Opinion

OPINION – More badges

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

It’s November, and so I’m writing a book.

You may have heard of National Novel Writing Month. Until earlier this year, it was an official organization called NaNoWriMo, and it had almost 400,000 participants. The goal was to write 50,000 words in the month of November, and people of all ages and from all over the world participated.

But the organization got a little too big to monitor properly. At least one volunteer behaved badly, and the board was slow to act. The organization had no idea how to deal with AI. (If 50,000 words are written by artificial intelligence in 30 seconds, does it count?)

Eventually, the organization closed its doors, and I was one of many participants who were sad because, while I write almost every day, it was fun, one month of the year, to know I had lots of company.

OPINION – America’s lost frontier spirit - and the choice that remains

GUEST COLUMN, Michael Bedenbaugh

Americans are exhausted — not from blazing new trails, but from fighting over old ones. We bicker about politics, identity, and ideology as if conquest were still our national sport. Our frontier spirit, once the wellspring of creativity and courage, has curdled into something more cynical: bureaucracy, spectacle, and burnout.

A century ago, historian Frederick Jackson Turner predicted this moment. In 1893, he warned that when the physical frontier closed, America would lose the crucible that shaped its independence and adaptability. “American social development,” he wrote, “has been continually beginning over again on the frontier.”

By the end of the 19th century, the Census Bureau declared the frontier closed. Turner foresaw that this loss would change us profoundly — that a people defined by expansion would have to turn either inward or outward to find meaning.

He was right.

OPINION – Building a grid to power future demand and economic opportunities

GUEST COLUMN, Cora Hoffer, Center for Rural Affairs

In recent years, the U.S. has shifted to using a wider mix of energy sources located across the country. These resources help make our electric grid stronger, keep power flowing during disruptions, and create new jobs and business opportunities.

However, a sharp increase in energy demand is on the horizon. According to the Brattle Group, it is estimated that by 2035, the amount of electricity Americans use each year will increase by about 53 percent compared to 2024, while the highest levels of electricity needed at any one time will grow by around 36 percent. This means continued investment in the electric grid must be a priority.

OPINION – State Board of Education gets bad legal guidance from the Kansas Department of Education

GUEST COLUMN, David Trabert, Kansas Policy Institute

The October meeting of the Kansas State Board of Education contained another déjà vu moment: attempting to cover up another violation of state laws designed to improve student outcomes (see here and here for past examples.)

State Board Chair Cathy Hopkins commented on a Kansas Policy Institute discovery that school districts were not complying with the Every Child Can Read Act, saying, “What was put out is that the law was broken, which is completely untrue. That report is due to the legislature in January. So on/by June 30, districts are asked to provide information, which then gives KSDE staff time to put all that data together, make sure they have the data that is required and work on that until that report is then given to the legislature in January after they start session.”

OPINION – Luke 1: Mary visits Elizabeth

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

As we continue a series, "introducing Jesus in the gospels", we saw that God broke 400 years of silence with the angel's visits to Zacharias and Mary. After Gabriel told Mary that Zacharias' wife Elizabeth would miraculously have a child in her old age, Mary decided to travel from Nazareth to visit her relative. Let's look at their meeting, which is one of the most tender, yet theologically rich moments, in the gospel narrative.

"Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:39-41).