Unlike in the Midwest, where trees obscure the view, the Great Plains allow you to view weather into the distance. And that poses the question: Why are clouds sometimes way up high, and at other times low to the ground?

As a student in microclimatology class at KU long ago, the instructor took us outside and put a simple device in our hands. It was a psychrometer made of two thermometers, one with a wet cloth around the bulb. We spun the device in the air. In 100 percent wet air, no water will evaporate and there will be no cooling and the two bulbs will read the same. But if the air is dry, the water evaporates on the wet bulb and—just like you chill when you step out of a shower—this cooling results in a difference between the two thermometers.

That difference in temperature can be read from a chart calibrated to indicate the relative humidity.
Consider that the moisture in the air provides a relative humidity of 70 percent. Now, as you ascend
higher in the sky, the air cools at a continuous rate (the adiabatic rate) of a little over 5̊F each 1,000 feet.
If you have ridden in a jetliner, you know it is very cold outside the plane at high altitudes. And cold air holds less moisture. So the higher air becomes more saturated as it gets colder. You can calculate at what height the air will become 100 percent saturated. That is where clouds will form.

We then looked up and measured the height of the clouds (by triangulation). The clouds were right where we calculated.

The benefit of doing this lab for every student is that they gain a command over nature—that every time they step outside and look up at the cloud ceiling, it is right where it should be for the temperature
and humidity of that day. –Nothing mysterious.

They will soon forget the adiabatic formula. Unless they go into meteorology or become a pilot, the
concepts of relative humidity and air saturation may get fuzzy. But their confidence that nature follows
laws stays with them. That is the important mind-changing lesson that lasts forever.

Unfortunately, schools mis-define the “learning outcome.” They would test the students’ ability to
conduct the humidity and adiabatic calculations and declare it a failure if the student cannot recall and
perform the math. Such “outcomes assessments” do not measure the attitude change—the new
confidence in seeing the world as measurable—which is admittedly not easily measured. But this new
mindset is what is really most important. As Albert Einstein said: “Not everything that can be counted
counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

The real bottomline is that you must actually conduct these hands-on measurements in the field in
order to forever internalize the feeling that the clouds are right where they should be. –That nature does
obey laws.
Merely reading this description here or in a textbook, or hearing it explained by a teacher, or shown
on television nature program does not give you that lasting attitude-changing ownership.
And that is also the consequence of many other important “lessons.” We do not study algebra to all
become mathematicians. But it gives us confidence that such problems can be solved. And as Jacob
Bronowski has pointed out: “We do not teach history in order to train historians…and we do not teach
Shakespeare to train Shakespearean actors or Shakespearean actresses…but to give them a sense of what
is alive in the thought of the day.”

Everyone should be able to step out the door tomorrow and look up at that cloud ceiling, and feel
with confidence that YES—it is right where it should be!

John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.

It is the time of the year again when deer just don’t pay attention to signs—or vehicles. As if they ever do.

The reality of driving on Kansas roads and highways from now through spring is the possible encounter with a deer. Consider the following statistics.

· Kansas ranks in the top 20 states in frequency of deer-vehicle mishaps. The chance of a driver having a vehicle collision with a deer in Kansas is approximately 1 in 125.

· The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) 2016 deer crash report shows 10,150 total crashes, with 495 injuries and 7 deaths. This is the highest number of deer-related crashes in the state since 2011.

· The national average cost per vehicle claim from a deer-vehicle collision hovers around $4,000, according to reports.

· The southern and southeastern portions of the state have the highest number of reported deer crashes, according to KDOT statistics. Almost half of Kansas counties show that one in three of their total vehicles crashes is deer-related.

Kansas motorists should check with their insurance agents to find out the type of vehicle accident damage coverage their policies have. Deer accidents are usually covered under a person’s comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. You will have to pay your deductible amount in order to receive your company’s coverage. However, if you have liability only for your vehicle coverage, you will probably have to cover the damage repairs out of your own pocket.

