Paul A. Ibbetson's Past Articles

74 articles

Burning Down the Straw Man

published: November 20, 2009

As has been the case for many years, and especially most recently, the charge is that conservatives are falsely railing against a straw man in their observations and accusations leveled against the...

Jonesing for Alex Jones: Drawing the line between Conservatives and Conspiracy Theorists

published: November 06, 2009

As conservatives and the Republican Party, the party most able to bring back the misplaced spirit of this country, fight to find both their bearings and their grit, they are also faced with the not...

Where’s Your Grit?

published: October 31, 2009

America, where is your character, your pluck, your grit? If that question seems overly harsh and needlessly aggressive, then you are staring directly at the problem. This nation sits at the precipi...

Review: 2009 documentary “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Buckle up

published: October 23, 2009

Sometimes being right is personally rewarding, sometimes it’s of financial benefit, and sometimes, unfortunately, it’s just downright painful. I recently wrote an article, “What&r...;

The Power of Humor: Posterior Observations from the Plains

published: October 09, 2009

Do you still have a sense of humor? Can you still brake into a good solid laugh when the opportunity arises? Conservatives and the Republican Party, the party by which conservative values are most ...

A Return To The Planet Of The Apes

published: October 02, 2009

These were the words shouted from the lips of Charlton Heston in the 1968 movie release, Planet of the Apes. Heston, who played the character of astronaut George Taylor, found himself in a future E...

What's Still The Matter Thomas Frank?

published: September 26, 2009

Ah, Kansas, the home of hard working, god-fearing, regular average Americans. You would never know that if you read Thomas Frank’s bestselling book “What’s the Matter With Kansas?...

A Meeting With The Boss

published: September 18, 2009

Have you ever had to have one of those special sit-downs with the boss? You know, the kind where you have to sit in the big office with the blinds drawn to receive one of those “this is how i...

The Common Thread: A Bird’s Eye View of the TEA Party Movement

published: September 04, 2009

The TEA Party movement, which started for most as a small grassroots effort by disenchanted Americans to voice their disapproval with the government, is now growing to epic proportions. The movemen...

The Framing of the Modern Right-wing Extremist

published: August 14, 2009

The moon landing really happened, Pearl Harbor wasn't staged, no covert organization is trying to control your mind through radio waves, and Elvis is really, really dead. Those are the first conspi...

Your carbons and your life

published: August 06, 2009

Your money or your life! These are the words most people have seen on television, and a precious few in real life, where the villain gives the frightened passer-by the option of handing over their ...

Racing To The Race Card: An Observation of Conflict Building

published: July 31, 2009

The recent news swirl encompasses the inflammatory statements of President Barack Obama in the wake of the arrest of African-American scholar, Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates, a black Harvard Professor...

Why You Should Love Your Carbon Footprint

published: July 24, 2009

America, with all its imperfections, is still truly the land of opportunity. This has been the unique component that has brought people from around the world, in every way imaginable, and even some...

The Wolf Who Cried “Boy!”

published: July 17, 2009

The wolf who cried “boy!” Make that statement today and it won’t take but a moment for someone to utter that a correction must be made, as you have obviously gotten the important ...

Another Elvis Sighting

published: July 11, 2009

'I just saw Elvis!' Even decades after the death of the legendary singer, people still exclaim these same words with detailed accounts of their personal sighting of “The King.” I, along...

Of Flies and Men

published: July 03, 2009

“Save the whales, save the snails!” Comedian George Carlin had it right when he talked about the audacity and craziness of some to misplace priorities on where to put a helping hand whe...

Experience, Judgment, and Character

published: June 27, 2009

I recently found myself in the childhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas. It was a tremendous experience to hear the creek of the floorboards, to see the handcrafted furniture, and ...

The Black Death

published: June 20, 2009

For the people of Europe who faced the Black Death in the middle 1300s, their lives before the plague appeared in many respects the same as for modern people today. People worked in the city shops,...

A Fear Worse Than Words

published: June 13, 2009

Want to know what is worse than losing a long, grueling race for the White House? Don’t ask John McCain - ask Sarah Palin. Since the moment the Alaskan Governor decided to throw her hat in th...

The Supreme Court: Minority Activist Wanted

published: June 06, 2009

President Barack Obama’s nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a New York Judge of Hispanic decent, has brought about another unique firestorm that may once again define the characteristic m...

Death and Dishonesty: A Jaunt through the Killing Fields of Abortion

published: May 20, 2009

As is often the case with issues of morality in the U.S., there appears to be a moment in time when the public collectively centers its attention on issues the media, and other elements of the libe...

Gustav, God, and Michael Moore

published: September 06, 2008

In the summer of 2007, I constructed a profile and analysis on Michael Moore that illuminated the sociopathic tendencies that encompass the actions of one of the most infamous documentarycreators o...

Breaking the Mold

published: August 04, 2008

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to interview the man the media calls the “Toughest Sheriff in America,” Sheriff Joe Arpaio, on my radio show the Conscience of Kansas. It was an e...

Reflections from a conversation with Duane "Dog" Chapman

published: June 30, 2008

On June 24, 2008, I had a lengthy interview with Duane "Dog" Chapman. Chapman is the star of A&E's returning hit show Bounty Hunter, where he will once again track felons on the ...