If you support the troops, than quit trying to surrender!

There is no way you could ever say it better than this:

From the Congressional Record of 02/16/2007 14:45 - Representative Sam Johnson of Texas stated his comments about non-binding resolutions of supporting the troops but not the war...

"Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. You know, as he said, I flew 62 combat missions in the Korean War and 25 in Vietnam before being shot down. I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force for 29 years, attending the prestigious National War College, commanding two air bases, among other things. "

" I mention these stories because I view the debate on the floor not just as a U.S. Congressman elected to serve the good people of the Third District in Texas, but also through the lens of a lifelong fighter pilot, student of war, a combat warrior, a leader of men, and a prisoner of war. "

" Ironically, this week marks the anniversary that I started a new life and my freedom from prison in Hanoi. I spent early 7 years as that prisoner of war, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. I flew out of Hanoi on February 12, 1973, with other long-held prisoners of war, weighing just 140 pounds. And tomorrow, 34 years ago, I had my homecoming to Texas, a truly unspeakable blessing of freedom. "

" While in solitary confinement, my captures kept me in leg stocks, like the pilgrims, for 72 days. As you can imagine, they had to carry me out of the stocks because I couldn't walk. "

" The following day they put me in leg irons for 2 1/2 years. That is when you have a tight metal cuff around each ankle with a foot-long bar connecting the legs. I still have very little feeling in my right arm and right hand, and my body has never been the same since my nearly 2,500 days of captivity. But I will never let my physical woes hold me back. Instead, I try to see the silver lining. "

" I say that because, in some ways, I am living a dream, a hope that I had for the future. From April 16, 1966, to February 12, 1973, I prayed that I would return home to the loving embrace of my wife, Shirley, and my three kids, Bob, Jenny, and Beverly. My fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when, not if, we returned home. We would spend hours tapping on the adjoining cement walls about what we would do when we got home to America. We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it. We decided we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all of us. "

" So, little did I know back in my rat-infested 3-by-8 dark, filthy cell that, 34 years after my departure from hell on earth, I would spend the anniversary of my release pleading for a House panel to back my measure to support and fully fund our troops in harm's way; and, that just days later I would be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, surrounded by distinguished veterans, urging Congress to support our troops to the hilt. "

" We POWs were still in Vietnam when Washington cut the funding for Vietnam. I know what it does to morale and mission success. Words cannot fully describe the horrendous damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground. Our captors would blare nasty recordings over the loudspeaker of Americans protesting back home, tales of Americans spitting on Vietnam veterans when they came home, and worse. I don't think we should ever, ever let that happen again. The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors. "

" Our troops and their families want, need, and deserve the full support of this country and the Congress. Moms and dads watching the news need to know that the Congress will not leave their sons and daughters in harm's way without support. "

" Since the President announced his new plan for Iraq last month, there has been steady progress. He changed the rules of engagement, removed political protection. There are reports we wounded the number two of al Qaeda and killed his deputy. And, yes, al Qaeda operates in Iraq. It is alleged that top radical jihadist, al-Sadr, has fled Iraq maybe to Iran, and Iraq has closed its borders with Iran and Syria. "

" The President has changed course, has offered a new plan. We are making progress. We must seize the opportunity to move forward, not stifle future success. Debating nonbinding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy. "

" The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops. Just ask JOHN MURTHA about his slow-bleed plan that hamstrings our troops in harm's way. "

" Now it is time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home and those who fought and died in Iraq already, so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it."

" We must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us. Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past. Instead, learn from them. We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way. And, to our troops, we must remain always faithful. God bless you all. I salute you and this Congress."

It's a Secret!

I love my Chiefs! Whether they win or lose, I love to yell and scream with them (or at them).

However, I have a secret!

I love the Royals too....

Every year, I start out the same way. I'm sure that this is the Royals year. I'm sure that this year, we'll get the pitching of Bret Saberhagen and the bat of George Brett, the fielding of Hal McRae or the speed of Willie Wilson and we'll show the rest of the league just who the Royals are (were?)!

