Opinion

Why did Payton Gendron (allegedly, but he live-streamed it, so it’s not like there’s much doubt) murder ten people at a Buffalo, New York grocery store on May 14? The pat, and at least partially correct, answer, is that Gendron subscribes to something called the “Great Replacement” theory. That’s mostly what we hear about in mainstream media descriptions of his 180-page “manifesto”: He’s a “right-wing” racist who believes that political elites are conspiring to replace him and his fellow “white” Americans with people of color.

Kansas has a violent racial history, and the death penalty just might stand as that history’s cruelest expression. We should end this practice now and try to live up to our sunnier narrative as the “Free State.” The pending death penalty prosecution of Cornell McNeal in Wich ita offers an opportunity for us to do just that.

When ethanol became a gasoline additive in the U.S., botany colleagues told me it took as much energy to plant, grow and distill the corn as we produced in product. While the efficiency of ethanol extraction has since improved, the cost of our corn ethanol policy measured in other forms of damage seriously questions our continued usage of this additive. This fuller analysis is detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) released earlier this year.

Should Kansas ban abortion, politicians in Topeka will have some hefty policy decisions to make. “Banning abortion” sounds simple, but realistically that involves choices about penalties, enforcement, and money.

Dear Doctors: My friend works for a pediatrician. He said the staff have been told to look out for a liver disease that’s getting kids sick. What are the symptoms? Is this related to COVID-19? Our kids are back in school, and, needless to say, after the last few years, we’re on edge about their health.