Gov. Sam Brownback promised that his new tax plan would benefit all Kansans, including low-income Kansans. But now the earned income tax credit, which helps low- and moderate-income working households keep more of what they earn, is under attack in the Legislature.
Why do people feel the need to sue the police department for using excessive force? When you point a gun, knife or any other weapon at an officer, there should be no such thing as “excessive force.”
In recent weeks, Gov. Sam Brownback has been touring college campuses in support of public higher education. His budget calls for stable funding and targeted investments in growing and vital areas of the higher-education system to support the recovery and growth of the Kansas economy. The Kansas Board of Regents is grateful for the governor’s efforts on behalf of a strong higher-education system.
The writer of “Keep religious beliefs out of state matters” (April 27 Letters to the Editor) seems to want con artists for representatives in government. The writer was upset about Gov. Sam Brownback’s religious beliefs influencing his decision and support for pro-life legislation. Brownback’s positions on this matter and many others are well-known and consistent.
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities require various levels of care and supervision in order to function. They require this assistance for their entire lives. Parents are scared to death that changes to the current system of community-based services will disrupt that care. They have good reason to be scared.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently stated on the Senate floor that tea party members are anarchists who eschew violence but kind of hide that they do not believe in government in any level. Such partisan generalizations are always misleading and largely untrue. But they are strong evidence of the growing perceptual gaps between the political, economic and religious visions of different groups of people.
Joan Wagnon, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, was correct when she cited the progressive leaders who, along with the wacky ones, came together and made this state a good place to live (April 23 Opinion). Unfortunately, those days are gone. Pragmatic compromise that allowed Kansas to flourish in times past has been replaced with a conservative absolutism that is frightening in its ferocity.
In the April 14 Parade magazine, Marilyn vos Savant argued that “fair taxes require complexity.” Unfortunately, her argument is unfair to the topic. Vos Savant ignored vital factors, including the subjectivity of fairness, the inconsistency of comparisons, and the unfairness directly caused by the tax code’s complexity.
I am a parent of a 24-year-old daughter who has Down syndrome, multiple intellectual disabilities, uses a wheelchair and needs care around the clock. What is already happening with the implementation of KanCare for people who are in wheelchairs and do not have an intellectual disability scares me about what KanCare will do to save the state money.
Wichita schools superintendent John Allison has done a marvelous job showing us how to make the best of a bad situation (April 23 Local & State). What the governor has done to K-12 school budgets, Wichita’s in particular, is dreadful. And Allison has reacted extremely well, with different uses of buildings and a way to build a new, well-equipped, large high school on the periphery of the district.
Apparently Gov. Sam Brownback has forgotten that he is governor of a state populated by citizens with a variety of religious beliefs and political leanings. For him to have “JESUS + Mary” handwritten at the top of his notes about a bill that restricts a woman’s right to control her body was an insult to those of us who don’t share his religious beliefs or his belief that the state should interfere in a woman’s decision to have a legal abortion (April 23 WE Blog excerpts).
It is too bad that the article “Study: Hospitals profit from mistakes” (April 18 Business Today) was buried on Page 3C. It should have been the front page’s top headline, as it has far more impact on everyone’s lives than state budget issues or even gun control.
The past week was a violent and tragic one, including the shooting death of a friend here in Wichita on April 18. Many prayers and comforting thoughts need to be offered to everyone involved, even those we might not consider worthy of prayers, forgiveness or compassion.
Many thanks to Eagle reporter Roy Wenzl for his interview of Kansas statesman and former Sen. Bob Dole (April 21 Eagle). In an age when we lament the lack of compromise shown by our political leaders, it is important to realize how we citizens, as well as our leaders, have become polarized and “partisanized” in our views and lack the common unity we all should have as Americans.
Contrary to popular belief (“Dangerous treaty,” April 13 Letters to the Editor), our elected officials’ newsletters might not be the best source of factual information. For those who have been misinformed by the fearmongering right about the draft United Nations arms trade treaty, here is all you need to know about the treaty:
Kansas Children’s Service League serves as the Prevent Child Abuse America chapter for Kansas, and we encourage all Kansans to “plant” blue pinwheels all over their communities this April. Blue pinwheels represent the effort to change the way our nation thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start.
Three years ago, Wichita made a great step forward in providing doctors for Kansas communities. The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita added the first two years of medical school to the existing third and fourth years we’ve had since the early 1970s.
Our Kansas senators, Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts, voted “no” on a bipartisan bill that would protect Kansas citizens (“Gun-control measures fail in Senate,” April 18 Eagle). Allowing anyone to buy guns on the Internet and at gun shows puts guns in the hands of people who may harm innocent people.
The commentary by Kansas Republican Party chairman Kelly Arnold was nothing other than a propaganda piece for the governor of our state (“Brownback, GOP put Kansas back in game,” April 16 Opinion).
Wichita is asking citizens to help reduce emissions to avoid fines for high ozone levels (April 13 Eagle).
I am the parent of an 11-year-old son who has childhood disintegrative disorder, a rare form of autism and moderate intellectual disability. I also have a 9-year-old daughter who has bipolar disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. I thought The Eagle’s April 7 editorial supporting a KanCare carve-out of nonmedical services for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) was spot-on, especially in light of the issues we have had with KanCare since Jan. 1.
“More school meddling” (April 11 Eagle Editorial) gave an informed and insightful look at the need for legislators to know the issues before jumping into legislation that could affect the future of so many young Kansans.
I hope Kansans are paying attention to the news from Arkansas. An Exxon Mobil tar-sand pipeline ruptured and spilled oily gunk into a residential neighborhood. The sludge welled up from the ground and ran down the gutters in front of homes. The people were evacuated. They didn’t even know there was a pipeline under their development.
The Wichita State University men’s basketball team just finished a season that was nothing short of outstanding. We watched in awe as the Shockers defeated No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 2 seed Ohio State to advance to the Final Four for the first time in 48 years.
After just having come through an election in which the right to vote, voter suppression and voter-ID laws were front and center, guess what? A group of Republican senators, including Kansas Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts, vowed to keep a bill in the U.S. Senate from coming up for a vote (April 10 Eagle).
Cheney Reservoir is drying up into a mud hole, and the water levels are the lowest I have seen in 40 years. But I guess the city of Wichita prefers to raise water rates in lieu of conserving our water source.
Thursday is a very big day for the future of Wichita and our neighboring communities. Every citizen should be aware of our chance to show the U.S. Air Force how much we support and appreciate McConnell Air Force Base. Our chance to win the location of a tanker base at McConnell can be enhanced by your attendance at an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Wichita State University Hughes Metropolitan Complex at 29th Street North and Oliver.
I loved shopping in Wichita on Saturday. People attired in Wichita State University black or gold would pass one another and smile, offer a word of encouragement for the night’s game, and even stop to visit momentarily with complete strangers. On this day, the Shockers united not just the city but everyone in the state. What a blessing the Shockers have been to the community.
A Hutchinson News commentary blamed the 2010 and 2012 elections for widespread poverty, high property taxes, poorly educated children, out-migration and rural depopulation, and a maniacal hatred of government (“A political obituary for Kansas,” April 3 WE Blog excerpts). That might make for a gripping made-for-TV movie, but it would be fiction.
All the studies are completed. It will cost Kansas $139 million to implement the passenger rail service development plan.
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