Unfortunately, by the time we get 30 games into the season, I have gotten into the habit of trying to figure out just what combination of shoes, socks, hat and shirt I need to put on to bring my team good luck.

It's now spring training, and once again, I am optimistic. This year is the year! We WILL win! But I do admit that my expectations have been lowered significantly. For now, rather than getting to the World Series, or even getting to the playoffs, please, please, please, I beg of you.... Please win half of your games. Even winning 63 games would make me happy!

Don't be the worst team in baseball this year (or even the second worst). Please?

Democracy! Of the people?

Last year, following the rules established, the consolidation of Topeka and Shawnee County was turned down by the voters. Though I am generally for consolidation and more efficient management, I voted against the consolidation plan because it seemed more of a consolidation of power than a consolidation of government entities.

There have recently been stories about plans to consolidate various city/county departments. Unlike the original consolidation plan, I would probably vote to approve them.

However, I am wondering why, if the consolidation plan was originally rejected by the voters, are our elected officials now attempting to negate the will of the people by continuing plans to consolidate individual departments?

Maybe it all comes back to certain politicians who were pushing the consolidation plans and their statements after the vote to find some other way to achieve consolidation.

If our elected officials want to pursue consolidation, then please, prepare the plan and put it back onto the ballot. We the people voted, and you, the elected officials should not be looking for loopholes on how to evade the will of the people in this regard.

Numbers never lie

I was sitting in the Kansas State Capitol building this afternoon, listening to our House of Representatives debate raising the Kansas minimum wage from $2.65/hour to $5.15/hour. I heard different statistics from different representatives, and it seemed that the same numbers were being used but in different ways, depending upon which side the representative was going to vote.

The best argument I heard came from Representative Combs, who stated that raising the minimum wage was a moral issue. Another representative stood at the podium and broadly stated that the minimum wage more severely affected women, as 55% of all people earning minimum wage were women... Sir, respectfully... did you realize that 54% of the population is female? So we should expect about that percentage, it does not reflect sexism in the corporate world.

I am ambivalent about the minimum wage. I believe in helping those who need help, while I also believe that a free market will set the appropriate wages levels.

For those who want to raise the minimum wage, I would like to ask one thing, please make sure that we are talking about the TOTAL wage, not simply the base wages. If a person gets $2.65/hour in wages, and another $7.00/hour in tips, that is NOT $2.65/hour.

Is it political or is it religious?

Our Shawnee County Assessor recently decided that a truck utilized by the Fred Phelps' family in the transportation of signs to their protests was not eligible for tax exemption as it was not used primarily for religious purposes. This ruling was based on the finding that the protest signs used were political speech rather than religious speech.

Though I find the Phelps' behavior reprehensible, and I disagree with their methods of protests, I am wondering where, on a topic such as religion vs. homosexuality, do you draw the line between what is religious speech and what is political speech?

Personally, I loathe the message of hate this group spews; I loathe the places they decide to protest; I loathe the message; but mostly I loathe the perversion of Christianity they have wrought.

However, if our government can arbitrarily decide whether a message is religious or political, doesn't this cross the line of violating this group's rights as provided under the first amendment? Would this mean that any church that preaches against homosexuality, abortion, same sex marriage, euthanasia, etc... is actually a political organization? Where do we draw the line?

Though I believe that the Phelps' family will receive their appropriate "rewards" at God's Judgment, I have to also believe that this is the exact type of speech that our founding fathers were attempting to protect.

Limiting the location and time of their protests to protect the rights of other people SHOULD be done to shelter innocent family of recently deceased from the Phelps' hatred, but allowing the government to control their message, though we find it utterly despicable, should not be permitted.

If the government continues down this road, how long will it be before they are limiting other forms of religion by calling it political?

I am so confused!

President Bush confuses me! I am sure that most of you say the same (or worse) about him, but generally, I have been able to accept and support most of his policies.

Like many (and unlike just as many) I supported his veto of the stem cell funding bill. I agreed because I don't believe embryonic stem cell research should be government funded. Like the majority at the time, I supported his invasion of Iraq (not for the reasons he gave, but because it was the right thing), and I continue to support his policies in Iraq in the hope that we can pull a victory out of the pundits defeat.