When a vehicle-deer crash occurs, you should consider the following:

• Contact your insurance agent or company quickly to begin the claims process.
• If you do hit a deer and are uncertain whether the animal is dead, keep your distance. You might be dealing with an injured, wild animal with sharp hooves.
• If the deer is blocking the roadway and poses a danger to other motorists, you should immediately report the incident to the local law enforcement agency.
• Stay alert, always wear your seat belt and drive at a safe, sensible speed for conditions.
• Watch for the reflection of deer eyes and for deer silhouettes on the shoulder of the road.
• Do not rely exclusively on devices such as deer whistles, deer fences and reflectors to deter deer.
• When driving at night, use high-beam headlights when there is no opposing traffic. The high beams will illuminate the eyes of deer on or near a roadway.
• Brake firmly when you notice a deer in or near your path, but stay in your lane. Many serious accidents occur when drivers swerve to avoid a deer and hit other vehicles or lose control of their cars. Potentially, you will risk less injury by hitting the deer.
• If you see one deer, it is likely there are more nearby.
• If the deer stays on the road, stop on the shoulder, put on your hazard lights and wait for the deer to leave the roadway; do not try to go around the deer while it is on the road.

If you do have a deer encounter and need some assistance with your vehicle claim, our Consumer Assistance Representatives at the Kansas Insurance Department can help. Call us at 800-432-2484, or use the online chat feature at our website, www.ksinsurance.org.

Friend,

I could not be more excited for this once-in-a-generation opportunity to truly reform our tax system.

Since 1986, the American people have not seen a meaningful update in federal tax policy. They have been asking for it for decades, and this week, we’ve taken a huge step forward in delivering that promise.

More than anything else, the most common complaint I hear about the existing tax system is it’s complexity. With this in mind, we aim to make it possible to file your taxes on …a postcard. This simpler, quicker and easier system will give working and middle class Kansans the same access to the tax code as someone who has hired teams of accountants and lawyers to seek out every loophole.

These aren’t just abstract changes for those who don’t need it. Ideas like repealing the death tax, and allowing the first $12,000 of income for individuals and $24,000 for couples to be tax-free, and married couples to keep the first $24,000, are tangible ways that this reform will allow more money to stay in your pocket.

This fairer, simpler system will be a huge relief for the working and middle class. Gone are the days of a 75,000-page tax code full of favors and loopholes for the most powerful, wealthy and well-connected. This reform is overdue, and why many of my colleagues and I came to this body – to bring real-world, commonsense reform for our generation, for our kids, and for our grandkids.

To see our detailed plan, and to weigh in click here!

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or know of ways my office can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us.

In the House

WATCH: Politico Live

Watch our POLITICO Live from earlier this week at the Newseum. My colleagues from the medical field and I discussed what we can do to increase transparency and lower costs. My panel starts at around the 54 minute mark.

Military Academy Nominations

My office will be accepting applications to attend the United States service academies through Friday, Oct. 6!

Individuals ages 17 to 22 residing in Kansas’ 1st Congressional district may apply. All applications can be submitted on my website at marshall.house.gov.

For questions or more information, call 620-765-7800.

 

Honoring the 40th anniversary of the Food Stamp Act of 1977

This week we take time to celebrate the historic and irreplaceable work that has been done since the establishment of the bipartisan Food Stamp Act of 1977. This Act tackled the issue of malnutrition and hunger across our nation. Without the bipartisan work of our very own Senator Dole, and South Dakota’s Senator McGovern, the state of nutrition in our nation would be completely different than what we see today. Just as Senators Dole and McGovern came together to fight hunger and poverty, we must renew this bipartisan commitment to strengthening our anti-hunger safety net and ending hunger once and for all.

After rebuking and humiliating their critics, ignoring academic research and floating their legacy bond that “people they talked to” told them would pass, then failing to accept any blame for its failure or account for the expended human and material resources wasted in that failed effort, the USD 489 School Board is unashamedly going to risk another chunk of the taxpayers time and money to take another shot in the dark this November.

They are again proceeding with no valid survey data from the voters. The new bond still includes gymnasiums, the exact thing research has shown are “bond killers.” They seem to be repeating the same promotional strategies that reach only the voters already committed to the bond.

They waste money sending out mailers telling uncommitted voters what they should want, rather than solicitations asking what the voters do want or what they will vote for. They seem to think that subjecting voters with no children in public schools to a guilt trip, rather trying to convince them the Board is sensitive to their situation and trying to be as frugal and efficient as possible, will glean support.

