Rhonda Chriss Lokeman from Creators Syndicate

How Green Is Your Valley? for 04/27/2008

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Greetings from the planet Earth, where if you can't reduce your shoe size, you can reduce the size of your carbon footprint.

It is easier being green than you may think. Baby steps, my friends, baby steps.

In our household, I reduced our garbage to one bag weekly. We've increased the number of recycle bins that hold newspapers, towel rolls, pizza-box cardboard, ice-cream buckets a ...

Updated: Sun Apr 27, 2008

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I'm With Stupid for 05/04/2008

Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Ever seen those T-shirts that read, "I'm With Stupid"? These also depict a drawn arrow that points to the person beside you.

Well, it's like that.

Sen. Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright own stupid shirts. At various times, their arrows have pointed at each other.

Obama hid his T-shirt beneath a suit when he spoke in Pennsylvania about race while also expla ...

Updated: Sun May 04, 2008

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Carpe Diem , Madonnas! for 05/11/2008

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I hurt my family's feelings. That's what happens when you mix brutal honesty with fatigue. Or as we say in my house, "Stand back; she's gonna blow!"

They were planning my Mother's Day. Sweet thought. However, I exercised my veto power.

Should they give me breakfast in bed? I nixed that idea pronto.

I'm usually the first one up in our dark house. When dawn is crack ...

Updated: Sun May 11, 2008

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The Californication of Midwest Values for 05/18/2008

Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Missouri's Little Big Man, Rep. Sam Graves, is rabble-rousing the Religious Right with a subtlety unseen since John Brown threw a fit across the state line in Kansas.

The Tarkio congressman will say and do anything to keep Democrat Kay Barnes, the former two-term Kansas City mayor, out of the U.S. House. Silly, boy! Everyone knows a woman's place is in the House. And the Senate. And so o ...

Updated: Sun May 18, 2008

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Barack Obama's Dream Cabinet (Part 1) for 05/25/2008

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

— Secretary of education: William H. Cosby Jr., Ph.D.

Known first as a comedian and then as an actor, Bill Cosby's passion for education is well-documented and lauded. His outspokenness about evident failures in public education — whether teachers' competence and pay or passive parenting — has been controversial but spot on.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Temp ...

Updated: Sun May 25, 2008

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The End of the Line for 06/01/2008

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's not often that you visit a war memorial dedicated to dead vets and encounter a living example of why places such as the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial are important.

They speak to sacrifice and an indefatigable dedication to liberty. They remind us of how a fractured nation can unite against a common threat. They recall a time when people we ...

Updated: Sun Jun 01, 2008

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Hillary Clinton's iPod Playlist for 06/08/2008

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

THEN: "I'm Every Woman," as sung by Chaka Khan.

Now: "Only Women Bleed," as sung by Alice Cooper.

THEN: "Dixie."

Now: "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

THEN: "Tomorrow," from the "Annie" soundtrack.

Now: "If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow," as sung by Tony Bennett.

THEN: "Wanna Be ...

Updated: Sun Jun 08, 2008

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Barack Obama's Dream Cabinet (Part 2) for 06/15/2008

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Team Obama thus far:

— Attorney general: Sen. Claire McCaskill (if not veep pick).

— Secretary of state: Gov. Bill Richardson (if not veep pick).

— Secretary of environment (new position): Al Gore.

— Secretary of the interior: Robert Kennedy Jr.

— Secretary of education: William H. Cosby Jr., Ph.D.

— Secretary of defe ...

Updated: Sun Jun 15, 2008

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Little Women for 06/22/2008

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Madam President: Welcome to our monthly meeting of The Confederacy of Daughters of Conservative Causes. A special welcome to our newest members, who are helping us get John McCain elected because Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the delegate count to Barack Hussein Obama. Hester, please summarize from the minutes of the last meeting.

Hester P.: Yes, ma'am. Last month, we agreed to condemn lib ...

Updated: Sun Jun 22, 2008

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Lessons From Katrina for the Flooded Midwest for 06/29/2008

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

NEW ORLEANS — If any people empathize with flood victims along the upper Mississippi, it's folks along the lower Mississippi. Nearly three years ago, Hurricane Katrina took its broadest swipe in the Big Easy, breaching vulnerable levees.

In August 2005, more than 1,500 people died in Louisiana, compared with death tolls in the single and double digits elsewhere along the Gulf Coast ...

