Archive By Section - Viewpoint
OK Kansas, gravy is NOT a food group
If there is one thing we like to do in Kansas, it's eat. Admit it. We will actually drive out of our way to find a place to eat, and we're not talking "nouvelle cuisine," either. As Cookie said in "City Slickers:" "You ain't gonna get any nouveau, amandine, thin crust, bottled water, sauteed city food. Food's brown, hot, and plenty of it." And that's the way we like it. Hot. Brown. And plenty of ...
Entertainment doesn't have to be true
Next year CBS could have Jackie Gleason host the Fourth of July program in Boston. After all, the technology exists and it's "just for entertainment," isn't it? This year, they "enhanced" the fireworks experience for TV, and who can blame them? Just because what they showed was not reality, why should that ever influence television? They have the technology to make what is good even better, why not use it? They have the ability to ...
Courtesy goes a long way towards success
Imagine this: American cities are learning they need to rethink how they do stuff because of the aging of the population.
Sit down and shut up
Good for the staff at the Alamo Cinema in Austin. They took a stand for common manners recently and the rest of us should appreciate it if more such steps were taken, especially at the cost of entertainment today. First of all, the cost of a movie is fine. Compare what you get today to what you watched when spaceships had visible wires and you could see the zipper in the back of the monster. ...
Surprise! You lost!
Earlier this summer, someone won $25,000 on a slot machine in Pennsylvania. Only they really didn't win, according to the state officials, even though they were allowed to keep the money. And in the process of all this mess, there are questions about just when a winner becomes a loser.
It's so hot, that ...
We are in that stretch of the summer. If you don't want to be depressed, just don't pay any attention to the weatherman. Consider a count down to October. Plan to spend as much time as possible in the cool of a dark cellar, or, better yet, in a nice, chilled movie theater. What ever you do to address the heat, now is the time. It's hot. As Johnny Carson once famously quipped: It was ...
" ... they are endowed ..."
"...they are endowed ..." Here is where our nation began. Our cultural and spiritual heritage dates back to this phrase in our Declaration of Independence, which is what we ought to be honoring this weekend and Monday. Would our Founders have understood our modern Independence Day celebration? Sure. They might not have condoned the extent to which we over do as a culture today. They might not have grasped why we would put ourselves in ...
Way to go!
Every so often you come across these human interest stories that suggest you are only as old as you believe you are.
Shooters are responsible
Local officials continued discussions about fireworks around Barton County this week. For the most part, in Barton County, they can only be shot on July 4. There were all sorts of questions raised about the legality of their use, depending on where they are fired compared to where the remainders land. You can probably see the issue here. With many types of fireworks, there is little control over these matters and in a time of ...
Pop goes the holiday
Barton County officials weren't ready to put the kibosh on fireworks for this Independence Day, but that's mainly because it's so late in the game.
Taxpayers don't get an escort
It's astonishing what ends up being controversial. One would think that in a community where celebrities, movie stars, diplomats, potentates and despots are as common as dirt, the public safety officials would have long ago gotten used to working with them, would know how to take their celebrity in stride. But it appears that the officials in the District of Columbia get as impressed as Barney Fife when a star shows up. First we heard ...
Al is certainly no pal
If you got to the Wikipedia Internet encyclopedia, and if you look up Bill Clinton, you are told that he was the 42nd president and that he was in office from 1993 to 2001.
They are unsocial media
For the uninitiated, the world is currently dealing with yet another in a seemingly endless variety of ways that we can be special and different. This time we do it through our Internet fixation and we call it "social media."
Time to rise above the past
A Barack Obama impersonator, apparently without meaning to, has set what ought to be the tone of the coming presidential election campaign.
Happy Father's Day
American dads are supposed to be remembered today. Few have done so better than the late Erma Bombeck and it's our tradition to remember her words on this day. Here's what Erma wrote: "When the good Lord was creating fathers, he started with a tall frame. "A female angel nearby said: 'What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so ...
Articles by Section - Viewpoint
Ironic freedom
On Thursday, Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill that establishes "Celebrate Freedom Week" during the week of Sept. 17 and requires schools to teach students about the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence in grades K-8 each year during that week. (Sept. 17, 1787, is the date the U.S. Constitution was adopted in Philadelphia.)
Copper recycling
Copper recycling can be a good thing coming out of old air conditioning or plumbing during replacement. Copper is a non-renewable resource, and apparently recycled copper is worth nearly as much as new copper.
Lack of supervision is cause for concern
Perhaps a Congressional inquiry about the Internal Revenue Service providing extra scrutiny targeting political groups should not be a surprise.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a founding principle of our country. Freedom of speech also comes with responsibility.
Cool/Not Cool
The Imagination Playground is coming to Great Bend and will make its public debut during June Jaunt. The portable playground is a set of oversized blocks, lightweight but sturdy enough to build with. They were designed by award-winning architect David Rockwell, who was inspired by watching his own children play.
Time to grow up
Challenges. All of us have them. And, it is easy to sit around and point fingers and blame others for our failures. It is easy to throw out exaggerated or incorrect information and hope people will listen and take up our cause because of the passion behind our words. It is easy to become caught up in distracting and destructive banter. It is easy to become a fool.
Trash talk
The senior class president of Heights High School in Wichita was suspended for the rest of the school year after posting a bit of trash talk about the school football team on Twitter.
Logical flood insurance rules finally passed
At long last, Congress, yes that gridlocked legislative body in D.C., has made changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Astoundingly, the new rules actually make sense.
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