The last bond was extremely large for a community of this size, but it failed mostly because the voters lacked trust in the USD 489 Board. They have done nothing since to improve trust. Quite the contrary. The incompetence they demonstrated in the last bond election and failure to accept responsibility for its failure now leave voters with no faith that they could even construct a bond competently.
The newly proposed $78.5 million bond is large for a district of this size, but would be doable under a trustworthy board. But it is the lack of trust in the School Board and resentment toward an unrepentant group who chooses to again risk taxpayer’s dollars and direly needed resources that could be easily acquired with a smaller bond that will ultimately cause it to fail.

The Board needs to embrace transparency, humility, science and logic.

Therefore, to pass a school bond, the Board should 1) present a summary of the resources expended already on last year’s failed bond effort, 2) apologize to the voters for the mistakes they made which caused the bond to fail, 3) conduct valid research into voter preferences and intended levels of financial support, and 4) construct a bond based on voter feedback.

With FHSU’s help, this could all be done in the fall of 2017, and a successful school bond passed in spring of 2018. Instead, the Board, whether from denial or hubris, will deliver to us this fall only a troubling sense of déjà vu. To be sure, they will shrug that failure off as apathetically as their last. After all, they’ll conclude, it wasn’t our fault, and we can always take another shot in the dark next year.

Meanwhile, construction costs go up, and the kids and teachers go another year without the resources they need the most.

Gary Brinker, Hays

As we near the end of September, our Prepare Kansas campaign will soon draw to a close. The goal of this K-State Research and Extension campaign has been to help Kansans become better prepared for emergencies and natural disasters.

Although many people are aware of these risks, few actually have a disaster plan for their families and homes. Even fewer have plans that include their pets.

This month, I worked with Alicia Boor, Cottonwood District Ag Agent based in Great Bend, to present disaster preparedness programs in both our counties. While my presentations focused on preparing your home, family and finances for disaster, Alicia’s topic was developing a disaster plan for pets. Her former work experience in zoos has made her very aware of the need to have a plan in place for the animals in our care.

Not having a disaster plan can be dangerous for pets, as well as for their families and first responders. Here are a few ideas to help pet owners develop an emergency preparedness plan that includes their pets and the necessary items they may need to quickly respond in the event of a disaster.

Just as people should always be prepared for a disaster, we should keep our pets prepared for an unexpected event as well. First, be sure your pets wear a collar at all times with your current contact information. Also include an alternate emergency contact such as your veterinarian if possible. Proper identification is essential for reunification in the event your pet gets lost.

In addition, dogs and cats should always be kept up-to-date on their vaccines. If your pet has to be evacuated and sheltered with other animals, it may be more susceptible to infectious diseases and conditions. The most important vaccine is the rabies vaccine, since your pet may be more likely to come into contact with other pets and possibly even wildlife if sheltered or lost.

Regardless of the nature of the disaster, it is important to have a disaster kit with basic supplies that are important for a pet’s safety and well-being. An appropriately sized carrier or cage with your current contact information can be used to safely transport your pet, and it also can serve as a temporary means of housing. You should also include the following in a pet’s disaster kit:

• Copies of important papers (emergency telephone numbers, rabies vaccination certificate, vaccination record, microchip information, drug/vaccine/food allergies, list of current medications with doses, etc.) and a current photo of you and the pet together, labeled with identifying information such as species, color, sex and age.
• Enough of the pet’s food in sturdy containers to last for a minimum of 3 days plus a 3-day supply of clean water and bowls to use for food and water. Canned food is preferred for its storability and moisture content if your pet is not on a special diet, so be sure to include a can opener and utensils in your kit.
• extra leashes/collars and sanitation supplies (cat litter, plastic bags, etc.) A long piece of gauze can be wrapped around the animal’s snout and tied behind its ears to create a temporary muzzle.
• Medications as needed and a basic first aid kit for the pet.
• Pet comfort items (blankets, towels, toys, etc.).

All of these supplies should be kept in a water- proof container that is easy to transport and appropriately labeled with your current contact information.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for owners to become separated from their pets during disasters. It is imperative that pet owners not enter affected areas or attempt to return to their homes until they are given permission to do so by emergency management authorities. If separated from your pet, contact animal control, your local animal shelters, area veterinary hospitals, and the pet’s microchip company, if applicable. Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) have also been used in recent events to reunite owners with their pets.

For more information about preparing pets for disaster, see www.ready.gov/animals and follow the Prepare Kansas blog at https://blogs.k-state.edu/preparekansas/.

Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

Recently you might have been intrigued by the announcement of a new “state of the art protein processing plant” in northeast Kansas. That’s what the governor called it in his social media message.

