Opinion
Lawrence Journal-World l LJWorld.com l Sunday, September 18, 2016
EDITORIALS
Testing water Lawrence is setting a good example by being proactive in detecting lead quickly.
K
udos to the city of Lawrence for taking steps to increase testing of the city’s water supply. The City Commission authorized buying more than $120,000 in laboratory equipment to test city water for lead and other metals as part of the Lawrence H2O Lead Awareness Program. City water is below mandated regulatory levels of 15 parts per billion for lead, but better testing will ensure levels remain safe and give residents additional peace of mind. At present, the city sends water samples to the state for testing, which requires several weeks for results. The Environmental Protection Agency requires the city to test 30 tap samples for lead every three years. That’s less than a tenth of 1 percent of the 32,000 water meters in Lawrence. While the city’s water starts off essentially lead-free, once it leaves the city’s water main it can be contaminated by private plumbing systems that contain lead. While some tap samples tested by the city are at zero, others were as high as 9.6 parts per billion. The new equipment will allow for greater frequency of in-house testing. The new lab equipment is expected to be operating by January at the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant. The water supply fiasco in Flint, Mich., has raised concerns nationwide about water supply contaminants. Flint’s troubles began shortly after city officials switched the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. But officials didn’t properly adjust water treatment practices for the Flint River water supply, which was found to be highly corrosive compared with the Lake Huron supply. The corrosive Flint River water and the lead service lines that supply about half of Flint’s homes proved to be a toxic mix. Lead is a neurotoxin that can be especially harmful for infants and children, and has been shown to affect cognitive development, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The effects of lead exposure are irreversible. The city of Lawrence treats water to inhibit corrosion and it replaced public service lines with lead-free systems in the 1980s. But properties built before 1986 are more likely to have lead in their plumbing, and lead can be found in multiple places in the plumbing system, such as pipes, fittings, soldering and faucets. The lessons from Flint for other municipalities are to be proactive about water quality, including treatment and testing, and transparent with residents about risks. With the purchase of new testing equipment and the city’s lead awareness program, the city of Lawrence appears to be on the right track.
TODAY IN HISTORY l On Sept. 18, 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. l In 1959, during his U.S. tour, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited Wall Street, the Empire State Building and the grave of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Khrushchev called on all countries to disarm. l In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27. l In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia
Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
LAWRENCE
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What the Lawrence Journal-World stands for Accurate and fair news reporting. No mixing of editorial opinion with reporting of the news. l Safeguarding the rights of all citizens regardless of race, creed or economic stature. l Sympathy and understanding for all who are disadvantaged or oppressed. l Exposure of any dishonesty in public affairs. l Support of projects that make our community a better place to live. l l
Scott Stanford, Publisher
Trump unfit … so what are we? I know you are, but what am I?” Maybe you remember that one from the schoolyard. It was one of those unanswerable taunts — “I’m rubber, you’re glue” was another — widely favored by smart-alecky kids, a bit of verbal judo that took an attacker’s thrust and turned it back against her. “I know you are, but what am I?”
Leonard Pitts Jr. lpitts@miamiherald.com
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It works like this: Whatever Trump is called or accused of, he turns it back on the accuser.”
Most of us outgrew the riposte about the same time we outgrew passing notes in class. Apparently, Donald Trump never did. Far from leaving it behind, he has honed it into a potent political tool perfect for this era of post-factual lassitude and cognitive dissonance. As Campaign 2016 grinds toward a reckoning, we are seeing that tool employed with breathtaking shamelessness. It works like this: Whatever Trump is called or accused of, he turns it back on the accuser. Did you ever see that scene in “The Equalizer” where a bad guy points a gun at Denzel Washington and, faster than the eye can follow, Denzel snatches the gun and points it back at him? It’s something like that, except with words.
