J.C. Moore Online

Current Events from a Science Perspective.

Kansas Politics

  • Unethical Journalism and Political Stereotyping Create Partisanship

    Journalism’s ethics say that newspapers should seek the truth and print it, and avoid bias and sensationalism. Publisher Steve Haynes violates those principles in his article, “Democrats want to tap every dime you have”, (TS News 12-01-22). The title is sensational to catch your attention. And, even worse, the article is filled with misinformation. It… Read more

  • Kansas Is Set to Approve Net Energy Metering Bill

    The Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee is now holding hearings on HB 2228. The bill will reset the total capacity limitation for net energy metering (NEM) systems that may operate within the service territory of an investor-owned electric utility. The total capacity is now set at 1% and it will be increased to 10%, allowing… Read more

  • The Kansas Marshall Plan: Good Ol’ Boy Politics

    The Marshall Plan was initiated in 1948 to help Europe rebuild after World War II. Interestingly, Kansas also has a Marshall plan named for Kansan Roger Marshall. It helps prominent Republicans rebuild their political careers after committing a crime. After a dispute with his neighbor in 2008, Roger Marshall attempted to run his neighbor over… Read more

  • Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor Poorer

    The 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act (TJCA) really did a job on the American people. The results were predictable. A similar tax cut in Kansas in 2012 was a disaster for Kansas. It benefited the rich, led to a stagnant economy, took money from infrastructure and schools, and put Kansas far in debt. States… Read more

  • The Problem with Addressing Induced Earthquakes

    Many people believe that man’s activities are so inconsequential that they could not possibly induce earthquakes. However, there have been cases as far back as the 1960s where the only reasonable explanation was that earthquakes were being induced by disposal wells. When the U.S. Army’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal built a disposal well in 1961 to… Read more

  • Earthquakes in Wichita?

    Earthquakes in the Wichita area are very rare. However, beginning in November 2020, a cluster of earthquakes occurred with the epicenters under Northeast Wichita. There were 21 earthquakes with a magnitude above 2.5 (M2.5) on the Richter scale. The largest of those was an M3.9 on December 30 which could be felt as far as 30 miles… Read more

  • What is the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Hiding?

    The answer is “the whole truth”. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce (KCC) is not like our local Chambers of Commerce. They trade on the Chamber’s good name, but their PAC functions as a lobbyist group for large corporations and those already wealthy. They not only lobby to influence state policies, but they work to remove… Read more

  • Think Tanks: Why Kansas Has Bad Laws

    Think tanks are a body of experts assembled  to provide ideas and advice on specific political or economic problems. The think tanks in the illustration have much in common. They are ideologically driven, funded by dark money, and they wish to reduce taxes and regulations on wealthy individuals and corporations. Combined, they spend over $1… Read more

  • Kansas Legislature lets down public on regulations

    “I can understand why they want to be free of regulations and scrutiny, but I cannot understand why we should let them.” That is a famous quote from Drew Edmondson, the former Atty. Gen. of Oklahoma who sued Tyson for polluting the scenic rivers of eastern Oklahoma. Tyson responded by helping to elect an attorney… Read more

  • KS HB 2641: A Step To Limit Induced Seismic Activity

    The proposed Kansas House Bill 2641 will limit the amount of  fracking disposal fluids that can be injected at a given site. It is a start, but Kansas needs to learn from Oklahoma’s experience and be proactive in limiting induced earthquakes from disposal wells. Rationale:  Historically, Oklahoma has had very few earthquakes. The graph below shows that… Read more