Commentary
Why the Harris-Trump presidential debate matters and four things to keep in mind as you watch
A common complaint about presidential debates is that they change few minds. This year, with anywhere between 3% and 6% of likely voters undecided in early September and the closeness of the race, especially in the battleground states, that is more than enough to swing an election if a sizable portion favor one candidate over the other as […]
Where’s the latest farm bill? Follow the proposed spending for clues
Congress couldn’t pass a new farm bill last year, so it punted. The extension of the old bill ends in less than a month, on Sept. 30. It will likely miss that deadline, too, an unprecedented two-year delay. Farm state representatives predict doom without a new farm bill. They would have us believe we will go […]
Two years ago, sports betting became legal in Kansas. It wasn’t worth the risk to some
Outrage is my beat. Somebody asked me the other day what exactly my beat was in writing a regular opinion column. The query came during a phone call with a producer for a television documentary while she was doing a pre-interview to decide if anything I had to say was compelling enough to appear on […]
We can raise the alarm about bad laws without telling women they are powerless
What the public thinks the law is can matter more than what a law on the books actually says. So inaccurate or exaggerated reporting on a problematic law can make it even more harmful in practice. Over the years, I have written about a number of viral news stories that inadvertently misrepresent the law, causing […]
For 32 years, dozens of deaths tied to nurse at Columbia’s VA hospital have been unresolved
In September 1992, as I performed one of the perfunctory duties of my job as assistant city editor of the Columbia Daily Tribune — watching the nightly local news to keep up with our competitors — a startling story came on KMIZ. Stephen Gaither, a spokesman for Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, described to […]
Preserving the promise of public service loan forgiveness
Much has been written about the conservative crusade to stop President Biden’s student loan cancellation efforts, including Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s recent victory in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which blocked the Department of Education from implementing its new income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE). Less noticed was how this […]
Without small donors, voters aren’t left with much
If one change could profoundly elevate American politics, it is how campaigns are funded. The relentless need for fundraising incentivizes candidates to exhaust the generosity of small-dollar donors and, at the risk of diminishing their values and policy objectives, rely heavily on a limited number of wealthy contributors. After all, for politicians who have gotten […]
Where Kamala Harris stands on Big Ag is anybody’s guess
For the nation’s chicken farmers, the last nine months have been breathtaking. Poultry producers have been gamed, we might as well say plucked, for decades by chicken companies. Ever since the 1948 Chicken of Tomorrow contest, Big Poultry has found ways to increase its profitability at the hands of many individual farmers. In July of […]
The lead characters in the political drama are set, only we can determine the ending
The political drama of this election cycle has had scenes and dialogue that were downright ridiculous or refreshingly unbelievable, but don’t be cajoled or fouled. What we are witnessing is not entertainment. This is history unfolding before our very eyes, and we have the most central and critical role to play. We are familiar with […]
We can help bring civility back to politics by focusing on an overlooked tool: listening
Being civil seems like the bare minimum of what we owe each other, yet studies show that incivility is on the rise in our country. A 2019 Pew Research survey found that 68% of those surveyed wanted elected officials to exhibit a tone of civility and respect in politics. Yet we watch politicians talk past each other […]
No, we don’t want Andrew Bailey handling abortion cases in place of local prosecutors
While busy with his own campaign for Missouri attorney general, Republican Andrew Bailey also loomed large in the primary race for prosecutor of the state’s second largest county. He popped up repeatedly in Jackson County in forums and interviews, sometimes by name and sometimes not, but always as a menacing presence. After a lively and […]
Mass deportations would be a moral, logistical and economic disaster
There’s an image that’s stayed with me for weeks: A sea of people holding up “Mass Deportation Now” signs at the Republican National Convention. Since then, I’ve been plagued with nightmares of mass raids by the military and police across the country. I see millions of families being torn apart, including families with citizen children. […]