.S. House Tip O’Neill famously said “All politics is local.” He was referring specifically to congressional races, where responding to local issues from a national perspective — farm subsidy payments, Social Security checks, small business loans, etc. — was ...
Washington — I have a confession to make. I am one of the five remaining Americans who is uncomfortable with vulgarity, put off by profanity and offended by blasphemy. Swearing is now generally taken as a sign of authenticity; it is more often the expression of anger and aggression. I don’t ...
Chicago — Given its surplus of violence and scarcity of resources, Chicago surely has bigger things to worry about than the menace, as the city sees it, of Laura Pekarik’s cupcakes. Herewith redundant evidence of regulatory government’s unsleeping solicitousness for the strong. Pekarik, ...
Washington — Watching videos of Chinese protestors singing the U.S. national anthem in the streets of Hong Kong, or hearing the tear-jerking chorus of "Les Miserables" during a sit-in at the Hong Kong airport, only someone with a heart of stone wouldn't want to assist these brave people who ...
I read with dismay that the Lawrence Community Homeless Shelter is reducing the number of clients it can serve from 125 to 60. Hundreds of people who gave generously to help the Shelter acquire and furnish the current facility will be equally disappointed. When the move was made, the ...
Jeffrey Epstein didn’t commit suicide. He was murdered by Hillary and/or Bill Clinton. Or he was assassinated by the Russians. Or Donald Trump killed him. Or he isn’t dead at all, having been spirited into the Witness Protection Program, where he presumably now shares an island mansion ...
To the editor: Your recent in-depth article dealing with the one-year accomplishments and plans of KU’s athletic director (“Tough Task,” Aug. 4) was troubling on a number of levels. His assertion that “fixing the football program “will ‘raise all boats’ and benefit the ...
It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since I retired. The days roll into weeks, the weeks to months and the months to years. Still, I remember a certain day in August 2015 like it was yesterday. It was my first day as a volunteer at Just Food here in Lawrence. It was also the day ...
To the editor: Whoa! On raising the water bills in Lawrence. I am grateful to have my own small home, but my water bill has been terribly high the last few months: $99 a month. I have a 900-1,000 square-foot home and have a set income — Social Security, which isn’t much. I am also over 60 ...
To the editor: Our U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins said of the Mueller Report, “There doesn’t appear to be much there.” (Associated Press, July 31). If you actually read the report, there is enough about Russian interference with our democracy to cause concern, outrage and a sense of urgency. ...
To the editor: The story regarding 200 adjustments of more than $60 million to the city’s 2018 financial statements is very concerning. l What were these adjustments? How should these adjustments have affected the decisions made during the budgeting process? l How can Commissioner Stuart ...
To the editor: Words matter. They can break your heart (“My feelings for you have changed…”), titillate your mind (“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know…”) and enlighten your soul (“I have a dream…”). No one understood this better than the late Toni ...
To the editor: Let me get this straight: Our city commissioners slash funding for the Lawrence Community Shelter to the extent that it has to fire staff and reduce its guest capacity by half. At the same time, it commits to building new high-rise, high-dollar apartment buildings, new stores, ...
La Jolla, Calif. — One of the weirdest aspects of this year’s Democratic presidential campaign is that foreign policy, potentially one of President Trump’s most vulnerable issues, has been nearly absent from the debate. Trump is steering the country into a foolish trade war with China ...
More bad news at the Lawrence Community Shelter shouldn’t lead to yet another discussion about how much more money local governments should give to the shelter. It should lead to a more in-depth discussion about what local governments can do beyond money to help the shelter, which provides a ...
