Local Columns

Saturday Column: Lack of honesty undercuts confidence in president

What should Americans think when their president does not tell the truth?What should foreign leaders think when the U.S. president does not tell the truth?Once a person is found not telling the truth, how can others have any confidence or certainty that he or she is being told the truth on ...

Opinion: N.D. fracking: Boom or bust?

For the first time in some 40 years, I didn’t open the pheasant season in Kansas with the same group of friends. Such traditions are painful to break, but the dearth of birds in drought-stricken Kansas and divergent commitments trumped nostalgia. So I struck out for South Dakota, where ...

Saturday Column: KU football needs more than promise of ‘next year’

Earlier this week, a Journal-World editorial congratulated all those associated with Kansas University football for the excellent academic record posted by the players. For the second year in a row, KU placed 19 players on the Big 12 academic football team, tying for the top spot with ...

Opinion: Conspicuous consumption

The art world has very much been in the news the past few weeks. First, German police found a cache of art obtained during the Nazi era in Germany. The art has been valued at over $1 billion. Second, Christie’s, the international auction giant, set a new record for a work of art when it sold ...

Saturday Column: Teammate’s death spurs reflection on football changes

Mike McCormack, one of Kansas University’s finest athletes, died last week in Palm Desert, Calif.McCormack played football at KU in 1948, ‘49 and ‘50 and enjoyed a Hall of Fame career as a professional football player and as a coach, director of football operations and president of an NFL ...

Simons’ Saturday Column: Quality of regents is critically important to the state

How does the state of Kansas strengthen and build the excellence of its regents system of universities?Most every elected official in Kansas, industrial development officers, chamber of commerce spokespeople, editorial writers, candidates for public office and leaders of various schools all ...