Opinion Line (May 8)

Obama just gave Iraq another $200 million in aid with the promise of billions more. Just declare Kansas a foreign country and watch the money come pouring in. State budget problem solved.

I see Obama is managing to get fuel prices to start rising again. That’s good, because low prices were hampering his efforts to destroy the economy and put everyone but his chosen few in a soup line.

What a motley crew of weak-kneed Republican candidates for president. To add fire and spice, where is Sarah Palin when she is needed?

Bernie Sanders has joined the Democratic field for president. Analysts say he will run to the left of Hillary Clinton. The only thing to the left of Hillary is bare-naked communism.

Why in the world would anyone want to take over the mess that is Texas?

So Uber pulled out of Kansas. Who would blame it? Political gamesmanship has created this very unstable business climate. No one in their right mind would invest in a startup or expand their business, not knowing what future tax structure or other goofiness was coming down the road.

When the legislators ran Uber out of Kansas, they also put more drunken drivers on the streets. By creating the most restrictive ride-sharing law in the nation – to protect their banking and insurance supporters from a theoretical risk – they put the rest of us in real danger.

Sen. Susan Wagle says Uber is acting irrationally. Isn’t that what she and her colleagues did when they eliminated income tax for small-business owners?

A very wealthy businessman in Wichita recently said this to me: “I don’t mind paying income tax. Look at the wonderful country we have to live in.”

To the person who asked where homeowners’ association powers come from: That’s the state of Kansas. The city has no control over HOAs.

Covenants keep people from moving into a neighborhood and doing whatever they want and lowering other people’s property values. You know, kind of like the Legislature did to the rest of us.

When your property is not maintained, it decreases the value of every home nearby. Mow the lawn, paint your house, have trash service, keep cars off lawns, remove bulky waste. We paid too much for our home to have it decrease in value due to our neighbors.

Candidates, the election is over. Pick up all your signs.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (May 8)."