Support parents, politics, President Obama

Parenting is one of the toughest and most important jobs that many are ill-prepared for. We all have a stake in ensuring that parents have the support and resources they need to be successful.

No child in our community should ever feel the pain of abuse or neglect, and yet in 2011, 1,729 children were victims of abuse or neglect in Kansas. Our entire community plays a role in helping families find the strength they need to raise healthy and productive children.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Please do your part to help protect children.

Get to know your neighbors, help a family under stress and learn how to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. Trust your instincts and report your concern.

You could be the difference in the health and well-being of a child. Remember, child abuse is preventable.

Many letters complain about politicians being concerned with nothing but getting re-elected. I agree, but I can’t remember it ever being any different. But I’m at a disadvantage. I’m only 83.

After five years of Obama's endless speeches and lectures, don't we all long for a president who isn't so enamored with the sound of his own voice?

Americans’ work commutes now rank in their top three most time-consuming daily activities, according to a recent national Ford Motor Co. study.

Almost half of commuters say they always or very frequently encounter traffic while going to and from work, and they’re not thrilled about it.

A majority thinks the commute has little positive effect and takes away from happier, more productive activities.

For instance, the average Missouri commuter travels 23.1 minutes to work — roughly the same amount of time spent reading the newspaper and more than people spend exercising.

This study also found unhappy commuters multitask behind the wheel to pass the time: More than 40 percent make phone calls, nearly a quarter snack or eat meals, others text and use social media, and some even apply makeup or fix their hair.

Automakers are developing advanced technologies to make the daily drive happier and less stressful. Ford’s SYNC and MyFord Touch technologies allow people to talk on the phone, navigate and listen to music while keeping their hands on the wheel.

Getting from point A to B is a big part of every day.

Kansas Citians should remember that safe and efficient driving will start them on the path to a happier commute.

There is a terrible gap between the richest people and the rest of us, and I wonder whether people really know how much.

If a person makes $10 million a year and works 40 hours a week and 50 weeks a year, it breaks down to $5,000 per hour. Compare that with the minimum wage. There are people who make many times that amount, such as billionaires.

How much is a billion dollars? If you could save $1 million a year, it would take 1,000 years to save $1 billion, and we have about 400 billionaires in this country.

Do you think anyone is worth that much? I know I don’t.

We have a tool that could reduce these egregious incomes. It is called the income tax.

I think we need new tax brackets to reduce these oversized incomes. I suggest a bracket of 100 percent of all income over $10 million per year, but we have members of Congress who scream “no new taxes.”

Because of that, I will not vote for any Republican for any office — local, state or federal — until the Republicans in Congress support a significant increase in taxes on the super rich.

We live in a country that is supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the world. We pat ourselves on the backs when other countries begin to hold democratic elections.

Yet, in this great country, we have states that are working very hard to deny people the right to vote. The sad part is the states that have passed legislation restricting the right to vote typically have Republican governors and a Republican majority in both houses.

The reasoning is always the same, preventing voter fraud. The problem is that every time their new laws are challenged, they can’t prove any cases of actual voter fraud.

In a time when states are struggling with deficits and cutting money for education and services for the poor, they spend millions of dollars defending these laws, most of which are overturned in the courts.

After the long lines in 2000 and 2004, Republicans worked hard to make it easier for people to register and to vote. After the election in 2008, Republicans changed course and have done everything to restrict voters’ rights. Their targets became minorities, seniors and students. They tend to vote for Democrats.

The GOP’s new war is now on voters in this country.

If I understand the basis for the tea party correctly, its members wish to return to the Founding Fathers, reduce government in size and power and basically have America become a simpler country. However, I wonder whether our Founding Fathers could have conceived of a world as it is today. Certainly, the population was but a fraction of our country’s current numbers.

There were none of our electronic, motorized or communication developments in their time. It did not seem important then to protect citizens from one another, and the majority of people on the continent, other than Native Americans, were immigrants.

Today we have standing armed forces, and guns at that time were single-shot and not powerful.

I know it’s blasphemy, but I wonder whether the Second Amendment might not have been written if this had been envisioned.

I wish tea party folks could take a larger look at the entire picture and, perhaps, even admit that the Constitution could stand a bit of revision to bring it up to date with our society.

I dare members of the tea party to do so.

Teachers invest in our future every day by exciting children about their world and what the vast landscape has to offer young, budding minds. The first three years of this journey are crucial building blocks.

I think the four keys to a child’s future success in school are:

• Language. As a Gammy (grandmother), I have talked to my grandson from the get-go. Now we have amazing two-way conversations, and he just turned 3 years old. Rule No. 1 is talk to your children. They are listening.

• Reading. We have shared stories from the day my grandson came home from the hospital. He loves his books. Rule No. 2 is read, read, read to your little ones.

• Music. Music to me is a must in early development. Nursery rhymes, pop songs and music from the movies. Music connects little minds to their world. Rule No. 3 is share music together daily; it will forever connect you.

• Love. Tell your little ones you love them every day. This builds self-confidence. Rule No. 4 is give hugs, laugh together and cuddle with them.

This is the best time of their lives and a grandparent’s, too.

This story was originally published April 1, 2014 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Support parents, politics, President Obama."