Kansas

What a mess: Doddering Biden, scheming Supreme Court, vacuous Kansas lawmakers implicate all of us • Kansas Reflector

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2024

What a mess: Doddering Biden, scheming Supreme Court, vacuous Kansas lawmakers implicate all of us • Kansas Reflector

From Thursday to Monday, we all saw a lot of consequences play out, plain as day.

We saw the consequence of two parties choosing men manifestly unfit to run for president. One a direct threat to our United States of America, the other barely able to string sentences together and staring blankly into the distance as if trying to process how he arrived there.

We saw the consequences of a U.S. Supreme Court packed with hard-right appointees, eager to hand over practically unchecked power to the man they (likely correctly) assume will be the next president.

Most of all, we’ve seen the consequences of a nation that has for too long gorged itself on cheap cynicism and infantile entertainment.

We picked Trump and Biden. We elected the U.S. representatives and senators who pass budgets and confirm nominees. We have gone along with all of this and have allowed our government to reach this exigency. Changing the situation doesn’t require magic. It requires civic engagement and participation on a level with which most of us are unfamiliar.

I can lay out what I think should happen.

Yes, obviously President Joe Biden needs to drop out. Yes, obviously Republicans should have never countenanced Donald Trump as their nominee after he attempted to overthrow the government he led. One of these situations can still be addressed, while the other one appears set in stone. So Democratic leaders need to decide where they stand.

The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity can be understood as either dire or limited. I’ve read chunks of Chief Justice John Robert’s majority opinion, as well as Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent. They seem to be writing from different universes, never mind different planets. We have no way to know the consequences without time passing and observing how our presidents and courts react.

No one can change that. At least not right away.

Unfortunately, Kansas has a limited role to play in this upcoming national election. The state will almost certainly vote for the Republican presidential nominee, as it has done in every election since 1964. That’s what happens when the nation still abides by the absurd Electoral College system.

Yet we all have roles to play when it comes to our own state and communities. Elections at these levels matter, and local candidates can present stark choices. But you won’t know about your options unless you pay attention.

Kansas Reflector reporters are interviewing candidates for statewide office. We will be running stories about candidates and what they hope to do.

Read them. Read stories in your local newspaper or news website.

Last month, I wrote about the grimness that hovered over the Kansas Legislature’s not-so-special session. You remember that, right? When all the state lawmakers came back to pass a tax cut plan and big tax incentive packages for sports team?

That session was a consequence, too. So was the dogged refusal of leaders to allow votes on Medicaid expansion or marijuana legalization.

Kansans elected those people. They supported leaders who would rather line the pockets of billionaires than look out for the 12% of Kansans who live in poverty. Every one of those people could be helped, if Kansans decided they wanted to do so. But we haven’t.

No, here in the Sunflower State, voters hand over their brains and willpower to the various dark money groups sending out glossy mailers. In any other situation, in any other area of life, would you believe a piece of mail that arrives at your home from someone you don’t know telling obvious lies about someone else? Of course not. It boggles my mind that these pieces of junk hold such sway in the world of Kansas politics.

They only hold that sway, of course, because voters let them.

The hateful inertia of Kansas politics and the blazing Dumpster fire of the presidential election are one and the same story.

They are both the story of politicians and voters too vacuous to challenge one another to do better. They are both the story of big money interests doing all they can to dominate the discussion and eliminate dissent. They are both the story of business conglomerates pumping us full of literal and figurative narcotics — anything to dull our realization that we have made these choices and bear responsibility for this world.

We can’t fix this mess alone. But we can demand better from those hoping to represent us.

Not tomorrow, not after the next election, not when it’s our turn.

Now.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

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Kansas

Kansas Supreme Court upheld conviction in April 2020 homicide case in Topeka

Published

2 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Kansas Supreme Court upheld conviction in April 2020 homicide case in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas Supreme Court upheld a conviction in an April 2020 homicide case involving three defendants in Topeka, Kan.

The three defendants, Diquan Clayton, James Boatwright and Davontra Alston, had been charged in the shooting death of D’Angelo Payne.

Kansas Supreme Court officials announced on Friday, July 5 that they affirmed Alston’s convictions in the Shawnee County District Court for first-degree murder and conspiracy in the case State of Kansas v. Davontra Leonard Alston.

Officials said the court rejected the Alston’s argument that a conviction under a theory for conspiracy punished the same behavior twice, which was an unconstitutional violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 10 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights.

Officials indicated the court reaffirmed the longstanding precedent that a conviction for conspiracy is a separate crime than a conviction for murder because conspiracy punishes the agreement to commit murder, while a murder conviction punishes the killing itself.

The court said they rejected Alston’s claims that he was entitled to a new trial based on various arguments of error at the trial court, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial.

On April 4, 2020, Shawnee Co. District Attorney Mike Kagay said law enforcement officials were called just before 11:30 p.m. to the area of 5th and Western with reports of a shooting.

Upon arrival, Kagay said officers found a 2001 Ford Taurus had left the road and crashed into the front yard of 512 SW Western. Payne was identified as the driver and only occupant of the vehicle. He had been suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said the investigation led to the arrest and charging of three co-defendants.

In January 2021, Kagay said the Court held a 3-day preliminary hearing for the three, which found probable cause and set them each for their own separate trials.

