By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! I had the opportunity Sunday afternoon to watch the Kansas premiere of “Seized,” the documentary about the police raid on the Marion County Record and the aftermath. If you get a chance, I recommend seeing it.
Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun
OPINION
Kansas MAGA honchos and their flock disdain democracy. Except when they can control who votes.
By Clay Wirestone
French painter Georges Seurat helped create the technique known as pointillism, in which thousands of tiny dots on a canvas combine to create an image. Up close, viewers only see minuscule daubs of paint. Stepping back, they witness an entire, vivid image within the frame.
Since writing about Kansas GOP leaders’ plot to cancel U.S. Senate elections, I’ve similarly seen a stark picture emerge from the static of current events.
Unlike Seurat’s paintings, the image painted by recent stories about MAGA bigwigs and their supporters is anything but pleasant. It depicts a post-democratic nihilism threatening the shared core of American identity. Just in time for America’s 250th birthday, these extreme devotees of President Donald Trump want to end our nation’s history as a democratic republic.
This might may sound alarmist. But we could stand for more alarm these days, not less.
Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector
Public universities face escalating involvement from state lawmakers
Several states, including Kansas, have enacted laws that give greater power to politically appointed boards and administrators while weakening tenure protections and faculty sway over curriculum and university leadership.
Supporters of such measures frame them as efforts to hold taxpayer-funded public colleges and universities accountable at a time when many Americans are questioning the value of increasingly expensive college degrees. Many conservative lawmakers also say they are taking aim at liberal bias on university campuses.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kansas City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
Thanks for reading Read & Reflect. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.