You also may have noticed some nifty new public service TV ads from the Kansas Department of Commerce urging business inclined viewers to “return to Kansas.” Among the companies featured in the television spots are Tallgrass Brewing in Manhattan and Dessin-Fournir Companies in Plainville. I’ve also seen Garmin Industries, Spirit Aerospace, Black and Veatch and Security Benefit Group. Tallgrass is the only ‘blue-collar’ operation among the six, and the nearest thing to an agri-business in the group.

But, a protein processing plant – a PPP—that could be something really new under the Sun, right? This was just what Governor Brownback has been telling everyone Kansas was going to see happen as the state became a paradise of low taxes and business friendly attitudes under his administration.

A PPP is a physically imposing, not notably high tech, not high-paying, definitely environmentally questionable Tyson Foods poultry (oops! protein) processing plant that almost located in Tonganoxie. For those not familiar, in early September a public proposal came before the Leavenworth County Commission to issue industrial revenue bonds and approve other economic development concessions so that a $320 million dollar Tyson Foods poultry processing operation could be built near Tonganoxie, a bedroom community 30 miles west of Kansas City. This was big: 1600 jobs at the processing facility and hundreds of growing facilities within a 50 mile radius of the plant producing 1.25 million chickens per week to supply the plant. Combined payroll and supply expenditures would pump $150 million annually into the region.

The local residents, landowners, some farmers and others with environmental concerns volubly and emphatically expressed opposition to the deal quietly fast-tracked as “Project Sunset.” The Leavenworth Commission declined to approve Project Sunset in light of the protests. Tyson announced disappointment and began to look elsewhere – probably Nebraska — to site their plant.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports meatpacking in Kansas pays around $13.00 per hour — about $29,000 per year. Large numbers of non-Tyson employees engaged in feeding at the front-end or cleaning up at the back would undoubtedly be making less. While these may be good jobs for people with limited training, current unemployment rates (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) of 5.9% in Wyandotte and 4.3% in Leavenworth counties do not suggest a huge pool of unemployed labor lining up at Tyson’s gate – especially if the president’s “big, beautiful wall” becomes a real thing. Attracting new labor would require many new inexpensive housing units –for a bedroom community with median home values in the low $200,000 range? Commuters from the KC metro area would have added congestion, pollution and lots of stress on local transportation infrastructure. This project might have penciled out handsomely for Tyson, but for the target community and those surrounding? Not so much.

No doubt Kansas needs to grow. The biggest problems of the last 100 years for Kansas have involved dwindling rural populations and unimpressive economic growth. Our economy is slow and lackluster because it hasn’t captured many high value-added, high wage enterprises since the aviation industry petered out. While a new PPP benefits the shareholders of Tyson, it does little good for the community it will come to dominate. Governments offering low taxes and other concessions to projects like Tyson may create impressive numbers on corporate ledgers, but the pollution, congestion, population and infrastructure growth impacts tear up the local fabric of life creating costs that are nearly certain to erase the benefits.

Dr. Mark Peterson teaches political science at the college level in Topeka.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Let’s go into fowl territory. No, I’m not chasing a baseball out of bounds. Fowl Territory is the creative name for a store which sells duck decoys and other collectibles, including many other keepsakes relating to waterfowl and various wildlife. It all started with ducks. This store has so many ducks that it is definitely waterfowl territory. The store is connected to an antique store in a rural Kansas community which specializes in vintage collectibles.

Al Harris is the owner and founder of the shop named Fowl Territory. He is an outdoorsman. “I used to hunt a lot when I was younger,” Al said. “Now I’m just a big fan of nature.” As a young man, he started collecting deer antlers. Then someone gave him a duck decoy. He noticed each decoy was different, so he started collecting various wildlife keepsakes. Someone referred to them as “nature’s knick-knacks.”

Al went to the University of Kansas. He became a chef and worked in various locations in northeast Kansas. Al became a corporate chef for EVCO, the food distribution company. He even served as chef for Gov. John Carlin.

“I worked on the Meals on Wheels program while at Stormont Vail in Topeka,” Al said. “We took it from serving 50 people a day to serving 1,150 people per day.”

An old college roommate of Al’s owned a building in Paxico. Eventually he and Al became business partners and opened up a shop there in 2015.

For years, Al had been collecting wildlife collectibles on his travels around Kansas. “This meant I finally had a place other than my house to display my entire collection,” he said.

