Paying Attention...
What caught our eye this week and why it matters
The TGIH team is trying something different this week - taking a few moments to review some of the headlines, articles, videos, podcasts, etc., that have caught our attention in the past week or so. I’d love it if you’d share some things that have caught your attention or made you think/wonder/happy/mad this week.
Be sure to download this week’s episode of That Podcast in Hutch - featuring a conversation with Sen. Mike Murphy about his plan to end property taxes in Kansas and replace it with a surtax on purchases. His bill had a hearing in the Senate Tax Committee this week, where it met some expected resistance. If you’re curious about Sen. Murphy’s proposed legislation, property taxes, or the Kansas legislature in general this will be worth a listen. You’ll also get the chance to hear two people from two wildly different points on the political spectrum talk to each other with the decency and respect. 🤯 You can listen to That Podcast in Hutch on Spotify, Apple, Youtube, or just about anywhere you get your favorite podcast.
Why is censorship all the rage lately? I thought Americans loved freedom, and few more than a free press and the right to say what we like, however we like. Now I see the same people who used to fly those giant “F**k your Feelings” flags whining and complaining anytime someone says something the slightest bit unkind or who doesn’t toe the establishment line. And they’re not afraid to use massive wealth or the power to silence critics - or even basic reporting. Here’s our Fox and Friends weekend host-turned Secretary of War Pete Hegseth championing consolidation of news reporting under a single billionaire family:
“He faulted numerous headlines, insisting that rather than report things like “Mideast War Intensifies,” the press should instead be “patriotic” and write headlines like: “Iran Increasingly Desperate.” The visibly angry Hegseth also ridiculed a CNN story reporting that Trump’s war planners “underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
And there’s the threat by Minister of Truth, er, I mean, FCC chairman Brendan Carr to revoke broadcasters’ licenses if they don’t start reporting the news in a more with a little more truthiness:
“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote in a post on the social platform X.
The powerful inconvenience of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is that it protects both the speech that suits you and the speech that doesn’t. And during times of distress and discord our protection of free speech is most required - something Kansas’ most famous journalist articulated in his “Letter to an Anxious Friend”
“You say that freedom of utterance is not for time of stress, and I reply with the sad truth that only in time of stress is freedom of utterance in danger. No one questions it in calm days, because it is not needed. And the reverse is true also; only when free utterance is suppressed is it needed, and when it is needed, it is most vital to justice.”
Speaking of Kansas, there’s so much happening in the Kansas Legislature it’s a challenge to see what’s slipping under the radar. And there’s most certainly a lot of things sliding under the table. But here are a few headlines that caught my attention this week.
Kansas bill would make it a crime to approach within 25 feet of first responders
Students raise concerns over bill that limits First Amendment right to protest
Kansas bill to expand free breast cancer screening likely killed by lawmaker
Democrats exit election committee meeting after accusing chair of antisemitism
Locally, there are two big things that I want to share. First, the Food Bank of Reno County had it’s grand opening at its new location at corner of 4th and Severance. There have been a lot of people working very hard to make this moment a reality - and the new space will serve our community very well, and for a very long time.
Second, I attended the Trends in Data Centers event last week hosted by the Hutch Chamber. I am generally skeptical of data centers and what they mean for any community they want to set up in. BUT - I’m also trying to keep an open mind on the matter. I want to listen and gather information, but also to process that information critically. This is good and useful information that is being presented by a group of people who are pro-data center development. And that’s fair, but also worth noting as we launch into bigger conversations about what this could mean for Hutchinson, Reno County, and surrounding communities.