Opinion Line (Jan. 26)

The people in Wichita voted to reduce the fines for pot. They found out that it is not “we the people” but “them in Topeka.” Your votes do not count. I wonder what they are drinking in Topeka.

Voting is for suckers. It deceives a person into thinking they make a difference. Just look how much the legal vote did for decriminalizing marijuana in Wichita.

In a capital murder case, a technicality matters. In a citizens’ petition to reduce the penalties for possession of marijuana, maybe not so much. Voters knew what they were voting for. When did common sense leave Kansas, and where did it go? I think I might rather be there.

I’m all in favor of abolishing capital punishment when the time is right. The time will be right when we’ve abolished capital crime. Monsters like Dennis Rader and the Carr brothers should have been exterminated years ago. Instead we spend millions to defend them, keep them fed, clothed, healthy, etc.

The terrible decision by the Kansas Supreme Court to overturn the Carr brothers’ death sentences should remove all doubts that it is leftist, biased and incompetent. Thank God the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the decision. We need to replace these Kansas “justices.”

Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Jim Howell risked not lining up with Commissioners Richard Ranzau and Karl Peterjohn when he voted to pay a full share of funding for the Greater Wichita Partnership. Shows the kind of independent thinking that will be needed to make progress in 2016.

Let’s redesign Brownback’s power plant. Two wind turbines will suffice – one outside the Governor’s Office and the other outside the legislative chambers. There is enough hot air to light the buildings 24/7.

Isn’t there some way of transferring the chaos of the oil markets to health care costs?

I was happy to see that Nifty Nut House is having a great success and expanding again. It is a true treasure, with courteous service, good value and wonderful selection – one of my favorite places in the city. But let’s not forget Spice Merchant. Together they make Wichita almost heaven.

I want to thank the nice young couple who helped me up when I fell in front of the LongHorn Steakhouse. I appreciated it.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (Jan. 26)."