Because he had such a variety of ducks and other waterfowl, they called the store Fowl Territory. Today, the store displays and sells many types of duck decoys and other wildlife keepsakes. There are glass ducks, wood ducks, plastic ducks, taxidermy ducks, prints of ducks, paintings of ducks, and more. There are antlers, mounted deer heads, mounted elk antlers, and lots of related things plus non-wildlife items.

One of his favorites is a massive set of elk antlers. Another item consists of two deer heads with their antlers intertwined. Their heads were locked together. “The guy found them this way,” Al said. “They were dead when he found them.”

The shop is located in downtown Paxico which has long been a center for antique stores. Next door to Fowl Territory is Main Street Antiques, also owned by Al and his business partner. It includes other antique vendors who rent space for their displays. “We buy, sell, trade, and consign,” Al said. “Since we sell things on consignment, that can give people a good option.” The place has the look of a man-cave, but inside there is something for everyone.

“We focus on quality,” Al said. “I have very good vendors that have a great eye for quality products.” Several of those dealers help by taking turns working in the shop.

“You can see stuff here that you’ve never seen before,” Al said. These antique collectibles include such items as a stacking lawyers bookcase and other furniture, to one-of-a-kind sculptures, old farm equipment, and vintage treasures. “There’s an optometrist tool here that was used for checking peripheral vision in the 1900s.”

“We’re trying to build a clientele and attract travelers and collectors off I-70,” Al said. Paxico is well-situated, located just about a mile from the interstate.

The community holds a big blues festival each fall which attracts 3,000 to 5,000 people. During the rest of the year, it’s a quiet, rural community. Paxico has a population of 221 people. Now, that’s rural.

For more information on the store, search for Fowl Territory on Facebook.

It’s time to leave fowl territory – not with a baseball, but with an appreciation for nature’s knick-knacks of waterfowl and other wildlife. We commend Al Harris for making a difference by sharing his appreciation of these keepsakes of the outdoors. So if you’re at a baseball game and a foul ball comes right at your head, what should you do? Duck.

On Nov. 7, we have a choice: improve our aging school infrastructure or continue to defer until another time. We can choose to move forward now or wait, but what does it cost to wait?

Interest is a major component of the total cost of the bond, and rising rates from near all-time lows is a real concern. So what is the difference in financing a $78.5 million bond today versus a year ago, when the last bond was rejected? According to a representative from Piper Jaffrey, if the current proposed bond could have been passed last year, it would have saved taxpayers more than $4 million.

Every 1% increase in interest rates results in an overall cost increase of $7.99 million. For perspective, a 3% increase in interest rates would cost more than the total expense of a new elementary school, priced at $21.4 million.

Increased construction cost is another reason to act now. Industry leaders estimate that building costs increase between 3-5% per year. A conservative estimate of a 2% increase per year results in decreased purchasing power of $1.5 million by this time next year. Waiting 5 years compounds the loss to $7.54 million.

Do I want my property taxes to increase? No, but at some point we must update our schools. As a home and rental property owner, I feel passing this bond now will cost less than waiting. We will not defeat a school bond for infrastructure; we can merely postpone it. 

An elderly gentlemen recently said to me when discussing the bond, “If not now, when; if not us, then who?” The time is now, the problem is ours, and only we can fix it. I urge you to vote yes on Nov. 7.

Greg Kerr, Hays

Donald Trump is singing the wrong song about freedom, patriotism and First Amendment values. Over the weekend, Trump:

• Called on NFL owners to fire players who kneel or otherwise protest during the national anthem and display of the American flag
• Said fans should stop going to games to punish NFL team owners who fail to dismiss those players
• Observed that patriotism should be required of athletes in return for “the privilege of making millions of dollars” on the field.

Trump couldn’t be more off-tune about how to honor our flag, or more off-key on the core values of the First Amendment. It’s also worth noting he’s out of sync with what our own history tells us of failed government attempts to mandate patriotism with a law or an enforced ritual.

At the root of this weekend’s controversy was a decision made last year by one player, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, to kneel or sit during the national anthem. He said it was a way of protesting continued discrimination “against black people and people of color.” As this season began, a few more players began making similar gestures, some specifically in protest of police shootings of black men. For an as-yet unexplained reason, Trump chose Friday evening to make the protests into a national controversy.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son-of-a-bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired,'” Trump told a campaign rally in Alabama. Trump said such protests are “a total disrespect for everything we stand for.”

