Opinion

OPINION – Trump has violated rights, and we will protest him Saturday

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Sheryl Hall, Liberal

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

On Sat, Oct. 18, Liberal has the opportunity to join the National “No Kings” day of peaceful protest. Of the many unprecedented actions of our current president and his regime, surely the most pressing issue is the rounding up of humans who have brown skin, the majority of which are perfectly legal. Documented, full citizens, even natural born citizens have had their lives and that of their families upended, many sustaining injuries.

If you have not by now seen the countless video accounts of extreme unnecessary roughness and injury to people from the very young to the very old, and the folks who have “done it the right way” having their paperwork revoked, you are watching a news source that ignores this injustice and you have yet to see the truth.

OPINION – Remember the 15th of September

L&T Publisher Earl Watt

Yesterday I was able to present testimony to the Special Committee on Taxation about the situation we face in Seward County.

I listened to several other Kansans also share their concerns, including Ellen Riedel, a citizen who, with her husband, bought a decaying bowling alley building and brought it to life.

What did they get for their effort? A massive tax increase through valuation, from about $3,000 a year in taxes on the building to $20,000 a year.

That made the project unsustainable.

Many are unaware of the process to pay under protest. While she was offering testimony she shared the she and her husband hired an attorney but only saw a minor reduction.

OPINION – Strange dreams

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

“I had a very strange dream,” my sister said, “and you were in it. You want to hear?”

“Sure.”

“I was fired! I came to school, and my fob wouldn’t work.”

My sister is a teacher. It is very unlikely that she would be fired and unlikelier yet that she would be fired without notice.

“But the funny thing was, I wasn’t upset. You were upset. You kept saying, ‘They can’t do that to you! You need to talk to the principal!’”

OPINION – Operation Divide MAGA

GUEST COLUMN, Josh Hammer, Townhall.com

If one were dead set on dividing President Donald Trump's MAGA coalition at the seams, how would one proceed? Trying to drive a wedge through the immigration issue doesn't necessarily make sense: Tightening and securing America's borders is so core to the nationalist-populist MAGA project that there can be little room in the coalition for much dissent. Trying to divide MAGA along economic laissez-faire or populism lines is also doomed to fail: As important as pocketbook issues are to everyday Americans, the wonky details of fiscal policy generally don't stoke fiery passion.

One could do a lot worse, however, than focusing on Jews -- and specifically, on the respective relationships between American Jews and American Christians and between the United States and Israel. I experienced this firsthand, yet again, this week.

OPINION – Faith isn’t a threat

GUEST COLUMN, Lanell Griffith, Topeka

Across Kansas, churches and community groups are doing work the government can’t. None of that should be seen as a threat.

Yet some in Congress are pushing laws that would let federal agencies punish or silence groups simply because their beliefs don’t match the prevailing politics of the day. That’s wrong.

Our nation’s founders knew that true freedom includes the right to live by conviction—even when it’s unpopular. When Washington tries to muzzle faith, it is not protecting democracy; it is undermining it.

Kansas communities are stronger because faith is free. Let’s keep it that way.