By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning!
Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
Born on the Fifth of July: The next 250 years start now, so let’s get to work
By Max McCoy
What now?
The excesses, stupidity and insensitive garishness of the chief executive’s American birthday celebration for himself is, like yesterday’s fireworks, just a memory. We’ll be paying for the party for years — one way or another — but the bangs! and the puffs of smoke marking the event have receded into the changeless past.
Good riddance.
What could have been a dignified and inspiring celebration of 250 years of American independence was instead shameless and desultory. The images that future historians will examine for proof of intelligent life may prove inscrutable: the UFC cage fight on the White House lawn, the “renovated” but algae-choked Reflecting Pool, the shoddy plywood mockup of the “Triumphal Arch” at the state fair event on the National Mall. Trump’s ballroom? It’s still a construction zone where the East Wing once stood.
In 1976, the nation celebrated its 200th birthday with ringing bells and tall ships.
Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector
Kansas Supreme Court’s chief justice celebrates ideals of 250-year-old Declaration of Independence
TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Rosen urged Kansans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s aspirational vision of government as a protector of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Rosen, who signed a proclamation recognizing the milestone, said the Kansas Constitution reflected core principles from the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, including the necessity of a government bound by laws and enhanced by coequal but independent branches.
“The declaration announced our ideals, and it was the Constitution, the courts and generations of Americans committed to justice that built the framework to protect them,” the chief justice said. “For 250 years, Americans have worked to bring those ideals closer to reality.”
Ashley Murray/States Newsroom
America’s 250th birthday celebrated, despite extreme heat, canceled events
WASHINGTON — A large swath of America melted under record heat for the country’s 250th birthday, including in the nation’s capital, where despite being one of the hottest places across the globe Saturday, President Donald Trump planned a nighttime speech followed by a massive fireworks display.
Some major events were canceled. Organizers for the annual National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C., called off the event due to the extreme heat, as did organizers for the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade in Philadelphia.
Trump uses Mount Rushmore speech to allege ‘mortal threat’ from communism
On the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, President Donald Trump used his address Friday night at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota to allege that there is “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land.”
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.
5:30 p.m. July 23, Emporia Art Center. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
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].
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