The President's tax cuts have worked, keeping our economy strong and growing despite entering office with the country entering a recession, then dealing with the violent economic shock we suffered on 9/11.

However, I strongly disagree on President Bush's lack of policies to control illegal immigration, his “No Child Left Behind” policy, and his failure to practice budgetary restraint.

In a recent press release, it was announced that the President's economic policies have created 2.7 million jobs. However, according to other surveys and studies, it seems that these jobs that have been created have gone mostly to our fast-growing community of illegal immigrants.

President Bush has talked about controlling the border in Iraq against illegal entry. Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants pouring across our Southern border each year.

President Bush has been proud of the elections held in Iraq in which all the different factions voted. I am sure he is just as proud of our own elections in which the deciding votes may have been cast by illegal immigrants casting illegal votes.

Confusing? Yes! Astounding? Yes! And hopefully, in 2008, we can select a new President who can bring us a little bit of clarity whether we agree with his/her policies or not.

Political Rhetoric

The US House and Senate have successfully wasted several days to let everyone to know how they feel about the “troop surge”. What a waste of time! Non-binding resolutions mean nothing. They are rhetoric for you to use next year in the heat of your reelection campaigns. They are sound bites so that you can later say, “Look what I wanted, but those evil (democrats/republicans) wouldn't allow it!”

This is not a new topic that you need more time to review the evidence, ponder the consequences, then make your decision. You have had years to study it!

If you think the war should stop, then quit funding it!

Don't stand in front of the American people saying that you don't support the war, but then vote once again to fund it! Quit straddling the fence!

As I am sure most of us have heard before, “Either put up, or shut up!”

The Embarassment of Excellence

One US Navy tradition which I hated was the dreaded trip to the mess decks. This ordeal consisted of young people, new to the Navy, being taken away from their normal duties for ninety days and assigned to keeping the ship's dining area's clean DESPITE the best efforts of the rest of the ship's crew.

I was lucky during my trip to the mess decks, and by lucky, I don't mean 'good' lucky, but rather 'bad' lucky. During my 90-day expedition into the hot and steamy mess-decks, we were fortunate (once again, the 'bad' luck struck) to go through a one week “Supply Management Inspection (SMI)”. This meant that we not only had to maintain the mess decks clean, we also had to make them shine!

Somehow or other, I ended up with the scullery. This job everyone considered the absolutely worst job of all. Everybody hated it. The scullery was 12-14 hours every day in a cramped room operating equipment at 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit, scrubbing the dishes for the entire ship's crew.

When I found out I was assigned to the scullery, I was outraged. I was working as hard as I could to get the job (which I hated) done. I was always on time, always got all of my work done as well as I possibly could, and I THOUGHT that I had earned promotion to being IN CHARGE of the mess! But here I was, being relegated to oblivion and darkness.

I was being punished, sent to the hottest, the hardest and the most hated job of all.

So I did it.

A month later, after the SMI completed, MY scullery, the one that I wouldn't let anyone else in, became the ONLY space on the entire ship that was awarded a grade of “Outstanding” by the inspectors.

Did this make me happy? Of course not. I was embarrassed. How could I, a person who worked on hi-tech equipment and electronics, be told that I made a great “scullery boy”? After my 90-days were done, I fled the mess decks that had shamed me so much.

Several months later, my time in Panama finished, and I transferred to the USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan. About the second week that I was on board, at our morning muster, our department head came out and mustered with us, which was highly unusual. After the muster was complete, and we would normally be dismissed, he stepped up and announced some awards he needed to present.

He then proceeded to read a Letter of Commendation signed by a Rear Admiral about a “scullery boy” who had received a perfect grade for washing dishes. By the time my D.O. reached the end of the letter, I was about ready to try and fling myself over the side of the ship from embarrassment. How could I live knowing that all of these people with whom I worked would think of me like a scullery maid. I slunk up to the D. O., and accepted my letter with bowed head.

