Opinion Line (Jan. 18)

Merit pay increases for teachers? That will result in the same favoritism toward buddies, unless good safeguards are in place.

Our teachers don’t need to be competing with each other for salary and bonuses. They just need to be compensated fairly and equally, and work in a state where they are left alone to do their job.

Merit pay for teachers – possibly a good idea. Recalling the entire Brownback administration – priceless.

It takes a village to raise a child. The same might be true to educate a child. Teachers must work together, and merit pay will discourage this. High school teachers must depend on elementary and middle school teachers to prepare the child for future growth.

Hillary Clinton says she’s a progressive Democrat, not a socialist. That means she draws the line at sharing all her own money and other possessions with everyone else.

This election, voters should simply follow the ABC method of voting. Anybody but Clinton.

Why should anyone be surprised by Donald Trump’s ascendancy? Most Americans don’t read much or study history, and they watch a lot of reality TV. To top it off, many Americans are rude, crude and aggressive. It’s a perfect fit.

To all the Republican presidential hopefuls: If you haven’t selected a running mate, consider Brownback. Please take our governor.

Those who know that fear based on prejudice is the enemy are less fearful than those who go out and arm themselves.

The NRA has a membership of 5 million. None of its members has real authority. So how does such a puny group hold sway over 322 million Americans when it comes to guns?

Leonard Pitts was right-on (“How could we not weep over deaths from gun violence?” Jan. 11 Opinion). I have never seen such disrespect for a president as I saw on Fox News the day after the president’s speech on gun violence. That was un-American.

We have a president who cries tears on cue for children who were killed in gun violence in the USA, all the while pushing the button on drone attacks that kill children in other countries.

Anybody helping or protecting illegal immigrants should be arrested. The illegals are breaking federal law, and they have no rights in the country. Quit giving them free handouts and they will leave.

President Carter banned Iranians from entering the U.S. and deported some Iranian students in 1979. The left now says that practice is discriminatory. Funny how a few Pied Piper nuts in power can change the gullible rats they lead around.

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (Jan. 18)."