Sometimes we need science to confirm the obvious: Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that cell phones — even hands-free units — distract drivers because the brain can’t handle both auditory and visual input at the same time.
Then again, wouldn’t this also be an argument against car radios?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It only takes one brain cell to recognize a celebrity, according to a study released Thursday in the journal Nature. So you’d think it would take half a brain cell — or less — to realize that you shouldn’t turn down Oprah Winfrey’s business.
But according to this article, that’s exactly what the Paris luxury store Hermes did earlier this month. Apparently, there are stupid Europeans, too.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Kansas is not the first state that comes to mind when it comes to the despicable practice of lynching. But neither has Kansas escaped a role in the nation’s legacy of this form of mob injustice, which was overdue the formal apology offered last week by the U.S. Senate. According to the Tuskegee Institute, which has used newspaper accounts to chart 4,700 lynchings in 44 states between 1882 and 1968, Kansas has been the scene of 54 lynchings, 19 with black victims and 35 with white victims. That puts the state a long way from Mississippi, which led the nation with 581, but it’s hardly a point of pride for our state, which otherwise has such a proud civil rights history.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Before there was a Harvey Music Festival, classical music lovers in south-central Kansas had only recordings or the radio to rely on during the summer. Happy 10th anniversary to the festival, which offers a “Victorian Summer Music” concert of operetta selections and other period music at 7:30 p.m. Saturday(6/25) at the Trinity Heights United Methodist Church, 1200 Boyd Ave., Newton.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
You may disagree with his counsel, but at least we got to hear what Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline told Senate Republicans on Thursday about responding to the state Supreme Court’s school funding order. That wouldn’t have happened if lawmakers had had their way; they wanted a closed meeting. But to his credit — and perhaps showing that he learned from his mistake of meeting privately with State Board of Education members in February and with conservative lawmakers in Wichita earlier this month — Kline told lawmakers that they should let reporters attend. Government meetings need to be open, especially when devoted to debating whether to defy the high court or amend the constitution.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Clifford the Big Red Dog’s entrance into politics paid off. The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to rescind proposed cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This came two days after Clifford and some of his furry friends joined lawmakers on Capitol Hill to rally against the cuts. Perhaps lobbying groups have ignored the persuasive power of puppets for too long.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