Updated: Sun Jun 29, 2008

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Barack Hearts America for 07/06/2008

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Not until he reunited with rival Hillary Clinton in Unity, N.H., did we realize that Barack Obama put so much thought in geographic symbolism. It's why he was in Independence, Mo., ahead of Independence Day to talk up patriotism.

More stops for his "I Love America, Really, and So Does Michelle" tour on the road to the White House:

First: Happy, Texas.

They do happ ...

Updated: Sun Jul 06, 2008

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The Audacity of Obama for 07/13/2008

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

While campaigning for president against George W. Bush, Al Gore told America, "I am my own man." He meant it. With Barack Obama, folks aren't so sure.

Lately, people have questioned Obama's independence. Even supporters are concerned. Many feel let down by his support for the FISA bill President Bush just signed into law.

This bill allows the president to continue to aut ...

Updated: Sun Jul 13, 2008

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An Affair To Remember for 07/20/2008

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

At a reception for an emerging artist, a tipsy friend approached me to continue a private chat we had long ago.

"So, you still want John McCain for president?" he said, in the neighborhood of 30,000 decibels above a whisper. Jaws dropped. Conversations stopped. I felt every cultural elitist eyeball in the gallery was on me. Awkward!

First, I don't know how most of my fri ...

Updated: Sun Jul 20, 2008

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No Satisfaction for McCain for 07/27/2008

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Sung to the tune of The Rolling Stones' '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'; optional accompaniment by Wii air guitar.

I can't get no-o satisfaction.

I can't get no-o media traction.

But I try; but I try; I will lie — even cry.

I can't get no; I can't get no.

Was with Bush One up in Maine,

And Obama's on the radio.

A ...

Updated: Sun Jul 27, 2008

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Texas Tea and Sympathy for 08/03/2008

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Midwesterners are notorious cynics. So you can see why some took a dim view when a Texas oil tycoon came to Kansas to chat up alternative fuels.

Seems like forever that folks were used to hearing Big Oilmen speak of alternative fuels only in terms of pump options, meaning regular, premium and diesel. So when a certain wealthy Texan called on Topeka recently, folks were treated to a horse ...

Updated: Sun Aug 03, 2008

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'Idol' Worship for 08/10/2008

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you're going to have one of the biggest cattle calls in North America, it may as well be in one of Missouri's famous stockyards. What better location for tryouts for "American Idol" than a part of town accustomed to judging steers and heifers?

This part of Kansas City used to be where livestock was herded, tagged and inspected. For three days, Team I ...

Updated: Sun Aug 10, 2008

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Sex Appeal and Cancer for 08/17/2008

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The sudden death of singer Isaac Hayes reminded me of a conversation I had this spring with actor Richard Roundtree.

Roundtree played the sexy lead in "Shaft," the 1971 hit movie that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Hayes, who recently died from a stroke, won an Oscar for the theme song, which he also sang.

The film was among the highest-grossing ones that year and made ...

Updated: Sun Aug 17, 2008

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How Cheney Changed America for 08/24/2008

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Until Dick Cheney's power grab, the vice president was viewed as a stand-in.

In America BC (Before Cheney), the veep was the understudy; he stood in ceremoniously when the president could not.

Traditionally male, the vice president attended state dinners and state funerals, and his credentials were vetted publicly only when the Big Guy died in office. Occasionally, the veep got to ...

Updated: Sun Aug 24, 2008

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Audacity in Denver for 08/31/2008

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The last time we saw so many fellow Americans gathered at a stadium for something other than football was in New Orleans after Katrina three years ago.

In the Superdome then were citizens who felt dispossessed upon learning the horrifying truth about the government's tardy and disorganized response to their plight.

Certainly, there was no "happy talk" when the leader of ...

Updated: Sun Aug 31, 2008

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Don't Worry, Keep Drilling for 09/07/2008

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As Hurricane Gustav hammered the Gulf Coast, sparing Louisiana and elsewhere Katrina's wrath but not evacuations and power outages, President George W. Bush had a singular message for the alarmed populace: Don't worry, keep drilling.

More important to Bush than displaced and distressed fellow Americans were the nearly 4,000 oil- and gas-production platforms along the coast that had endur ...

Updated: Sun Sep 07, 2008

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