Opinion Line (May 30)

I think the NSA needs to keep its nose out of my private communications, so I’m glad to see President Obama and I disagree on this. Congress will never reauthorize any portion of the Patriot Act favored by the president.

Our enemies no longer fear us and our allies no longer trust us. This is Obama’s legacy to our nation. And now you want Hillary Clinton, too? Unbelievable.

If Eddie Rickenbacker had needed to wait two hours to get permission to fire on the enemy, as current Air Force pilots do versus ISIS, we’d still be fighting World War I.

So Sen. Ted Cruz would deny federal relief for other states, but when it comes to the floods in Texas, he has his hand out. What a hypocrite.

So state Sen. Steve Abrams thinks restoring taxes on small businesses will scare out-of-state people from coming to Kansas to start a business. What really scares off potential business owners is the underfunding of public education.

Andover can lay claim to being the home of our state Senate’s most invisible senator. When the going gets tough, Ty Masterson gets going.

Columnist Cal Thomas wants a return to the policies of previous Republican presidents. Which would that be? Reagan’s arms-for-hostages or failed trickle-down economics? Bush I’s first Iraq war? Bush II’s second Iraq war and crashed economy? What positive thing of lasting improvement has a Republican president since Eisenhower produced?

Patriotism, and the expression of one’s patriotism, is different from one-size-fits-all pantyhose.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the hypocrisy of the Seattle protesters surrounding the Shell Oil drilling rig in their plastic kayaks last weekend.

Regulations mean we have clean water, while people in some countries drink and bathe in rivers that are little more than sewers. If some silly regulations are the price I pay for the good ones that save lives, so be it.

I agree with having designated smoking areas in public places. But they should be marked with signs that say, “Must be 21 to enter.” At the zoo, every time I go to the smoking area it is filled with children. This happens in other places, too.

I really like watching the local news – a solid 15 minutes of news, weather and sports, and a solid 15 minutes of commercials.

I passed a herd of goats on East 13th Street Wednesday. They were having trouble negotiating the rough terrain.

For all the many people in Kansas who drive with their auto lights off in bad weather and at night: Please turn on your lights. Your electricity bill will not be increased.

Having your lights on for any other reason than that it’s dark is common nonsense.

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (May 30)."