Opinion Line Extra (March 15)

I was no fan of Ronald Reagan but I admired his wife, Nancy. Her love for her country was only surpassed by the love for her husband. The example she set for a long and faithful marriage is the gold standard, and her grace in the White House just as impressive.

I didn’t know Nancy Reagan was president. I thought Ronnie was.

You welfare complainers don’t get it. Giving rich people tax cuts and raising taxes for everyone else leads to welfare.

Republicans trying to reshape the Legislature should really concentrate on the overly optimistic economists who are unable to get the Kansas estimated tax receipts right or even close.

Government may be the check and balance on abuses of Americans by the rich and corporations. Who checks and balances abuses by big government? Federal regulations alone have 1 million individual restrictions on Americans’ activities. Can you imagine that?

Trees supply oxygen to at least four people a day. Don’t you think it’s worth saving them?

Bernie Sanders says that health care is a “right,” simply by being human. The crowd goes wild. But who pays? Not me. And don’t tell me to lose weight, or to stop smoking, drugging and drinking. “I have the right.” And don’t tell me to get a job. My back hurts.

There is no comfort in knowing that the “poorly educated” supporters Donald Trump claims to “love” represent 70 percent of the U.S. population.

Since Donald Trump is so adept at dodging questions, he should be known as Donald Duck.

Because of its flawed philosophy, the GOP has never consisted of anywhere near a plurality of our nation. To compete, the GOP has resorted to undemocratic gerrymandering, voter suppression and, worst of all, paying lip service to and, until this cycle, controlling the bigoted underbelly of our nation.

I thought the Kansas Republican voters had reached the pinnacle of stupidity when they re-elected Gov. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts. I was wrong. They reached a new level by having caucused for Ted Cruz.

Whether intentional or not, the caucus format clearly discriminates against the elderly and others who cannot stand for long periods of time.

According to the Economist, the world’s public debt is nearing $60 trillion. The question is: Is the world economy too big to fail?

If you want to buy a meal for a stranger, donate to your church’s food pantry or the Kansas Food Bank.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line Extra (March 15)."