Only now, nearly two decades later, do I realize that this award was not something to be embarrassed by, but rather, something to be even more proud of than any of the other awards I received in the Navy. I should be proud because I did something that nobody else could do, and I got the job done despite hating what I was doing. It was hot, it was dirty, it was dreadful. But I didn't just “get by” with doing the job, I can now say proudly that, “I got the job done!”.

If you have to do something, even if you hate it, then do it as best as you can. You never know when the good work you do will come back and bless you.

The Greatness of America

Each year, it is estimated that two to three million people successfully migrate to the United States. Of these immigrants, about 1.2 million come legally while the remainder are illegal immigrants.

Why do these people come to the United States?

If you ask the immigrants, you will receive a myriad of reasons why, but most responses can be summarized as follows:

Reunite a Family
Poverty / Hunger
Persecution / War
Employment
Freedom
It is hard for most Americans to imagine the living conditions that exist for the majority of our planet. Most cannot imagine the utter poverty and despair that hundreds of millions (maybe even billions) of people live in. We see pictures of war, we hear about millions dying of starvation, and we read of religious and racial violence and millions maimed or killed. But most Americans think these situations are rare. Some even think they don't exist outside of the TV ads soliciting money "for the children". But they are real, I have seen them with my own eyes. Can you put yourself in their place?

Imagine your eight or nine year old child having to run out in traffic to wash the windows of cars at a stoplight in the HOPES that the vehicles driver will give them a dime. Of course, many times, the drivers simply start to drive off with a child still hanging off their windshield to avoid giving away that dime.

Imagine your family living on a small lot of land that you have somehow managed to scrape up enough money to buy. No running water, no electricity, no telephone, just a bunch of trees, some rope and some tarps.

Imagine a single mother, left behind by her husband with an infant, a toddler, and nowhere to stay. Living on the street, spending the day sitting on the curb with the hand raised out begging for a little bit of money to feed the children. There is no welfare, no food stamps, no subsidized housing, simply the desire to keep your children alive in the hopes that they will one day have a roof over their heads.

Then imagine that there is another place, a land of opportunity, where you have heard that if you can simply get there, you will be able to give your children a better life. A land where everybody is rich, gets three banquet sized meals a day, drives fancy cars, and wears designer clothes. You hear that the government there welcomes immigrants, even illegal ones, and you are guaranteed a job. You simply need to get there....

What would you do?

The reason people enter the United States in such massive numbers, both legally and illegally, is in search of their dream. The dream of being able to educate their children past second or third grade. The dream of being able to liv in peace. The dream of living without the fear that armed troops are going to enter your house, and dismember the entire family. The dream to be able to watch their children grow up and be successful. The dream of watching your children grow up in a land where the only limit is the ability to dream.

The United States is THE GREATEST country on this planet, and to this day, the poor, the persecuted and the down-trodden from all corners of the world long to come for the opportunity and freedoms we provide. For those naysayers who wish to talk bad about our country, please go spend a year living in ANY other country, living off of their economy and wages, and when you come back, see if we are as bad as you previously thought.

The things that children say!

I was at my daughter's school delivering some birthday banana cream pie, and found her in the middle of a current events period. When I asked, her teacher permitted me to sit in for a few minutes.

The students had obviously just seen a CNN news report via Internet, and were answering the CNN “Ten Questions” about the news report. On one of the questions, they were discussing President Bush's response to a series of questions, one of the sixth grade students made a very poignant series of comments that went something like this:

Q: How did Mr. Bush respond to these concerns?

A: He started to raise his voice because they (the media) kept asking the same question over and over again.

Q: Why do you think they kept asking the same question over and over?

A: I don't think they were listening, they were doing just like this class does!

It amused me to hear a sixth grade student comparing the White House Press Corp to his sixth grade classroom.

The biggest paycheck!

Every year, I file my tax return as soon as I possibly can. Then I await anxiously for the two weeks it takes for my tax refund to get deposited into my bank account. It is always great to know that we have the best tax system in the world.

Where else in the world could I pay absolutely nothing for my federal taxes, then get a tax “refund” that is the equivalent of 18% of my family's ANNUAL pay.