A chorus of critical replies by NFL owners, athletes and others followed, with Trump swiping back almost immediately on Twitter — all of which sent the bitter debate soaring into the Sunday talk-show circuit and even more visibly onto Sunday’s NFL game fields.

In London, Jacksonville and Baltimore players, joined by Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, locked arms and some knelt during the anthem. By Sunday evening, there were reports that more than 100 players had knelt, sat or otherwise signaled protests during the anthem.

Multiple owners also pushed against Trump’s admonition, saying they support players’ sincere attempts to call attention to serious social ills. New England’s Robert Kraft, described as a longtime Trump buddy, said he was “deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President.” Kraft said, “I think political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal,” and that he supports players’ “right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner they feel is most impactful.”

Those last words echo a 2011 Supreme Court decision that defended free speech even under what most would consider despicable circumstances — using funerals as places of political protest. In writing the majority opinion in Snyder v. Phelps, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote “Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and — as it did here — inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a Nation we have chosen a different course — to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.”

As the Sunday talk shows began rolling, administration surrogates fanned out in Trump’s defense. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” was technically correct when he said team owners, as private business owners, could have a rule requiring their players as employees to stand during the anthem. But he continued the administration’s tone-deaf approach to First Amendment values and high-profile athletes’ part as national role models by adding, “They can do free speech on their own time.”

The 2011 Snyder ruling held that those speaking out on matters of public interest should not be punished for finding an effective place from which to be heard.

Our nation was born of dissent — skillfully documented in Stephen Solomon’s “Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech” — and has a long history in which public protest both echoed public sentiment or brought marginalized views into the mainstream consciousness, from Colonial-era protests over taxes to the long battle over slavery and segregation, to women’s suffrage and dozens of other major issues. Even before they were written into our Constitution, the First Amendment rights of free speech, press, assembly and petition have been the engines of social change.

The principle behind protecting unpopular protests was upheld in 1989 in a case that declared that even desecrating the flag itself as a means of protest was beyond the power of presidents or Congress to exact punishment. “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable,” the court said in Texas v. Johnson.

Other administration officials said Trump has a right — perhaps even an obligation — to speak out for the millions of citizens who do not want to see disrespectful conduct toward the flag or national anthem. Trump certainly has a right to defend respect for national symbols. But our rights don’t depend on public sentiment of the moment, game attendance or television ratings.

We’ve been through this kind of faux-patriotism brouhaha before, with authorities trying to mandate respect of the flag or at least the show of it. There are disturbing echoes of McCarthyism’s worst abuses of the power of the presidency to cause people to be fired for expressing dissenting views. There are some who already say there is an unspoken league “blacklist” against Kaepernick, who remains unsigned this season.

Issues of patriotism, national defense and free speech were also strongly contested during World War I. In 1919, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared that, excepting speech that calls for imminent and direct harm to the nation, “we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death.”

In 1940, in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, the Supreme Court upheld a Pennsylvania law requiring students in public schools to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance — even those with religious objections.

In overturning that decision just three years later, after a spate of violent incidents in which authorities attempted to force people to salute the flag, Justice Robert H. Jackson observed — in an opinion released on Flag Day — that “to sustain the compulsory flag salute, we are required to say that a Bill of Rights which guards the individual’s right to speak his own mind left it open to public authorities to compel him to utter what is not in his mind.”

Dismissing such governmental hypocrisy, Justice Jackson also delivered a stirring defense of the Bill of Rights in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, writing, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”

The next time Trump — who it should be noted, claims Flag Day as his birthday — feels like challenging that free speech “fixed star” in our national firmament, he ought to pause … and just “take a knee.”

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @genefac

There was an editorial by the local paper’s editor a few weeks ago that prompts me to write this letter. I will get to that editorial later, but first bear with me about the following as I try to make a very important point regarding the status of Christianity in this nation.

For the first time in American history, under Obama, a Washington, D.C.-based agency added the U.S. to a list of countries known for persecuting Christians.

The Democrat’s Obamacare (Obama’s marquee legislation) had mandates forcing agencies and institutions to provide contraception totally against their religious beliefs. Little Sisters of the Poor is a prime example.

Obama’s Middle Eastern refugee policy was geared to approve Muslim immigrants by the thousands and accept a handful of Christians.

