Abraham Lincoln concluded his second inaugural speech thusly: ‘With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish…

Perhaps it’s because of the unseasonably warm weather that I’ve had a hard time getting my head around Christmas — already.Thursday afternoon I saw bicyclists in T-shirts. Kids in shorts.As night fell, I “worked” the…

You have to wonder why some Kansas legislators and leaders are so upset that the state constitution requires them to provide an adequate education for Kansas students.Is it that they want our children to have…

Novelist Ann Patchett recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times telling of her one-year moratorium on frivolously spending. With enough shoes and clothes to last a lifetime, Patchett swore off falling victim to…

Thursday marks the sixth year that Santa’s Toy Shop will bring Christmas magic to children of all ages.The toy shop was inspired by my memories of being a small child in Iola and all of…

I briefly knew a woman who turned up her nose at the word “feminist,” as if its very sound was offensive.I couldn’t understand her viewpoint, especially because it was clear she had had a hard…

Cut taxes, an acquaintance demanded when I mentioned Allen County had accumulated in the neighborhood of $4 million in reserves, mostly thanks to Enbridge pipeline company.Enbridge laid a pipeline through the county to transport oil,…

Kansans should take comfort in Tuesday’s election in Alabama. Political neophyte Doug Jones defeated Roy Moore, a longtime judge known for his misogynist and racist leanings. Jones’s victory is akin to a Democrat, or perhaps…

Not one to waste an opportunity, France’s president Emmanuel Macron has taken advantage of President Donald Trump’s denial of climate change by luring 13 of America’s top scientists to France.Under a program called “Make our…

Topeka joined the ranks last week in banning the sale of tobacco products to those under 21. That swells the total, including Iola, to 18 in Kansas. Altogether, 300 communities across 18 states have joined…