Thank you to everyone who has to actually pay federal taxes to help me by graciously providing me two months and six days worth of extra salary.

What? You didn't know that I got so much free money from our government? You didn't realize that the working poor got so much back from their Earned Income Credits? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that this was a open secret...

Anyways, I used to pay income tax, a lot of it. The way I figure it, I still have to get my EIC for another eight years before I “earn” back the money I deposited in the Federal Treasury in the best of my working years.

Of course, I forgot to mention the 25% of my family's income that comes through my son's social security disability, so by the time it's all said and done, I really get about 43% of my income from the government.

Of course, it's a good thing that we make as much as we do, otherwise, I could probably push that 43% all the way up to 70% or even 80% by using subsidized housing, food stamps, LIEAP, etc....

But I think that for now, I'll just keep working towards pulling myself out of “poverty”, though I will sorely miss those government paychecks that I get about this time every year.

Multiculturalism – Good? Bad? Or Indifferent?

One of the more politically correct words that I constantly hear is the word “Multiculturalism”. On the face of it, multiculturalism seems to be a good thing. After all, it is never bad to learn about the cultures of other countries. However, when applied in the United States, multiculturalism seems to say that the American Culture must be subsumed by the culture of those immigrants that are coming here to live.

Remember the old saying, “When in Rome? Do as the Romans do!” Obviously this is not the case in the United States anymore. Our schools seem to exalt foreign culture, and to go out of their way to actively promote the cultures of every immigrant student, but what happens to the American culture?

What happened to assimilation? What happened to immigrants entering our country to better themselves AND our country? Why are we now expected to transform our neighborhoods, our towns, and our cities into new versions of the immigrants home countries?

When I was living in Japan, I adopted a Japanese lifestyle. I learned basic Japanese, ate Japanese food, followed Japanese law, and tried to act as “Japanese” as I could.

When I lived in Bolivia, I adopted a Bolivian lifestyle. I became fluent in Spanish, ate Bolivian food, followed Bolivian law, and tried to act as “Bolivian” as I could (and sometimes, that could be a very nice excuse for a two hour lunchtime siesta).

However, here in the United States, we have several million immigrants entering each year, many of which are entering illegally, who decide that it is easier to continue living as if they were in the old country. They have no desire to learn English, they decide which laws they want to live, and expect us, the legal residents of this country to accept them with open arms.

The left says that we must accept this behavior to show how “good” we can be. Even if it means that our culture gets thrown out the window, we must accept their behavior as is, and quit expecting them to “assimilate” and become Americans.

Of course, that's a whole other story...

Separation of Church and State?

Last week, we had an interesting discussion on whether to teach the theory of creationism or intelligent design in our public classrooms when discussing the theory of evolution. One person pointed out that creationism and intelligent design were both based upon religion, and thus, it was prohibited to teach in our public schools due to the legal standard of “separation of church and state”.

Of course, this is not what our constitution says. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" Now I am simply a layman, and not a constitutional expert, but what this tells me is that the government has no authority to tell anybody to practice a specific type of religion, or even to force people to practice a religion. It also means that the government has no authority to stop people from practicing a specific religion. Of course, I also assume this means that they cannot stop people unless they are infringing upon the rights of other people

However, we now have a double standard in our schools. Maybe instead of saying that the standard in use is “separation of church and state”, we should say the standard is “separation of the Christian church and state”.

In our schools, we openly (and at the taxpayers expense) teach about the paranormal/supernatural, “Mother Earth”, Greek/Roman mythology, astrology, etc.... all of which are directly connected to religion either past or present. In fact, some schools are even teaching the religion of Islam to students and hiding it behind the cloak of “cultural education”. These subjects are taught without anyone being concerned about the government “force feeding” religion to students.

So why is it that anything sounding remotely Christian, certain people clamor about the violation of their civil rights? Why can we have classes on voodoo, but not on the ten commandments (as a code of laws, not a religious edict)? Why can we cloak “other” religions under the guise of “culture”? Where are the civil right advocates when this happens?