Longstanding Democrat senators Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin recently questioned a Trump nominee’s suitability to serve on a U.S. court for the simple reason she is a Christian.

Not too long ago, the Democrat National Committee decided to take the word “God” out of its party platform.

Liberal courts with secularist judges rule more and more each year against Christianity.

And, who could forget Obama deliberately left the words “by their Creator” out of the Declaration of Independence during seven different speeches?

I presented just a handful of cases where there is clear evidence of anti-Christianity within America. There are hundreds of examples I could present if space wasn’t an issue.

The assault and hostility toward Christianity exists internationally as well. It’s a given that there would be hostility internationally, but raising its ugly head right here at home is reason to be concerned. What happened to this country being known as a Christian nation for some 200 years?

Readers are aware President Trump is nominating Governor Brownback to be ambassador at large for international religious freedom although the nomination still needs congressional approval and, if approved, he will step down as governor.

It’s no secret the Hays paper is not fond of our Kansas governor. It’s no secret the paper chastised Brownback every chance he could get governing this state. And, now it’s no secret there are issues with Brownback’s Christian beliefs that most of us conservatives adhere to.

The editorial stated: “Instead of improving U.S. efforts to promote actual religious freedom around the world, we would expect Brownback to focus on elevating a rather narrow conservative view of Christianity at the expense of all others.” Much more was said about the nomination that was negative.

In summary, there clearly is an assault on Christianity in this country and we need people like Brownback locally, nationally, and internationally to protect us as Christians. America was founded in large part by Christians. Why the enormous push from the liberal left to change what we once were known for as a nation?

There needs to be religious freedoms for all, of course. Why shouldn’t that include Christianity?

Les Knoll lives in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.

Yes, these high school students running for governor. Jack Bergeson, a Democrat from Wichita High School, and Tyler Ruzick, a Republican from Shawnee Mission North High School.

Because the state doesn’t have any law setting a minimum age for candidacy, well, they are just the filing fee away from winding up on the ballots next August.

Now, we’re sure that they both have a core of voter support, probably parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

It’s great that both of the kids are interested in government, and there are classes for that sort of thing, learning just what a governor can do, and the role of state government in the lives of Kansans.

But…let’s be politely serious for a moment. Besides the cute newspaper stories they generate, they probably have the potential to take a couple hundred votes from the general election races for grown-up (depending on their platforms) candidates for the top job in the state, and that might have an effect on the tens of thousands of state employees and the hundreds of thousands of Kansans who receive services from state government.

Oh, and the youngsters probably also will raise some campaign contributions that won’t go into the races of adult candidates who have actually bounced around state government, understand worker compensation laws, criminal justice, bonds and interest, taxes and general public policy.

Maybe their candidacies will get some folks who generally don’t vote out to the polls, where they will vote on other statewide and congressional and state legislative candidates. There could be a down-ballot effect that is useful.

Or…they might win votes from folks who look at the ballot, don’t see anyone they know or like, and just decide they’ll choose a candidate who they haven’t heard anything icky about. Yes, that happens.

Those bright kids’ votes might just turn out to be a “none of the above” option for voters, and both parties have seen general election candidates who turned out to be “none of the above.”

But governor?

Might be interesting if one of those high schoolers decided that the school board is where he has actual experience with the product and sees some little changes that most grown-ups won’t have considered. There is an advantage to having a candidate who has actually used the product, or in the case of school boards, is the product of a government agency.

Given a few years, a little more experience, or as some say, to have been tumble-dried, those youngsters may be good candidates for changing state government. But it takes time, experience, and the basic understanding of just how government works to produce a real candidate.

There are jobs that you want a journeyman to tackle.

Best part about those candidacies are that they might spur more young people to vote, to assess candidates and their intentions if elected, and their chances of either making the changes that Kansans want in their government or preserving the government that appeals to the voters.

The youthful candidates—old enough to drive to their inaugurations, but not to toast a victory with anything but a soft drink—are probably going to learn more about politics than they will in their poly-sci classes.

If that’s how things work out, that their candidacies bring more interest to the elections, well, it doesn’t get much better than that.

So, should a high school student become governor? Probably not. But should a high school student experience the excitement, the learning possibilities of a candidacy? Sure. But we also have to hope that most Kansans will recognize that their candidacies give us all a reason to look more closely at our elected officials, and candidates who just might impact our lives.

And, we suspect that the high schoolers’ candidacies will get them prom dates…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com