Opinion Line (Feb. 8)

I would like to see all politicians wear body cameras all the time they are in office. If they represent the public, the public should know what they’re doing.

Our voting laws are in dire need of reform. Raise the voting age back to 21, military personnel and emancipated minors excepted. Allow only citizens earning a paycheck to vote. The founders’ nightmare scenario of leeches voting themselves money has come to pass, and we must stop it.

The Obama liberals think waterboarding is cruel and inhumane, and we should be punished for doing it to terrorists. Waterboarding, cutting heads off and now setting people on fire – which is most inhumane? It isn’t waterboarding.

The City Council seems intent on destroying every aspect of Wichita history. It gave developers permission to raze three buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. It couldn’t even keep its hands off the Keeper of the Plains. Blackbear Bosin put it in a specific place for a reason.

Wahoo! We get a new splash park. To heck with the stuff we really need.

It’s good to see Gov. Sam Brownback taking the bull by the horns to curtail government spending. More politicians should follow suit. Of course, the term “cut” is still being used for what is actually a smaller increase.

I’ve heard some bald-faced lies in my time, and the new “history” of the state tax cut that is bankrupting Kansas has to top them all. If it was such a bad bill, why in the world did the House pass it so quickly and Brownback sign it?

Here’s a thought: How about if we recall Brownback, and then put on our thinking caps instead of our GOP party hats when we vote for a replacement?

Brownback rocks! Brownback 2016!

Republicans are complaining about $47,000 for a grand piano at Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kan.? A Schutt football helmet, with face guard, is $284. Shoulder pads are $255. Add uniforms and multiply by all football players in Kansas. Give the inner-city kids a chance at the fine arts.

Refuse to fund the schools at a level that is constitutional and defy a court order to do so. Then say the schools are underperforming so they can be underfunded even more. That’s the Brownback plan.

The low-performing schools need to improve, or be merged into schools that perform well. Same with the teachers – either improve or find another vocation.

School districts could shock Topeka into action by voting to discontinue all high school sports because of lack of funding. I bet that would get everyone’s attention.

Maybe one way to get our Legislature to provide adequate funding to public schools would be to require all high school seniors to take a class on Second Amendment rights and how to use a gun. That ought to get the Republicans on board.

A special thanks to Together Wichita for putting together the Keeper of the Plains statues to display around the city. Wichita had small airplanes several years back, and other cities have had other decorations. I hope all local artists participate. I look forward to seeing them all.

This story was originally published February 7, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (Feb. 8)."