Opinion Line Extra (March 1)

Take the Republican contenders and you would have a strong argument for increased funding for the mentally ill.

At the Republican debate Thursday night, Donald Trump reminded me of a lumberjack wearing heavy leather boots. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, standing on either side of him, were like two yappy little ankle-biter dogs trying to chew through Trump’s boots. Rubio was especially disgusting.

A senator said, “It doesn’t require an intelligence test to become a politician.” The Republican Congress and the GOP debates bear that out.

If Trump gets the GOP nomination, who will be his running mate? Omarosa?

If Obama was serious about curtailing mass shootings, he would be focusing more on those selling and obtaining guns illegally instead of throwing a big blanket over law-abiding gun owners.

If it’s not a wake-up call that not one of the GOP debate participants chose to mention the violent killing spree that had just transpired, then nothing is. No compassion, no outrage, no acknowledgment. Is cowardice a prerequisite for Republican leadership?

Guns are not the solution. No guns is the solution. Blood is on the hands of the leadership of the NRA. They could do so much to stop the insanity of this proliferation of guns, especially guns in the hands of people who should not have guns.

The front page of Friday’s Eagle was dominated by coverage of the sad tragedy in Hesston, while there was an ad on the back page for a gun show with “discounts on all tactical rifles.” Anyone else see the irony?

The Thompson machine gun is a governmentally tightly controlled weapon. You can own one under strict government license and high tax and control. The AR-15 and AK-47 are not that far removed from the Tommy gun in rate of fire, so why are they so loosely controlled?

I’ve said that Jimmy Carter was the worst president. But in view of the fact that President Obama has been poisonous to the country, with no end in sight, I should say that he is the worst.

I’d like to thank Mark Zuckerberg for enlightening me to the fact that only 13 percent of lives matter. Thanks, Zuck.

“Breaking News” ad nauseam, killed by too much unnecessary and repetitive information.

I just mailed a check to my niece in California for her birthday. I hope the thief at the post office wasn’t expecting cash again this year.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Opinion Line Extra (March 1)."