In Friday’s Eagle, the editorial board published its top 10 list of political/public policy issues of 2005 (see blog post below). The Lawrence Journal-World took a different approach to the same idea: Top 10 Kansans. Here is its list:
Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins; the Rev. Terry Fox of Wichita (for leading charge on gay amendment); author Thomas Frank (who wrote the best-seller “What’s the Matter With Kansas?”); attorney Pedro Irigonegaray (who defended mainstream science during the State Board of Education evolution hearings); the Kansas Supreme Court; Attorney General Phill Kline; Wichita-based Koch Industries (for becoming the largest private company in the United States and for funding political activities); Marci Penner (who promotes rural life through the Kansas Sampler Foundation); Westar Energy (for the trial of its former executives and its tie to a Tom DeLay scandal); Kevin Willmott (a KU professor who is helping to lead the rise of filmmaking in Kansas).
What do you think? The criteria for the Journal-World list was people “who caught our attention,” which could qualify anybody, apparently including businesses. It’s interesting that Kline was the only elected official to make the list, and that the neither State Board of Education nor any of its members made the top 10. For that matter, how about BTK?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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12 Comments
Yeah, I don’t see how Connie Morris gets left off any list of Kansans who “caught our attention.”
A former porn-actin’, booze-guzzlin’, LSD-droppin’ KBOE member who insists evolution is a myth, that creationism is far more likely, and who has the chutzpah to redefine all of science to fit her beliefs certainly tends to grab one’s attention.
Fred Phelps. He has DEFINITELY put Kansas on the map!
How about Pat Roberts, Sam Brownback, Todd Tiahrt, Jim Ryun, and Jerry Moran for being faithful Bush groupies?It’s enough to make you glad Kansas will probably lose a seat in the house after the next census.
Why not focus on those who have made positive contributions to our community, rather than the sensational or stupid ones, like Terry Fox or Fred Phelps?I nominate Wendy Glick, who is the executive director of the Lord’s Diner and Arnetha Martin, who was the driving force behind the Center for Health and Wellness, a clinic that focuses on disease prevention in low income communities.
Who would you nominate, fellow bloggers?
Definitely have to agree abour Wendy. In fact, I might go with Catholic Charities as an entity since the ground rules above indicated “apparently including businesses”
I’m testing something. Ignore this post.
Well I certainly hope it’s not a secret test.
Come on, guys. Surely it’s not that hard to think of people who make a positive difference. Just because they’re not featured on the front page of the Eagle (like Dennis Rader or Connie Morris) doesn’t mean they’re not out there.
Da,The people who make real differences in peoples’ lives tend to stay in the background so that the people they’ve helped can get the spotlight. That’s what they wanted in the first place.
For a positive difference nominee, I would suggest Paul Morrison, the Johnson County politician, who was willing to convert to being a Democrat to run against the Media-hound sham, Phill Kline.
Defeating the Kansas Taliban, one vote at a time.
I know that most people who are an asset to society do so in a quiet and humble way. It would be nice for the media to focus on good, caring people more often than they do, rather than give every moron or serial killer so much attention. But that wouldn’t be nearly as interesting to the American public now, would it?
Cudos to Mark McCormick for his article on James Arbertha in today’s Eagle. It’s so refreshing to read about someone who is making a positive difference in Wichita. Mr Arbertha should be held up as a role model and an example of what one person can accomplish with the right attitude and ambition.Please, give us more stories about those who are willing to try to make the world a better place.