Print edition: 
Repealer — The recent dog-and-pony show staged by the state Office of the Repealer in several Kansas towns was just that — a gimmick. For those of you in the dark, Gov. Sam Brownback's director of administration doubles as the repealer. No, he's not some caped hero or action figure, he is Dennis Taylor. The governor concocted this repealer nonsense when he was campaigning for the office he now holds. The repealer's job is to identify laws and regulations that might be out of date, unreasonable and burdensome or conflict with existing laws. That is what brought Taylor to Hutchinson for a meeting that drew a whopping crowd of 10 people. We suggest the repealer repeal the executive order that created the Office of the Repealer. — Hutchinson News
Primary — When Secretary of Administration Dennis Taylor has finished rooting out all the state laws that unduly hinder business growth and job development in his role as chief repealer, we'd suggest he and other officials take a look at the law that requires Kansas to conduct a presidential primary election every four years. The law has been on the books since 1990, but Kansans haven't voted in a presidential primary since 1992. The only other time the state's voters participated in a presidential primary was 1980, when one was conducted as an experiment. In other years, Kansas' Democratic and Republican parties have relied on caucuses that they fund to determine how their delegates are allocated at the parties' national conventions. We don't have a problem with the caucus system, nor are we opposed to a presidential primary. But we are more than a little curious as to why legislators leave a law on the books that they so routinely and easily dismiss. — Topeka Capital-Journal
Secret task force — By any definition, a task force must have members, so assuming there really is a "task force" working on what could be dramatic changes in the Kansas tax structure, why can't the Kansans who will be affected by those changes know who its members are? Not only are state officials keeping the members of the task force secret, they also are operating entirely out of the public view, offering the people of Kansas no opportunity for input. When the Journal- World pressed a Department of Revenue spokeswoman about the makeup of the task force, she refused to give any names or details. The secrecy surrounding the work on new state tax policies certainly leaves the impression that there's something about this process that the governor and his revenue secretary want to hide from the people of Kansas. If that's not the case, state officials need to open this process to public input and scrutiny. — Lawrence Journal World
Bullying — School bullies have been a problem for generations. In the past, educators and parents too often passed off bullying as a fact of life, and part of growing up. But cases of physical or verbal harassment, and other forms of intimidation in schools are taken more seriously now — and for good reason, considering the terrible trend in bullying that's led to suicide and other tragic fallout among youth. More schools and social service agencies are pursuing ways to counter bullying. Among those strategies, young people have been willing to stand before their peers and say they've been bullied. By sharing their experiences, young victims of bullying are driving home a needed anti-bullying message. They deserve praise for taking brave, important steps toward curbing the problem. — Garden City Telegram
