Paul A. Ibbetson column
Dr. Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor's and Master's degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of several books and is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association's 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 award winning, Conscience of Kansas airing across the state. Visit his website at www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@gmail.com
Subscribe to Paul's columnPaul A. Ibbetson
October 16, 2014
Kansas voters will soon go to the polls and decide who they want to govern our state for the next four years. The question is what criteria will be used to . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 26, 2011
What part should schools play in the personal development of our children? Most parents naturally expect teachers and administrative staff to assist their . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 19, 2011
Barack Obama has clearly earned his day of reckoning with the American people. That should happen at the polls on Election Day 2012. Yet one important question . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 10, 2011
It was in the mid-1970s on a typical summer evening that I first learned about Ray Stevens. I was with my family in the Southeast Kansas town of Independence, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 29, 2011
There are times in life when it must seem that one just cannot get a break. The city of Chapman, Kansas, and its school district must very well feel that way . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 14, 2011
In recent days there have been a number of groups popping up across the nation going by the moniker "Occupy." Whether it is Occupy Wall Street or Occupy Kansas . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 8, 2011
City officials have just passed the most liberal pro-homosexual bill in Kansas history, well almost. In reality, they are the second city to pass an anti . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 30, 2011
In the current GOP 2012 presidential debates, all the Republican candidates have voiced the need to drastically re-structure the Environmental Protection Agency . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 17, 2011
National League Football may be nothing more than temporary escape for the average America when we must face the rigors of our country's economic crisis, but it . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 9, 2011
Need a job? How about a job that pays the bills? These questions no longer apply to isolated parts of the country that have faced natural disasters or workers . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 2, 2011
Opportunities to do good are lost every day. Either through apathy, stupidity, or unfortunately sometimes, bad intentions, situations where good can be done are . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 25, 2011
Low-brow activity, dirty deeds done by daylight, these can only be the beginnings of the words needed to describe the strong-arm tactics of homosexual activists . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 18, 2011
As Republican presidential candidates file in and out of contention and Americans wait to see the final line-up of GOP contenders for 2012, Barack Obama stands . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 11, 2011
If you have ever watched a "super hero" movie you will hear at some point the cautionary warning that, "With great power comes great responsibility." Those are . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 5, 2011
If you want to create a movement that will encapsulate a nation over time, the majority of your propaganda resources are best allocated toward changing the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 22, 2011
If you want to see another blatant example of social activism at the expense of traditional marriage, go no further than The Learning Channel (TLC). Part of TLC . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 16, 2011
As reported by Johanna Kaiser in the Associated Press, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has decided to pull $33,000 in city funds to pay stipends to city . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 8, 2011
Bumper stickers — we see them every day in almost every form. Sit for a few minutes at a stoplight and you literally see almost every form of human . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 30, 2011
The push continues in the political arena to minimize what have commonly been designated social issues and replace them with what are advertised as the more . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 22, 2011
The current mentality forwarded today is that feminists don't bash men. That's just something angry males say when faced with the undeniable logic forwarded by . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 16, 2011
Officials at Goshen College, a Mennonite college in Indiana, have banned the use of the Star-Spangled Banner during sporting events. The reason school officials . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 2, 2011
Society tends to espouse the value of children in almost every facet of life. We talk about how our children will be the defenders of the nation in the future . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 25, 2011
In recent years the move toward green products and technologies has gone into overdrive. Everything from the expansion of windmills and solar technologies to . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 18, 2011
Do you enjoy B-rated horror movies that are high on amusement but low on plot and believability? Maybe you're into science fiction thrillers with their wild, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 10, 2011
It is said that a picture says a thousand words. When it comes to today's politically correct world, presenting some pictures may say even more. President . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 3, 2011
The inevitable has taken place. Osama bin Laden has been killed by American forces. The details are still limited but as reported by FOX News, bin Laden was . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 28, 2011
Cuba, America's little communist island neighbor to the south is doing a little bit of government restructuring. Fidel Castro has just finished the last stage . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 21, 2011
So where does the Tea Party stand today? If you ask that question in different locations you are going to get many different answers. If you listen to lefties . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 14, 2011
I feel two percent happier today, as that is the amount of the 2011 federal budget that has been trimmed by the recent political negotiations that averted a . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 1, 2011
There is something endearing about conservatives that don't mince words, who aren't afraid to take the battle to today's liberals with almost reckless abandon. . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 25, 2011
The Barack Obama administration has remained motionless while the people of Libya have struggled and even died to replace Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi. Gaddafi, who . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 18, 2011
There is no dependable way to foretell the next natural calamity that will befall planet Earth. Actually, the only thing mankind can say about the next planet . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 14, 2011
As eager colleges students from around the country prepare to leave school for spring break, many ask the question, where is the best place to go to have the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 4, 2011
