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Mikhail Gorbachev: 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

By Mikhail Gorbachev | Nov. 11 at 12:03 a.m.

The Berlin Wall was one of the shameful symbols of the Cold War and the dangerous division of the world into opposing blocks and spheres of influence.

Student Views

Nov. 10 at 6:28 a.m.

Student testing —First, the good news: The nation's elementary and middle school students are scoring better on achievement tests. Now, the bad news: States are dumbing down the tests to meet No Child Left Behind benchmarks and receive funds. Education Secretary Arne Duncan released a press statement accompanying new research by the National Center for Education Statistics. NCES researchers attempted to translate scores from the tests that the states administer as part of the No Child Left Behind program to the more rigorous federal National Assessment of Educational Progress, know as the "nation's report card." The findings are not promising. A total of 15 states lowered standards for the grade of "proficiency" on at least one test, while only eight raised them. More shocking than the dumbing down of tests is the gap between states like Massachusetts and South Carolina, with the highest standards, and states like Tennessee and Mississippi, with the lowest standards. For a fourth-grader to score proficient in math in Tennessee requires 198 out of 500 on the NAEP exam. Massachusetts requires a score of 254. How does Kansas score on the thoroughness of exams? Like most other Great Plains states, Kansas set lower proficiency levels for fourth-graders in reading than those used on the 2007 national exam. Congress probably placed the bar too high by expecting absolutely everyone to magically score at a basic level by 2014. Mandates like that only encourage teaching for the tests and lower standards to meet the requirements in writing, but not in spirit. Raising standards is absolutely the right thing to aim for, but the implementation is crucial. Without a strong plan for improvement, No Child Left Behind has unfortunately become No Child Put Ahead.— David Shaub, Wichita State University's the Sunflower

Election a warning for both parties

By Carl Leubsdorf, Dallas Morning News | Nov. 10 at 12:04 a.m.

Republicans are celebrating two high-profile electoral successes last week; Democrats are licking their wounds. But the results and dynamics revealed long-term problems for both national parties.

Leonard Pitts: There's no honor in 'honor killing'

Nov. 9 at 7:10 a.m.

We don't know why Faleh Hassan Almaleki came to this country in the mid-1990s, and it's unlikely he'll be able to tell us anytime soon. He's in jail in Maricopa County, Ariz., at this writing, in lieu of a $5 million cash bond. It hardly seems far-fetched, however, to suppose he emigrated from his native Iraq for the same reason immigrants typically seek these shores: America promises opportunity and freedom.

Jonah Goldberg: The end of a liberal era that never began

By Jonah Goldberg, Tribune Media Services | Nov. 9 at 12:07 a.m.

It's all so terribly sad.

Reforms still needed

Nov. 8 at 12:07 a.m.

The following is an excerpt of remarks made by FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair at Kansas State University's Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series last week in Manhattan:

Trudy Rubin: U.S. needs strategy for handling Karzai

Nov. 8 at 12:54 a.m.

The re-election of Afghan President Hamid Karzai creates new headaches for the Obama administration. But it also presents opportunities to be seized.

Kansas farmers would gain from cap-and-trade

By Tom Vilsack | Nov. 8 at 12:07 a.m.

Throughout history, America's farmers and ranchers have embraced the opportunities presented by science to improve productivity and make our country the breadbasket of the world. Today, rural America has the opportunity to once again embrace science and lead efforts to build a clean-energy economy, achieve energy independence, and combat global climate change.

Dr. Bill Roy: Need to get everyone in health care system

Nov. 7 at 1:53 a.m.

I have slowly realized that the fiasco going forward in Washington, D.C., under the rubric of health care reform is severely handicapped by the failure of the people of this nation to decide whether of not everyone has a right to health care.

Jonah Goldberg: Conservatives tired of moderating

Nov. 6 at 12:50 a.m.

