Opinion Line (Dec. 6)

Forget ISIS. America is at war with itself.

Why did Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran vote “no” on expanded background checks for gun buyers the day after another mass shooting? The next time an innocent is shot, instead of offering condolences, they should look in the mirror at the person who might have stopped it, but didn’t.

Strict gun control laws in places like Chicago and California do not make a difference. The gang violence in Chicago and the drive for terrorists to kill by any means possible will not be solved by taking guns out of the hands of responsible citizens.

The AK-47 is just a sporting rifle. It’s the best one to carry when your sport is killing.

NRA members are not the majority of eligible voters, just the majority who actually vote. There is a way to address and reduce the shooting nonsense: Get up and go vote for the right, uh, I mean the correct politicians. It’s time we did something different.

Every time I see either Clinton on the TV, it reminds me to renew my NRA membership. I just did, for two years.

I am convinced that the only thing gained by Hillary Clinton as secretary of state was handshaking and acceptance of personal gifts.

I am very upset that my City Council and mayor voted themselves an extremely large pay raise. I’ve worked for years in manufacturing and never saw that huge of a raise. Why are they able to give themselves a pay raise? That is not the way it should work.

The phrase “of the people, by the people, for the people” has been changed by the City Council to “raises of the council, by the council, for the council.”

County commissioners sure are efficiently using taxpayers’ dollars by enabling car allowances for individuals who already earn 50 percent more than the average worker in Sedgwick County. Thank goodness they cut valuable programs from the health department. A healthy community means nothing if politicians can’t drive for free.

I make $13 an hour, and I don’t want to see massive tax hikes on the rich. They’re already paying more as a share of total taxes than their percent of total income. Let’s cut spending instead of raising taxes.

There is a genius in Topeka. “Let’s lower the estimated tax revenue. We know the taxes aren’t going to come in, so how about a projected revenue of $5? Then everything is in the black.” They think Kansans are stupid.

The trouble with this world is that the wrong people are rich.

We’ve long since decided to never hit Black Friday sales again. Our Thanksgivings have been all the better for it. Please send retailers a message and don’t do it. Let the poor schlubs who’d otherwise have to work have time with their families.

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (Dec. 6)."