Russellarbenfox

LATEST ARTICLES ( 622 )

• The Coronavirus in Kansas: Wichita's Weaknesses and Strengths

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story]When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, it's sometimes easy, here in Wichita--a large city nonetheless somewhat isolated and... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2020 SOCIETY

• The Coronavirus in Kansas: A Week of Triage

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story]This has been a week of triage for our city.With the Sedgwick County Commission at first resisting and then finally submitting... Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2020 SOCIETY

• Star Trek, The Original Series, Season 1: The First Binge

  

  Sometime in January it just occurred to me: I, a 51-year-old Star Trek fan of many decades, actually only know the Original (and best! Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2020 SOCIETY

• The Coronavirus in Kansas: The First Week

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story] It’s dark and quiet Wednesday morning here in the Fox household, March 18, 2020. It’s been dark every morning–and mostly grey an... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2020 SOCIETY

• Presidents' Day Questions for Ralph Hancock

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent] Ralph Hancock, a political theorist at Brigham Young University, is a fairly notorious figure in certain tiny Mormon... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2020 SOCIETY

• Religious Liberty and Joseph Smith in Park's Kingdom of Nauvoo

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent]Benjamin Park's Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier is going to be released i... Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2020 SOCIETY

• Power, Friendship, and a Better Set of Democratic "Rules"

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]In the wake of the chaotic mess that was this year's Iowa caucuses, the politically inclined out there might not be in... Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2020 SOCIETY

• Questions for Riverfront Boosters and Their Critics

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story] Last week, Populous presented their complete (or nearly complete) vision for transforming the east bank of the riverfront throug... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2020 SOCIETY

• A Plea to Kansas Senator Jerry Moran

  

  This morning, I was asked by a small, hastily organized group of Wichita citizens to speak on behalf of "A Kansas Call for a Full and Fair Impeachment Trial. Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2020 SOCIETY

• My Year with the Walrus

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story]Over the twelve months of 2019, I listened to every single Paul McCartney album, thus becoming a Macca completist. Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2020 SOCIETY

• The Ten Best Movies I Saw in 2019

  

  Here we go. The usual rules apply: these are what I consider to be the best films I saw for the first time in 2019, regardless of when they were released.... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2019 SOCIETY

• The Ten Best Books I Read in 2019

  

  Well, here we go. As usual, in alphabetical order, by author:Loka Ashwood, For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government is Losing the Trust of Rural America. Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2019 SOCIETY

• The Mormon-American Boy Scout, 1913-2019. RIP.

  

  [Cross-posted to on By Common Consent]Today, the Mormon church officially ends its formal involvement with Boy Scouts of America. Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2019 SOCIETY

• Christmastime, Still (Sometimes) in the Dark

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent]I woke up this morning early, the day following last night's arrival of the Winter Solstice, of Midwinter, giving us the... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2019 SOCIETY

• Listening to Macca #12: New and Egypt Station

  

  Here I am, at the end of 2019 and the end of this 12-month journey through pretty nearly everything Sir Paul McCartney has recorded and released since the... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2019 SOCIETY

• It's Time for Wichita (and Its Government) to Get Strong

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story]A short while ago, The Wichita Eagle ran a column of mine on the brouhaha over whether the Wichita City Council ought to... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2019 SOCIETY

• Listening to Macca #11: Memory Almost Full, Electric Arguments, Etc.

  

  I'm coming towards the end of this journey through Sir Paul McCartney's oeuvre, and this month I had the strong feeling that Macca himself had come to an end... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2019 SOCIETY

• Taking Our Time with Century II

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story]The argument over what to do with Century II has quite arguably been a subtext to just about every major debate which has been... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2019 SOCIETY

• Listening to Macca #10: Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, and...

  

  I'm at the point chronologically where Sir Paul turns 60 years old, and I'm finding that I really kind of like the man. I've never disliked him, of course--for... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2019 SOCIETY

• The Localist Theory of Charles Marohn's Wonderfully Practical Strong Towns

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]This past weekend, I took a group of students up to the annual Prairie Festival at The Land Institute in Salina, KS. Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2019 SOCIETY