If there's one thing liberal pundits are experts on these days, it's the sorry state of conservatism. The airwaves and opinion pages brim with more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger lamentations on the GOP's failure to get with President Obama's program, the party's inevitable demographic demise and its thralldom to the demonic deities of the right — Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin.

Clarence Page: 'Death panel' canard won't die

By Clarence Page, Tribune Media Services | Nov. 6 at 12:07 a.m.

Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor-turned-blogger, cannot see Russia from her house, as Tina Fey's version of her claimed in a "Saturday Night Live" skit. But she is poking this country's politics from her laptop.

Clarence Page: Racial hope fades despite Obama

Nov. 5 at 1:50 a.m.

In my favorite "Star Trek" episode, Capt. James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise encountered humanoids from a planet embroiled in war over an issue as clear as black and white. Literally.

Obama has Fox News; Truman had Time magazine

By Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer | Nov. 5 at 12:07 a.m.

Harry Truman could have taught Barack Obama a thing or two about how to deal with a hostile press — basically, by ignoring it.

Dear Sarah: Keep up the great writing

By Carl Hiaasen, Miami Herald | Nov. 3 at 11:03 p.m.

Confidential response of Sarah Palin's book editor to the first draft of her coming memoir, "Going Rogue":

Cal Thomas: Free-market fixes are best option

Nov. 4 at 6:44 a.m.

Why should Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., be believed when he promises states can "opt out" of a public option on health care? This isn't like opting out of sex education class. Individuals won't be able to avoid the consequences of national health care once the government puts the insurance companies out of business.

Health bill won't insure us against mounting deficits

By Jim Landers, Dallas Morning News | Nov. 2 at 11:05 p.m.

President Obama's top economic adviser said last week that health care reform is essential to gaining control of the nation's deficit. But Christina Romer was only able to applaud congressional attempts to keep from adding still more to the nation's overspending.

Mary Sanchez: Hate crimes law no threat to religious liberty

Nov. 3 at 6:29 a.m.

Congress' recent vote to finally include sexual orientation in hate crimes legislation has caused near hysterics in some religious communities. Someone needs to remind these pious folks that in America, religious freedom is indeed a sacred, secure right. They remain free to demonize the immoral or ungodly, even as those lost souls are free to carry on their lives in peace as they see fit.

Jonah Goldberg: NEA still paying to play

By Jonah Goldberg, Tribune Media Services | Nov. 1 at 11:02 p.m.

It seems Rocco Landesman, the head of the National Endowment for the Arts, didn't get the memo, literally.

LEONARD PITTS: On black beauty and 'good hair'

Nov. 2 at 6:22 a.m.

An open letter to African-American women: It's about the need to be beautiful, I know.

Mike Hendricks: Roeder not another John Brown, David

Nov. 1 at 12:52 a.m.

Little David slew the mighty Goliath and held aloft the Philistine's severed head.

Kathleen Parker: Obama excluding women?

Nov. 1 at 12:52 a.m.

As if President Obama didn't have enough on his plate with health care and Afghanistan, he's now faced with the problem that can't be solved: women.

Why I went to D.C. to support health reform

By Robyn Liu | Nov. 1 at 12:03 a.m.

About 150 doctors from all 50 states went to Washington, D.C., on Oct. 5 and were addressed by President Obama in the Rose Garden. Maybe you saw it and wondered who went to represent Kansas. Well, that was me. I went as a member of the group Doctors for America.

Troop levels in Afghanistan are the easy part

By Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times | Oct. 31 at 12:03 a.m.

President Obama's in-house debate on troop levels in Afghanistan isn't over yet, but it's a safe bet what he'll do: Split the difference. Obama's military commander, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, requested between 10,000 and 40,000 additional troops. The president appears headed toward a number in the middle.

Jonah Goldberg: Save planet without having to give up dogs

Oct. 30 at 6:37 a.m.

The government cannot have my dog. Don't tell that to the authors of the new book "Time to Eat the Dog?: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living." They calculate that dog owning is much worse than SUV driving for the planet.

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