Opinion
GUEST COMMENTARY: It's time to stand up for rural Missouri
This year's bill required some Missouri-style compromise and commonsense — and while nobody got everything they wanted, it's a bill that we can all be proud of, and that passed the Senate with a large bipartisan majority.
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Farm bill fails to trim the fat for corporate interests
Lawmakers love to wring hands over the deficit and budgets, except when it’s time for feeding farm supporters.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Government dragnet threatens our rights to privacy, free speech
The intrusion into American lives for the sake of security shows that many elected officials "have lost touch with the privacy needs of the people they're sworn to serve."
DEAR READER: Let's solve problems together
Journalistic efforts coupled with a knowledgeable network of people who are deeply embedded in the places they live can work together to make sure change agents have what they need to solve problems.
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Missouri Supreme Court rules children can get education they deserve
The law says unaccredited districts must pay for their students to get the education they deserve. It is likely that school districts worried about money will delay enforcement again.
GEORGE KENNEDY: Eliot Battle, Roger Mitchell, Brady Deaton: Three men whose work speaks for itself
It’s the ability to find joy in roles that most of us would find burdensome that makes these three men so memorable.
GENE ROBERTSON: Humans were created for unity
There is nothing as rich as the development and remembrance of a shared experience. On the other hand, there is nothing as frustrating as a lack of unity in an experience or endeavor requiring it.
J. KARL MILLER: How the shadow of Big Brother looms over Washington
The disclosure of data mining has aroused condemnation at both ends of the political spectrum. The far right and the far left alike have criticized this as an invasion of privacy. Either way, though, it's time for the Obama administration to be more transparent.
DAVID ROSMAN: Other issues are far more important than museums moving
The re-purposing of the former Ellis Fischel Cancer Center is the underlying and more important story, and beyond the university, there are more important stories this summer.
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Missouri senators form partnership to prevent sexual abuse in the military
The news about sexual violence against both women and men in our nation’s military services is so egregious that political combatants have joined forces to fight the issue and end the abuse.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Join cause to find space for needed services in Columbia
The Interfaith Day Center at 616 Park Ave. in the First Ward is a daytime drop-in and referral hub.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Public needs to see UM Press budget numbers
It would be worth reporting on budget allocations for the UM Press for the current year and the proposed fiscal year.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: A special prosecutor is needed to probe Obama administration
Republicans and others are calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations against the Obama administration.
DEAR READER: Fueling the book addiction adds to editing resources
Four new book acquisitions provide inspiring reading for the summer.
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Missouri provides a fundamental right to marry convicts
U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry in St. Louis threw out a provision of Missouri law requiring both applicants for a marriage license to sign the application “in the presence of the recorder of deeds or their deputy.”
WHAT OTHERS SAY: Let Nixon's veto be a call to rethink tax-cut bills
We agree with the governor that repeal of the tax exemption on prescription drugs is a flaw. We do not, however, consider the measure ill-conceived and fiscally irresponsible.
DEAR READER: Museums may turn out to be the story of the summer
The controversy over the move of the Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Art and Archeology may prove to be the “hits” of the summer. Or “page views,” in more acceptable Web analytic language.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Social Security continues as fight between Main Street, elite
The effort to cut Social Security benefits isn't a left vs. right argument. Instead, it's a fight between Main Street and the Wall Street elite.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Dean Roger Mitchell was 'an angel on Earth'
Dr. Roger Mitchell died Tuesday, June 4, 2013.
GEORGE KENNEDY: Exercises in democracy, some better than others
Monday's City Council meeting showed elected officials at their best. The next day, a Columbia lawmaker couldn't find much to praise about the General Assembly's recent session.