Kagay said in the case, the State of Kansas v. Davontra Alston, 20-CR-1714, a jury trial was held in May 2021, which found Alston guilty of the following and sentenced to 618 months, or 51.5 years, in prison:

Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
Alternatively, Murder in the First Degree, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony
Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
Criminal Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Vehicle

In the case, the State of Kansas v. James Boatwright, 20-CR-637, a jury trial found Boatwright guilty of the following and sentencing had been scheduled for Dec. 17:

Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
Alternatively, Murder in the First Degree, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony
Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
Criminal Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Vehicle

Kagay also said in the case of the State of Kansas v. Diquan Clayton, 20-CR-774, a jury trial had been set to start next week. However, on Friday, Clayton entered a plea of Guilty to First Degree Murder, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony. He was sentenced following Boatwright at 3 p.m. on Dec. 17.

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Kansas State basketball has its team together in June for the first time in Tang era

Published

8 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Kansas State basketball has its team together in June for the first time in Tang era

Jerome Tang is heading into his third season not just as the Kansas State basketball coach, but as a head coach altogether. He is starting to get the hang of how the offseason works and the ups and downs of coaching.

Each offseason, it seems Tang has had to rebuild his team due to eligibility or to the transfer portal. This offseason is no different with the Wildcats losing five players to the transfer portal and two to eligibility.

However, after briefly appearing to the media recently, Tang talked about the highs and lows of the offseason and one key aspect of this offseason he feels will be a game-changer.

For the first time, Tang had all of his guys on campus and in his facilities and he did so by June. In years past a lot of the players either didn’t get there till the start of school or sometimes even later.

The Wildcats will have a total of 10 new faces on their roster to add to the three returning players. Of the three returning only one, David N’Guessan, really saw significant playing time last season and even started a few games. The other two returning players, Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich would see playing time here and there, but nothing significant.

Now the 10 new players that have come in this offseason have gotten Kansas State really excited about the upcoming season. Kansas State has always been a team that was able to shoot the ball well, but now they have a lot of height on the team along with sharpshooters on the outside. Of the 10 new players, eight of them are Division I transfers, one is a junior college All-American, and one is a top-50 high school prospect.

Here is a list of all the newcomers:

Tang talked about how great it has been having the whole team together so early in the offseason. He says he is able to work on more things and the team is able to bond and grow more together in this time.

With so many newcomers, the veteran presence of N’Guessan will be incredibly helpful, however, he has been playing with the Dutch National Team this summer. Tang talked about how it would be nice to have him around, especially with his experience of playing so many minutes last season, but he is still getting work in and that is what matters.

The biggest thing that Tang is emphasizing this summer is letting the chemistry of the team build organically. He is trying to force anything and he is doing what he has always done. He said they all live in the same apartment complex very close to the gym, they work out together, and they even have family dinners.

With the addition of a lot of great players, K-State is beginning to catch the attention of those in the Big 12, but all will be seen when the season starts. The non-conference schedule is still being determined, but the Wildcats know who they will be playing in the Big 12 and where they will be playing them. All there is left to do is get the entire schedule and start the season.

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DeLuca and Lowe homer as Tampa Bay Rays pounce on poor Kansas City pitching in 10-8 victory over Royals

Published

15 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

DeLuca and Lowe homer as Tampa Bay Rays pounce on poor Kansas City pitching in 10-8 victory over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jonny DeLuca and Brandon Lowe homered, eight Rays players drove in runs, and Tampa Bay pounced on some erratic Kansas City pitching to squeak out a 10-8 victory over the Royals on Thursday night.

Zach Eflin (5-5), riding a 10-inning scoreless streak coming into the game, allowed six runs – five earned – and seven hits with a walk over five innings. That was still good enough to pick up his first win in his last five road starts.

Alec Marsh (6-6) allowed five runs and six hits with three walks in just three innings. The Kansas City bullpen fared no better as five relievers combined to allow five more runs, 10 hits and five walks.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JULY 04: Brandon Lowe #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays heads to home plate after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium on July 4, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Ri

Michael Massey and Bobby Witt Jr. homered for the Royals, who trailed 9-4 before scoring three times in the sixth inning. The rally ended when Witt – representing the potential tying run – was thrown out trying to steal second.

Pete Fairbanks surrendered Witt’s solo homer in the ninth before picking up his 14th save.

Marsh struggled with his command from the start, walking Richie Palacios on four pitches and Isaac Paredes on a full-count to start the game – both eventually scored. DeLuca homered in the second and Palacios added an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

The Royals got a run back on Massey’s homer in the second. And after Tampa Bay restored a four-run lead on DeLuca’s single in the third, Witt hit a sacrifice fly and Pasquantino an RBI single to get Kansas City to 5-3.

Carlos Hernandez didn’t have much better command than Marsh for Kansas City. He walked the bases loaded to begin the fifth, and Taylor Walls and Ben Rortvedt made sure all three runners scored, extending the Tampa Bay lead.

The Rays hung on the rest of the way for their fifth straight series win.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Massey played the field for the first time since May 24, when a lower back issue forced him onto the injured list. He had been limited to DH duties since returning to the club on June 24. … Royals INF/OF Adam Frazier (right thumb strain) began what is expected to be a short rehab stint at Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Friday night.

UP NEXT

The Rays have not announced a starter for Friday night’s series-opener at Texas, though RHP Shane Baz is expected to get the ball in place of Aaron Civale, who was traded to the Brewers earlier this week. Baz missed last season after Tommy John surgery, but he’s been dominant at Triple-A Durham, compiling a 1.57 ERA over his last five outings.

The Royals begin a nine-game trip leading into the All-Star break with the first of three in Colorado on Friday night. RHP Cole Ragans (5-6, 3.33) will try to bounce back from a shaky outing last Saturday against Cleveland.

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