Our schools are not only permitted, but mandated to teach courses that are completely contrary to my religion, however, I don't file a lawsuit to eliminate the course, I simply opt my children out.

What do you do when you don't agree with the school curriculum? Do you tell your children to walk out? Do you simply accept it and let your child make informed decisions? Or do you run to the nearest lawyer to file a lawsuit?

One last note... The most prominent religion taught in our schools today, is Humanism...

Government Vaccination for STD

Every year, millions of children across the US receive vaccinations to get into school. Our state legislature is now proposing a new and mandatory vaccination for girls only, prior to being permitted into sixth grade.

However, the vaccination is not to protect the girl from a generally communicable disease, but to protect the girl from a sexually transmitted disease. This is from a vaccine that has been available for less than a year, and with considerable financing from the drug manufacturer, has successfully been placed on bills to mandate vaccination in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

I am highly opposed to this for several reasons:
- Our school vaccinations are currently meant to protect from the spread of diseases that are spread via air, touch and/or casual contact. This vaccination is to protect from a disease that is spread only via intimate sexual contact.
- At $402 per person (Three injections at $134 each), the government should not be paying to protect people from sexually transmitted diseases (yes, I am opposed to school supplied condoms as well).
- As this vaccine protects from only a subset of the diseases, it will project an aura of “safety” that makes teenage sexual activity less risky, possibly leading to infection with other diseases.
- What message of morality does this send? Is this the government advocating teenage (and even pre-teen) sexual activity? Why else should girls aged 11-13 be vaccinated?
- If this is an attempt to “eliminate” the Human Papillomavirus, than why aren't boys and girls of all ages being immunized?
Have there been any studies done on long-term effects? Or are we going to find out several years down the road that we have convicted our daughters to something much more serious or risky.
- As this program is being pushed heavily by the vaccine manufacturer, and several other pharmaceutical companies are near to having their own vaccines, is this simply an attempt to “corner the market” and reap maximum profit?

What I would recommend, is that our legislature leave this subject alone. If a parent wants their child to start sexual activity at a young age, than let that parent pay the price, not the taxpayer. If a parent thinks their child might be sexually active, then the parent should take responsibility for protecting their own child by obtaining the vaccination.

The only legislation which might be considered appropriate, after the amendment discussed previously about smoking in a private vehicle with a child present should be considered child abuse, is that any the parents of any child infected via sexual activity with the HPV virus, should be charged with criminal child neglect. Other than that, the government has NO business excusing activity in our children which many parents still consider immoral.

Giuliani for President? Not!

The year was 2001, and the date was September 11. Never before did a mayor of a US city step up and face a disaster as Rudy Giuliani did in New York City. However, the United States is not New York City, and we, as a people, do NOT support illegal immigrants getting a free pass, nor do we all support government financed abortions, and we, the people have voted overwhelmingly against gay marriage.

The largest (or the second largest) challenge facing our nation is illegal immigration. Whether it is the destruction of our social support networks, the increasing crime rates, the importation of poverty, or the contagion of diseases brought in by those who cross the border illegally, it will destroy our country sooner or later.

Rudy Giuliani considers illegal immigrants to be upstanding and honest citizens, DESPITE having broke the law with their first step into our country.

It may already be too late, but at least we must make the attempt to avoid a future of bankruptcy, social decay and possibly even armed revolution. It starts with choosing a leader who will protect the country rather than sell it out for political expediency.

War on Poverty? Where did it go?

When I was growing up, I heard constantly about the ongoing “war on poverty”. I didn't realize it at that time, but I was one of those children that they always talked about as being poor. I never realized just the extent that my mom went through to make sure that we had food on the table, clothes on our back, and pencils and paper for school.

But whatever has happened to the war on poverty? I look around these days, and don't see a bit of what I have thought poverty was. Of course, my perception of poverty may be a bit different after living in South America and seeing how other people live.

Poverty in Bolivia was not the absence of cable TV, or going to Let's Help for a free lunch as your food stamps run out at the end of the month. Poverty wasn't hoping for a government agency to pay your electric/gas bill. Poverty wasn't having a $2000 dollar plasma TV hooked up through an $800 Home Entertainment Center.