So the man who claims that he’s always opposed the Iraq War (even though he didn’t), the man who said the election is rigged (even though it isn’t), the man who told us Barack Obama founded ISIS (even though — duh! — he didn’t), the man whose PolitiFact scorecard rules over 80 percent of his rated statements as half-truths and untruths … that man complains that Hillary Clinton is “a worldclass liar.” And the man whose idea of releasing medical information is a brief note from his doctor so loopy, imprecise and filled with wild, extravagant claims (Trump “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”) that one doctor dubs it “medically illiterate” … that man tells us it’s the mysteries of Hillary Clinton’s health we ought to be concerned about. And the man who said a judge was unfit to judge because he is of Mexican heritage, the man who wants a
Kathleen Johnson, Advertising Manager Joan Insco, Circulation Manager Allie Sebelius, Marketing Director
ban on Muslim immigration, the man who retweets racists and anti-Semites, the man who is openly beloved by white supremacists to the point that former Klansman David Duke seems about ready to kiss him on the lips … that man condemns Hillary Clinton as “a bigot.” Not to put too fine a point on it, but having Donald Trump lecture you about bigotry, transparency or truth is rather like having Kanye West tell you to stop behaving like a jack—s. In psychology, they have this phenomenon called projection. The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology defines it as a “primitive defense mechanism” that involves “the unconscious warding off of negative experiences or emotions by denying an experience, perceiving it in another person and then seeing that negative experience as being directed back at the projector.” Which sounds like what we’re seeing here, except there is nothing “uncon-
PUBLIC FORUM
Celebrate Lawrence To the editor: On Sunday, Sept. 18, Lawrence celebrates its 162nd anniversary. This birthday is especially significant because it also marks the sesquicentennial year of the University of Kansas. The 1866 stone at Sesquicentennial Point is sponsored by KU. At the beautiful park just east of Clinton Dam and along the same road as Mutt Run, the Walk through Time at Sesquicentennial Point ends at 2004, and now it is time to add 12 more stones, ready to be marked with important events since Lawrence’s sesquicentennial. Through Lawrence Parks and Recreation offices, individuals and groups can designate a year to commemorate. Go to the website lprd. org and select the Walk through Time for many wonderful stories about people and events from Lawrence’s history that are marked on the stones in the Walk through Time. There are still people and organizations and events that have not yet been marked in the Walk through Time. Who will step up to see that Langston Hughes is acknowledged? Lawrence High School? The 1952, 1988 and 2008 NCAA basketball championships? Pinckney School? New York School? The Ballard Center? Arden Booth? Gladys and Deal Six? Phog Allen? The Rev. Cordley? Ernst Hardware? Tiger Dowdell? Chuck Mead? Sara Paretsky? The late Jim Owens, who served as our mayor, as president of the chamber of commerce and on our school board? In fact, the Walk through Time becomes a history lesson for all who follow it from 1854 to the present. Sesquicentennial Point is evolving and someday will have an amphitheater, where in 2054 a time capsule from 2004 will be opened to celebrate Lawrence’s bicentennial. Happy birthday, Lawrence! Clenece Hills, president of Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission
Chad Lawhorn, Editor Kim Callahan, Managing Editor
7A
The Trump standard To the editor: I’m really bothered by this idea that Trump gets points for basically
not messing up. The thought that he did good today because he didn’t say something controversial, or he got through an event, etc. Do you realize how ludicrous that sounds? This is the most powerful position in the world. He regularly says things that are unconstitutional (immigration), war crimes (killing the families of terrorists), sexist (Clinton doesn’t ‘look’ presidential), racist (still refuses to apologize for the birther nonsense), bigoted (insults literally anyone who disagrees, loves anyone who compliments him, including Vladimir Putin), etc., and yet he gets a gold star if he can go a day without doing one of those things. Why? It reinforces this idea that people want to simply ‘win’ or ‘beat Hillary’ rather than actually making considerations about what this man’s day to day governance will look like. T.J. Henderson, Lawrence
Letters to the editor l Letters should be 250 words or fewer. l Letters should avoid namecalling and be free of libelous language. l All letters must be signed with the name, address and telephone number of the writer. The Journal-World will publish only the name and city of the writer, but the newspaper will use the address and telephone number to verify the identity of the author. l By submitting a letter, writers acknowledge that the JournalWorld reserves the right to edit letters, as long as viewpoints are not altered. l Letters can be submitted via mail to P.O. Box 888, Lawrence KS 66044 or via email at letters@ ljworld.com.
scious” about it. No, this is calculated, born of a conviction that there really is a sucker born every minute — and that an alarming proportion of them vote in American elections. So the challenge here is simple: What will we say in response? How will we answer this insult to intelligence? Or are we too sick of it all to care? One has a sense of an electorate pummeled into emotional submission. Which is hardly surprising. It’s been a long, dispiriting campaign largely bereft of ideas, proposals and uplift. But it is important to remember that November will be a moment of truth in more ways than one. Indeed, November will answer a critical question. You say Trump is an ignorant narcissist unfit for the White House? Yes, we know he is. But what are we? — Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
OLD HOME TOWN
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From the Daily Kansas Tribune for Sept. 18, 1866: l “A. D. Richardson, years Esq., honored us with a call ago yesterday. After several IN 1866 years of absence — years of vicissitudes, he comes to Lawrence once more — not the Lawrence of his remembrance, for the ruthless hand of war has left hardly a trace of that, by which its old-time friends can refresh their memories grown dim by the lapse of years — but the Lawrence built upon the site of the old ‘City of Freedom,’ whose struggles and dangers he recorded in days gone by. The people of Kansas all know Mr. Richardson by reputation at least. His book, ‘The Field, the Dungeon, and the Escape,’ has been read by thousands of our people, and in a measure introduced him into the households of Kansas as a familiar and welcome guest.”
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From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Sept. 18, 1916: years l “Police officers interago cepted a shipment of liquor IN 1916 Saturday night, which was being brought to town for strictly private use. The size of the shipment was larger than usual and this may have caused it to be brought to the attention of the officers. Eight quart bottles of whisky now repose in the police station. The two men who brought the liquor to town on the interurban were not bootleggers, the police are convinced, and no charge was brought against them, though the liquor was taken to the police station and will remain there.” l “A store at Linwood was robbed last night and the Lawrence police force was asked by telephone from that town this morning to keep a watch for the robbers. About $20 in money, articles of men’s and women’s clothing, and a box of 100 cigars were among the articles which the proprietor of the store missed when he opened.” l “Mr. Frank Hanly, candidate for president of the United States on the Prohibition ticket, and his running mate, Ira Landrith, candidate for vice president, will visit Lawrence on Monday, October 2.” — Reprinted with permission from local writer Sarah St. John. To see more, go online to www.facebook.com/DailyLawrenceHistory.