Recently there has been a push by liberals to advance the homosexual agenda into pivotal areas of American life. Barack Obama's abolition of "don't ask don't . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 18, 2011
As of February 8, 2011, Manhattan, Kansas has created a new mentality for the state. The message is clear: "Christians, beware." There is a new sheriff in town . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 11, 2011
Since the United States legalized abortion in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, approximately 40 million abortions have been conducted in this country. These death toll . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 4, 2011
How special is America? Is it truly a unique place where people can find opportunities for a better life that surpass those of other countries? Many think this . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 28, 2011
In 1975 advertising executive Gary Dahl had one of the simplest and most rewarding marketing ideas of the decade. He placed a shiny little rock in a box . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 21, 2011
The Democratic Party, if anything, is consistent with their actions. They took advantage of an ideologically weak Republican Party that failed to rein in . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 11, 2011
The recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that critically injured Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords as well as killing six other innocent citizens . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 7, 2011
As we step into a new year I take a moment to reflect on what has been attempted and what has been accomplished in the struggle to preserve traditional . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 31, 2010
On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed a law that repeals the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays wishing to serve in the military. DADT was . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 23, 2010
One reality of the 2010 midterm election is that voters have rejected the current agenda of President Barack Obama. Uncontrolled government spending with its . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 9, 2010
"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Those were the troubled words of Dorothy Gale as she found herself in a foreign world in the movie The . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 30, 2010
The political wrangling over what to do with the Bush-era tax cuts that are set to expire has created another opportunity to observe the ideological difference . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 23, 2010
This just in: TSA airport security personnel have now reaffirmed, after thousands of overtly aggressive body pat-downs, that elderly grandmothers and little . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 13, 2010
During the recent mid-term election, voters across the country voiced their will on more than just which politicians or political party they wanted to see in . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 6, 2010
There is just something about humor that makes it inviting in almost every situation. We love to have our funny bone tickled in so many ways, and it is both the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 30, 2010
I once knew a guy who was about 50 pounds overweight. Any time a friend or family member would address him on the issue of cutting out the sweets, he would get . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 23, 2010
When California legalized medical marijuana in 1996 with Proposition 215 to address their citizens' headaches and shoulder pains, I along with many others saw . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 16, 2010
The Westboro Baptist Church... need I say more? The nation watches as the Supreme Court deliberates on the limits of free speech in America involving the right . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 8, 2010
If you want to see the pervasive nature of political correctness in America today, the national public outcry following the Rigoberto Ruelas suicide in . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 1, 2010
As reported by the Christian Science Monitor, Venezuela's communist dictator Hugo Chavez faces his biggest challenge to retain his political voting monopoly . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 24, 2010
The recent Values Voter Summit in Washington gave people a chance to hear from some of the potential Republican presidential candidates for 2012. Indiana . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 17, 2010
With a recent federal appeals court decision temporarily lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research, the question of destroying a life to save a life is . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 10, 2010
Are you hungry, America? Got a rumble in the tummy telling you it's time to eat? If we are honest about it, Americans have a really big appetite for almost . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 2, 2010
Is somebody watching over you today? Is there someone somewhere that is willing to put your well-being ahead of theirs? Those are powerful questions that we . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 27, 2010
What do Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr. have in common? They are forever known as the faces of the classic monsters Dracula, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 12, 2010
In a recent court decision, California's Proposition 8 initiative, which stated that marriage was to be between a man and a woman, has been struck down as . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 5, 2010
Thomas Paine once said, "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 30, 2010
Right now at ground zero in New York a battle over the construction of buildings following 9/11 is raging. It is hard to believe that almost nine years . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 24, 2010
In 1997, under the direction of Andrew Niccol, people viewed on their cinema screens a sterilized world of growing government perfection. The movie, "Gattaca," . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 16, 2010
CNN reports that police authorities in the Bahamas have captured 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, known by the media as the "Barefoot Bandit." This 19-year-old . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 9, 2010
No one likes to be opposed. As people, we pick a side of an argument we believe in and try our hardest to win. That's life, but there are differing ways in . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 2, 2010
The forced resignation of David Weigel by the Washington Post will probably be forgotten by tomorrow, nothing more than a little blip on the radar of those . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 23, 2010
What does it mean to be a Republican? What does it mean to be a Democrat? Are they both the same? The answer is no they are not, well not completely. I was . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 18, 2010
We are currently watching the beginning of an American return to conservative values. What is unique about this return is that it is being led by an increasing . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 10, 2010
Everybody takes sides. When the chips are down on important issues, everybody can eventually be found on a side of their choosing. Those that claim to be . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 29, 2010
Remember when you were in grade school, or dare I say high school, and you found yourself in a humiliating situation after having failed to read the day's . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 21, 2010