Poverty in Bolivia was taking your children down to the local market and digging through the putrid, rotting thrown away fruit in the hopes of finding something edible. Poverty meant that your eight year old child would spend the evenings down at the closest intersection hopping up on the hoods of cars as they stopped at the stoplight, in the hopes of earning a peso (about 16¢) for washing your windshield. Poverty meant that if you could afford the six pesos (about $1) that the local version of a value meal cost, then you could eat some of the fries, take a couple bites out of the hamburger, than take the rest of it home to feed your family. Poverty meant trying to figure out how to take care of your entire family on the equivalent of less than $100/month.

So what did happen to the war on poverty? Who are our poor? Why are they poor?

I saw a sign on a Burger King restaurant last week requesting applications, stating that they were starting at up to $9/hr! What type of person can NOT work at a place like Burger King? Can some of the people who are currently considered living in poverty work at Burger King? How about other jobs around Topeka? Why, if our unemployment rate is low, do so many people live “in poverty”? Or are other employers simply not paying as much as Burger King?

I understand why a small portion of the population could be considered as “living in poverty”. But for the rest of us, what excuse is there? And what can we, as a people, do to eliminate as many of these excuses as we can?

Somebody, please... I want to know!!! I'll be giving my excuses over the next several weeks, but I would like to hear your opinion and more importantly, your solutions!

Theory Vs. Theory

We have been arguing for decades (if not centuries) about the origin of life on Earth. Was life created by God? Or were we all originally amoeba shocked to life by a freak of nature?

Our Kansas State Board of Education is going to be making a decision soon about what our children are taught in school about the origin of our species. Of course, this decision is supposedly going to be made based upon scientific fact vs. religious fantasy. However, to the best of my knowledge, no scientist has EVER been able to claim that evolution is a fact, the same as no pastor can ever claim (based upon scientific theory) that creationism is a fact.

Until one of the theories or the other is proven to be 100% fact, I recommend that we teach both theories equally, and let our children, armed with knowledge, make their own decision about what they believe is the origin of life. When we can scientifically prove there is a God, or when scientists can find the infamous “missing link”, then, and only then can you say that the other side is wrong, and should not be taught in school.

It all boils down to the basis that a theory is a theory and is still simply an opinion until you can find the facts to make it not a theory but the truth!

Getting the Vote Right

According to the latest judicial ruling, Democrat Gene Rardin of Overland Park has won his seat by a margin of two votes. However, his opponent, Republican John Kriegshauser has alleged that three people voted for Mr. Rardin illegally as they did not live in the district. Who will end up as the representative for district 16?

Though the outcome of this particular race doesn't make a significant amount of difference to me personally, it seems to prove that our government, which is supposedly a representative democracy, MUST take steps to reduce and possibly eliminate voter fraud.

Our legislature can do their part by passing the voter identification bill that has been proposed. This bill would require voters to prove US citizenship when they register to vote, and would also require voters to provide identification every time they cast a ballot.

The Kansas Secretary of State can help as well by performing voter “spot-checks” to validate a certain percentage of voters and to verify that they did indeed vote at their designated location, and that they are authorized to vote in this country.

The sanctity of the ballot box is one of the most important tenets of democracy. When dead people vote, and people who live at non-existent addresses vote, it is not just voter fraud, but is a criminal attack on the democratic foundation of our country.

Shots Fired!!

How many stories have there been lately about “Shots Fired in Topeka”? In the Sunday edition of the Topeka Capital Journal, we read about “Shots fired at mall”, in the Saturday edition, “Basketball player shot at”, "Nine shot in a single day" and the list can go on.

Why does it seem that we are constantly reading about gun violence in Topeka?

Have we become such a violent city that we need to travel armed to protect ourselves? Or have we allowed a violent element to come into our neighborhoods, and force their criminal behavior on us? Is it because of the drug labs? The gangs? Illegal Immigrants? Or is it simply that shooting at others has become something that we consider acceptable?

