The editor of the Kansas newspaper raided by police last year has a message for journalists struggling with their sense of purpose. Go on the offensive. “I think this is a time when we have to establish for the people of this country the fact that we are important, that we have things that we can tell them that they will want to know, that they will want to change their positions about,” Meyer said. Read more here.

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Election Day has come and gone, for Kansans and non-Kansans alike. Political junkies will pore over the results for months if not years. But news beckons, and I don’t have that long. Here are my 20 hot takes for the 2024 general election, based on array of news, analysis and my own uneasy gut. Read here.

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There are no guarantees in any election, but not that long ago in ordinary times (let’s define that as between 1960 and, say, 2016) there was a reasonable expectation that no matter which party won, the Republic would continue. Now, there is strong evidence to suggest that should Donald Trump win, the American experiment in democracy may be over. This is not hyperbole. Read here.

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Sometimes you need to step back to see what’s right in front of you. That alarming fact struck me last week as I watched firsthand how institutional forces conspire to deny Kansans the ability to vote for the candidates of their choice. I don’t believe the parties involved all gathered in some smoke-filled room to make their decisions, but they have nonetheless aligned themselves against pluralistic democracy and encouraged creeping authoritarianism. Read here.

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Want to know what Project 2025 is and how it may impact you? Watch as Amii Castle and members of the Lawrence/Douglas County Chapter of Women for Kansas discuss the implications of Project 2025 and learn what freedoms are at stake. Amii Castle is a law professor at KU. Since moving to Lawrence in 2016, Amii has been active in local, state and national politics, and is committed to spreading truthful, accurate information to fellow community members about important political issues. Watch here.

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In 2021, the Kansas Legislature passed a ballot signature verification mandate and other measures that became the target of lawsuits challenging the state constitutionality of the new laws. In May 2024, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that voting is not a fundamental right guaranteed by the state constitution. Instead, according to the majority opinion, voting is a “political right.”

This jaw-dropping decision is at odds with interpretations of the constitutions of nearly every other state and sets a risky precedent in a time of extreme political turbulence. In it, the majority on the Kansas Supreme Court has asserted its right to be wrong — legally, historically, and morally. Read here.

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This year I will celebrate my 70th birthday. I do not consider myself old, but I am definitely getting there. As an attorney, judge and 24-year veteran of the Kansas Army National Guard, I have seen a lot and done a lot. However, there are many things I see and still do not understand. Here are a few… This list could go on forever. Thanks for reading my list of questions. Wait, I thought of some more … Read more here.

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