From the frills of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, liberal elites from around the world stand in defense of convicted sex offender Roman Polanski. Polanski was . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 14, 2010
In you live in America, Europe, or many other places on the planet, then you probably have heard the tales of bad fortune that befalls unprepared souls who . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 7, 2010
What the media coins the "tough" new Arizona immigration law, SB1070, forwarded by Governor Jan Brewer, has once again pushed to the forefront the argument of, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 29, 2010
A federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional as it is reported to violate the first amendment against the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 23, 2010
We here in the United States have long since separated ourselves from our former position as a colony of England. In doing so it would seem that our people's . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 15, 2010
In the aftermath of the court's reversal of a multi-million dollar judgment against the Westboro Baptist Church for picketing a soldier's funeral, we in America . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
April 8, 2010
It used to be that the world was a place of "hands." Every important exchange came slowly and directly through face-to-face conversations sealed with a . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 25, 2010
Some wonder how the Hollywood elite manage to make movies, build castles on prime real estate, fill their factory-sized garages with foreign sports cars, and . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 19, 2010
America is truly a blessed land. This is not a secret, as people from all parts of the world try everything from walking the deserts without water to paddling . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 11, 2010
The future of the public trial of suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is now in question. It could be said that the Obama administration's "It's on . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
March 4, 2010
In the early 1980's Stephen King made all dogs a little more suspect with the horror novel Cujo. The story hinged around a more-than-loveable St. Bernard that . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 18, 2010
Oh, it is indeed a hard time to be a liberal. The storm clouds of destiny are so close one can feel the humidity of the humiliation that is about to rain down . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 11, 2010
Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear about a famous sports player breaking societal rules for his or her own personal deviant desires. Whether it is marital . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
February 4, 2010
Most of us have heard the fairy tale Stone Soup. This children's story in its many versions gives an account of a hungry traveler in a time of economic . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 30, 2010
What is the meaning of friendship? What makes the bonds that we call a true friendship mean something? We have all heard of the fair-weather friend and most . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 21, 2010
It has been said that death is a sweet release from the many struggles of this world. While this is most certainly true for most, it does not release some that . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 14, 2010
Today, when we watch the courageous actions of women who stand for conservative values in this country, we often bring up names like Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
January 7, 2010
There is little doubt that my pallet is not as refined as my liberal friends' and I have always found it hard to watch the gourmet shows where hours are spent . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 31, 2009
Turn on the television, switch on the radio, or open a magazine, and you are likely to hear a discussion on the continual victimization of one group or another . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 23, 2009
If it has been a while since you were a child waiting for Christmas morning, or whatever time of day the parental green light was given for the opening of . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 17, 2009
"I hate Sarah Palin, I... I just hate her!" That is not an uncommon outburst from some when it comes to feelings about one of the most polarizing figures (in . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 11, 2009
For all who have challenged the notion that man is single-handedly destroying the planet with everything from America's industrial system to your shiny SUV — . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
December 4, 2009
What do we do now? That is the question that is building up like a tidal wave from a nation that finds itself at the precipice of national self destruction. The . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 27, 2009
Sarah Palin is back in the public spot light with her new bestselling book, Going Rogue. At the moment, on just about every television channel, one can view the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 19, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
November 5, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 30, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 22, 2009
Sometimes being right is personally rewarding, sometimes it's of financial benefit, and sometimes, unfortunately, it's just downright painful. I recently wrote . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 16, 2009
In the midst of the fight over whether or not the United States should, or should not, turn our medical system into a socialistic bread line, or whether the . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 9, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
October 2, 2009
"It's a mad house, a mad house!" These were the words shouted from the lips of Charlton Heston in the 1968 movie release, Planet of the Apes. Heston, who played . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 24, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 17, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 10, 2009
Whose side are you on? When it comes to what kind of America we will have in the future, that we will hand down to our children, the battle lines are being . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
September 3, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 28, 2009
Recently I did something I don't do very often, I bought a new car. No, this is not a "cash for clunkers" story, but a brief look at the serious challenges that . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 21, 2009
The Obama administration is truly the place where Czars are made daily. Name your problem, concern, wish, or desire, and somewhere, for better or worse, there . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 13, 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, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
August 6, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 30, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
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, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
July 3, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 26, 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, . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
June 4, 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 . . .
Paul A. Ibbetson
May 19, 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 . . .
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