I was happy to read about the two incidents that have already occurred under our new concealed carry law, whereby a robbery was stopped by private citizens who were authorized to carry weapons. Hopefully, our district attorney will continue this by putting the armed felons who were committing the crimes into prison for a long time,

Regardless of the reasons, our new police chief needs to take a look about what is happening, and what people are behind the constant warfare in our neighborhoods. Let's take a proactive stance, and make our streets safe.

The Cold Truth as Far as Global Warming

I was sitting in my little work booth this morning, fighting desperately to keep the ice cold wind from sneaking through the cracks, when I decided that what this world really needs, is global warming. It may be a selfish desire on my part, but, I'm really tired of having to work outside in single-digit temperatures.

I realize that global warming is going to cause drought, suffering and a significant shift in how we live our lives, but, just for the winter time, when we have record snow fall in some places, and polar bear cold in others, would it really be too much to ask, just to allow a little bit of global warming during the winter months?

If this is really a man-caused phenomenon as I have heard, than I beg of everybody to please, let's work together to schedule our global warming to occur only during the winter months. Single-digit temperatures are fine every once in a while, but the -30º and -40º temperatures I have been hearing of are taking it just a little bit too far.

How to Elect a City Council

Every two years, we hold elections to decide who will be on the Topeka City Council. In our cities' history, we have made some very good choices, and some very bad choices. As election day nears, and as many candidates try to win your vote, how can you tell who is a good candidate and who is a bad candidate?

I have a few rules that help me decide how to cast my vote. Following these rules, unfortunately, I lose the right to complain about my council member after the election (unless my candidate loses of course).

Rule one, “Would I invite this candidate to come over to my house for dinner?” If I am not willing for this person to share a meal with my family, than why should they represent my vote?

The second rule, “Would I like for this person to teach my child?” Once again, if a candidate is not capable of teaching my child, whether it be reading, writing and arithmetic, or teaching my children moral and/or ethical values, than why should they represent my vote?

A third rule, “Would I work with this candidate?” If he/she were my boss, my co-worker, or my employee, would I be looking for a new job? Or, in the latter case, helping him/her look for a new job? If I can't stand working with someone, than why should they represent my vote?

Coming up soon, more rules to selecting your candidate.

America the Beautiful

Over the last four centuries, our country has changed from the unknown “New World” into the greatest country to ever exist on this planet. As explorers braved the wilds of the East coast of what we now call the Americas, it was probably very hard for them to imagine the great nation that was to grow on this newly discovered continent.

The United States has become great through the hard work, the diligence, the perseverance and the “can-do” spirit of the American people. But the strongest factor in making the United States the greatest country ever known was the diversity of experience and knowledge brought in by millions of immigrants.

Immigrants flocked to the United States in search of what we now know as, “The American Dream”.

We should celebrate our immigrant forefathers, and remember that it was their courage and perseverance that allowed us to be Americans.

Don't pay for eminent domain

In the last year, the specter of eminent domain has reared it's head in several controversial cases. We currently find one case where one small business owner, located in East Topeka for 16+ years, is having his property “acquired” by the city to facilitate the construction of a new intersection in the area of Golden Ave, 6th Street and 10th Street.

In this particular case, the issue is not whether the city has the right to utilize eminent domain, the issue is the amount of compensation the city wants to pay this long-term citizen and taxpayer for his property.

In almost every case, even when eminent domain is justified, it seems that there is a dispute over what represents a fair and just compensation for the land owner. The government entity always wants to purchase as cheaply as possible, whereas the land owner will always want more.

One way to address this solution is simply to not pay any money at all!

Woah! This is a radical concept. But yes, I did say it, the city should NOT pay this gentleman any money at all.

Rather, the city should seek out three or four available properties that are similar in location, size and accessibility as the current property, let the owner choose which of the properties he likes, then the city should pay all purchase and relocation costs to get the landowner onto that new property.

In doing this, the issue of how much the original land owners property was worth is moot. The city will pay more, because they are forcing a person to move, and the person being relocated can no longer complain about whether it is “fair” or not.

The simplest solution when government is fighting a citizen over money, is to simply, take the money out of the equation.