The U.S. Senate took a momentous step Tuesday, passing a same-sex marriage law that offers a vital backstop for LGBTQ folks in Kansas and the nation. While the Respect for Marriage Act falls short in…

The mass shootings in Virginia and Colorado again call attention to the nation’s gun problem, but how deeply guns are embedded in everyday life can be seen from other random news reports: • When NBA…

I first shot methamphetamine when I was 17. As an abused child seeking relief from trauma and stress, I’d turned to alcohol at age 12 and had used numerous drugs to excess before sticking that…

Voters in neighboring Missouri just legalized recreational marijuana. Meanwhile, Kansas remains in the minority of states where neither medical nor recreational marijuana are allowed.   It’s a symptom of dysfunctional democracy in Kansas that legislators…

Sunday night, I sat on the couch, a cocktail in hand, watching Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes trot onto the field. Trailing the Los Angeles Chargers by four, Kansas City needed to drive 75 yards in…

When we think of the casualties of the Ukraine war, we obviously think of the human cost — the lives lost, the wounded and injured, the families displaced. But there are other, smaller casualties of…

Today, I want to take a few minutes to thank a grand lady for gracing Wichita with her presence last weekend.  Her name is Dolores Huerta, and she’s an icon of the labor and civil…

To no one’s surprise, Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to investigate former President Donald Trump. You might think that you’ve seen this movie before. But there’s little reason to…

Can the three newly elected Kansas State Board of Education members move the agenda to the far right?  We’ll soon find out.   While the much-hyped red wave didn’t materialize at the national level, Republicans…

For the better part of a decade, Kansas government has been consumed by tax policy. Residents first endured former Gov. Sam Brownback’s “experiment,” which resulted in yawning deficits, budget cuts and credit downgrades. Teachers fled.…