In a day when it’s tempting to give up on politicians as demagogues and schemers, we recommend showing up at a Jerry Moran tour stop the next time our congressman comes through Marion County on his tour of “The Big First.” We had that privilege Monday afternoon in Peabody, and again came away believing the Kansas First District may be the luckiest in the country.
Jerry Moran is an articulate and persuasive politician, but not in a manipulative sense. He’s real. His positions are thought through and based on something refreshingly powerful: common sense. Moran actually listens. He invites conversation, not dictation. On several points, Moran was quick to identify his differences with the party line. He’s is appalled as anybody about the games played in Washington and admits he doesn’t feel at home there. He’d rather be home in Kansas.
Don’t know what to do with your extra day on Friday? Since Leap Day, Feb. 29, comes around only once every four years, it seems fitting to celebrate the occasion by doing something you normally don’t do during the course of a standard year.
For example, say something nice about the IRS. Leave a tip at fast-food restaurant...or any restaurant. Speak with a British accent (unless you’re Britney Spears). Don’t criticize an official during a basketball game. Close the lid to the toilet when you’re through. Turn off your cell phone for the entire day.
You get the idea.
Slaves to routine, most of us will probably observe Feb. 29 no differently than we would any other Friday. We’ll go to work or school, continue our routines and miss the opportunity to do something extra on this extra day of our lives.
To do one thing new and different. You know, maybe that should be our routine. —DR
Sometimes the best news stories are the ones you don’t have to write
because the tragedy didn’t happen. According to local emergency
responders, tragedy was barely avoided last week when fire, ambulance
and law enforcement personnel responded to a grass fire along U.S.
Highway 56 near the K-15 intersection just west of Lehigh.
Kansas Democrats and Republicans added their two bits in the national race for presidential nominees last week—in droves. The 2008 campaign season, which seemed to all of us to start way too early and promised to be a long and drawn-out endurance test, has unexpectedly turned into something of a dream season—akin to KU football’s run from rags to riches this past fall. Suddenly, the fan base is energized.
Theories abound about the reason for renewed energy, including among young voters. We see it as a deeply felt need for change—leadership that challenges citizens of this country to something higher and more noble than nearsighted, self-serving politics as usual. It’s as much about a system as it is personalities. It’s time for change. —DR
We wish Jules Glanzer nothing but success as he begins serving as Tabor College president. He has big shoes to fill with the retirement of Larry Nikkel. But the two men share important attributes that bode well for the health of the college: a genuine caring spirit for the people they seek to lead, strengths in organizational leadership, and a personal respect for and devotion to the institution itself.
While Nikkel strengthened the college’s organizational structure and enhanced its contemporary standing with numerous improvements in facilities, programs and financial support, Glanzer’s challenge is to the lead the college into an ever-evolving future. Preparing students for a world that is increasingly moving toward globalization and technological sophistication is high on his to-do list. Given his past experiences, Glanzer appears well prepared for the challenge.
