Articles of Interest

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American exceptionalism, longer school days, landfill violations, Kansas vs. Missouri, open government.

The Europe Syndrome and the Challenge to American Exceptionalism (Charles Murray in The American) “Drive through rural Sweden, as I did a few years ago. In every town was a beautiful Lutheran church, freshly painted, on meticulously tended grounds, all subsidized by the Swedish government. And the churches are empty. Including on Sundays.” There’s a difference between Europe and America, Murray tells us. Another difference is work as vocation, or work as necessary evil. There are also some changes coming in our understanding of humans. For example, consider the “equality premise,” which is the basis of political correctness, affirmative action, and much of the Democratic Party’s proposed legislation. Murray predicts that within a decade, no one will be defending this premise. There’s also what Murray calls the “New Man” premise, which says that “human beings are malleable through the right government interventions.” Murray says we are learning that this is nonsense. This is just the start of what you can learn in this fascinating article.

President Obama’s call for longer school days raises questions (Suzanne Perez Tobias in the Wichita Eagle) Should kids be in school longer? No matter what decision is made, it will be one-size-fits-all.

Cornejo landfill along K-15 taller than permitted (Brent D. Wistrom in the Wichita Eagle) Is a politically-connected businessman allowed to violate agreements with the City of Wichita? Do neighbors have a legitimate complaint? I’ve been told a class action lawsuit may be in the works. The Eagle article contains links to documents. Many comments left to this article indicate that citizens are not happy with this situation.

Kansas to lose $1.4 million in taxes every year when store moves 100 feet into Missouri (Kansas Meadowlark) “A QuikTrip plans to spend millions of dollars and ‘move’ 100 feet from Kansas to Missouri.”

Open government fuels democracy (Randy Brown in the Wichita Eagle) Brown lays out the case for open government, and cites instances where Kansas governments are not being open or transparent. In particular, USD 259, the Wichita school district has problems. There will be an event: a “public forum ‘The Power of Open Government: What Citizens Can do’ Sunday at 3 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. The forum will be telecast live on KAKE-TV, Channel 10.” I’ll be there.

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