Sumner Newscow report — This will mark the fifth time we have asked this question. We have done this poll question every two years. Our mission is to see how viewing habits have changed with Sumner Newscow readers since 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

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Here were the results of the same poll in 2021. Click here.

Here were the results of the same poll in 2019. Click here.

Here were the results of the same poll in 2017. Click here.

Here were the results of the same poll in 2015. Click here.

James Jordan

Commentary by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — I never thought this would happen. My musical tastes have evolved (some might say devolved) to the point that the Rolling Stones are my all-time favorite band.

It took Covid to put me in a position to listen to their music. I semi-ignored them for 40 years, but during Covid, I had time to explore music and was blown away by the Stones.

I was a teenager in the 70s. The Beatles were still all the rage. I was pulled into the Beatles camp in the Stones-Beatles debate early on. I liked the Stones, but they were just another band to me. There were lots of bands I liked.

In 1976 the Stones may or may not have been in my top 10. They definitely were not in the 80s because I liked too many bands, and new ones were constantly showing up. The Beatles would have been in my top 10, and individual Beatles may have been too.

By the 80s, I had a few hundred albums. I had most of the Beatles and what they did as individuals. I had one live Stones album.

The Stones in the 1960s

How did this happen?

Commentary by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — Imagine there’s a 1st-grade glass with a reading challenge where everyone must read a book by the end of the year to earn a pizza party. It’s an easy goal with established rules that allow everyone to do their part to have a great time.

But there’s one student who doesn’t want to play by these rules. Instead, he thinks he shouldn’t have to participate because no one has cleared the rules with him, and he can make pizza at home if he wants to. Only he can’t. His parents would have to make it for him with the ingredients they bought, and he didn’t contribute to it at all.

Imagine this pizza party has been a tradition for over 200 years. And that cranky first grader based his entire life philosophy around not helping his classmates.

That’s what Libertarianism is.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Kansas is one of 12 states that have not accepted Medicaid Expansion, in which the federal government will pay 9o percent of the cost (this will drop to 11 once South Dakota’s Medicaid expansion takes effect). Medicaid expansion has been adopted by all states surrounding Kansas.

A provision in the Affordable Care Act called for the expansion of Medicaid eligibility in order to cover more low-income Americans. Under the expansion guidelines, Medicaid eligibility is extended to adults under the age of 65 with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level/FPL (133% plus a 5% income disregard).

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Photo courtesy of Associated Press.

Commentary by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — I am stunned over the goings-on in Marion involving a weekly newspaper and an overzealous police force.

Not because of the incident itself; nothing surprises me anymore. I’m stunned that it didn’t happen to me. It’s the kind of crap I seem to get myself into.

Kudos to journalism, that dirty word a lot of you hate but can’t live without if you want to preserve this thing called a democracy (or republic for those acting wise).

This was a good week for newspapers everywhere. Because despite a rather bleak two decades of foreclosures, dwindling revenue, corporate idiocy, and public condemnation – there is still proof the U.S. needs good old-fashioned independent journalism that government can’t touch.

I have been thinking about what I would have done in a similar situation had I been running the Marion Record. First, I hope I never have to deal with such stupid people. Wellington has its faults, but, for the most part, we’ve been blessed with good leadership.

Commentary by Quinn McCue, Sumner Newscow — Here are my top five Quinn thoughts for this week:

1 — Love is dead. 

Quinn McCue

Love is dead. Yeah, I know that’s some proper whiplash for thought No. 1. But it’s true, not because relationships don’t work and there isn’t someone out there. I mean the cinematic love we are so used to seeing on every show or listen to in nearly every song. I’m talking about tropes. I recently went for the “tell your ex you still like them and pray on high that they reciprocate the feelings” trope. It did not work.

Yes, I know that this wasn’t the wisest choice or even near the top 10 wisest choices, but I don’t regret it. See, I had feelings for my ex, but I didn’t want a relationship all too much. I just knew that if I didn’t say how I felt, these feelings would eat away, and I wouldn’t be able to move on as much as I wanted to. So I told my ex, and it went about as well as you’d assume, but the lessons I learned, and the peace of mind I got from coming clean were worth it.

Sumner Newscow report — We asked this question in February and wondered if people have the same opinion in July since a lot has come out about it since the original poll was run.

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The original poll can be found here.

Commentary by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — The United States of America is the richest country in the world.

It’s worth nearly $150 trillion, the GDP is $25 trillion, and it’s home to more billionaires than any place on Earth. So why does it act so broke?

Over the past few years, I’ve supplemented my income by working service jobs. I was a barista, a waiter, then finally a bartender who makes the most money in the service industry aside from management. And I never rose above the poverty line.

Before getting into how America treats service workers, let’s take a look at its minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage was started back in the 1930s to help people recover from the depression. President Roosevelt established it at a quarter ($5.20 in today’s money), and it became an immediate boon to the hourly worker.

Commentary by Quinn McCue, Sumner Newscow — Welcome back after my shortest hiatus since I was 12! Here are some more thoughts!

Quinn McCue

Thought No. 1 — Household chores are underrated. I completely understand that they’re time-consuming, and by god, whoever wants to mow the lawn in over 100-degree weather? I’ve been lucky in that I may be the weakest McCue. Not in the wrong way, I know that my sister, Allison, would win in a fight, and it wouldn’t even be close.

As a result, I was usually assigned house chores. These tasks ranged from cleaning the living room to washing the dishes, usually the latter. But as I’ve gotten older and have my college apartment, I’ve grown to love doing chores. For me, at least, a messy house means a dirty mind. It is infinitely harder to get homework, club responsibilities, or even fun activities done when my residence is a mess.