Obamacare fiasco, control spending, not country music

Thank you, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. You have finally revealed the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the fiasco of Obamacare. Americans are just too stupid to do it right.

Thank you, Harry. So it is spoken, so it is done.

Many years ago, there was a young man just starting his adventure. He had a good income and stayed within his budget, paying his bills on time.

After a while, he started living beyond his means and applied for credit. The lender was happy to accommodate him and set a limit of $5,000.

This seemed so easy for the young man that he continued to spend and asked for a $10,000 limit. On and on it continued until the young man could barely pay the interest while continuing his out-of-control spending.

His name, as you have surely guessed by now, is Uncle Sam.

If this continues to be allowed and pushed by those in control, it is only a matter of time until it’s too late. Raising the debt limit repeatedly doesn’t make the country any more credit-worthy.

The only option that will be effective in the long run is to reduce and control spending. That works for individuals, corporations and local governments.

Washington, please quit kicking the can down the road.

Hank Williams, Tex Ritter, Kitty Wells and Roy Acuff must be spinning in their graves after the Country Music Awards (4-7, A2, “Music Awards”). Today’s country music is no more akin to real country music than the Rolling Stones are to Vivaldi.

The lamest idea I have heard is trying to run a first-class city with a first-class concert and convention venue like the Sprint Center while using an airport like Kansas City International, featuring 1960s building designs.

KCI was designed in the late 1960s and opened in 1972. It has earned the nickname of “Kansas City Inconvenient,” or KCI.

Kansas City has Kemper Arena but built a first-class Sprint Center without a sports team or large conventions to occupy it. The Sprint Center has paid dividends for the city.

If Kansas City wants to get back in business as a top city for businesses and conventions, it needs a first-class airport that could be a hub or at least a mini-hub for the airlines. The new KCI would have restaurants and shopping and easy access between airlines.

There is a reason that KCI is one of a kind, and that is because it isn’t convenient for the seasoned traveler who uses it more than once or twice a year. Come on, Kansas City, with all we have to offer we can do better than an antiquated airport.

Republican legislators show they don’t understand that they were elected to represent the citizens of Missouri (and not the American Legislative Exchange Council) by proposing the same legislation that failed last year.

Instead of proposing legislation that will actually help Missourians, Sen. Will Kraus has proposed another voter-suppression bill. None of these laws has withstood a court challenge. He is wasting state resources on something that has virtually no chance of becoming law and would make voting harder for many.

Rep. Andrew Koenig has proposed that income taxes be lowered. This failed last year and would devastate the state budget just when education funding may get restored.

And to what end? There is no proof that tax cuts help the economy. Again, this is an ALEC-backed priority.

The nullification bill that Sen. Brian Nieves has introduced is laughable. It clearly violates the Supremacy Clause. One would think that a lawmaker would know that.

The one thing the legislature could do to help Missourians would be to expand Medicaid. Estimates indicate that about 250,000 more people would have access to health care, 24,000 jobs would be added to the economy and it would be 100 percent paid for by the federal government for three years.

And most Missourians want it.

The problem: a lack of feeling in your feet caused by neuropathy. When at a stop sign or a stoplight, I tend to push very hard on the brake pedal to make sure my foot doesn’t slip off.

My foot has slipped off before, and it was very unnerving, especially at night.

The solution: I took my car to Summit Auto Electric and had a light installed under the dash that comes on whenever I step on the brake. At a glance I can see where my foot is day or night.

Another problem is solved with ingenuity and American know-how. I hope this helps others.

Recent revelations of one of the harmful effects of Obamacare such as private-citizen security risks exemplifies the need for legislators to identify and post possible side effects.

We have all heard of unintended consequences. But are they unintended? Are “phony” scandals maybe real scandals?

We may need more physicians and engineers in Congress to promote better problem diagnostics and, after developing a proposed remedy, identify the possible harmful side effects. This will enhance the quality of the government and lessen the need for fire drills and fixes.

And it may eventually restore our trust in government.

Years ago, Ben Franklin worked through many potentially harmful side effects during his work with the formation of our nation. We need more courageous and wise leaders to get our ship of state back on a true course.

Why am I reminded of Sen. Tom Coburn and Dr. Ben Carson?

A simple prescription of moral fortitude could go a long way.

True, I never served as secretary of labor like Robert Reich did, and while I agree that the middle class is suffering today I think his study of American income during 1946-1975 omits several factors.

First, in this period energy prices were low.

Two, people lived within their means.

Three, our industries faced much less competition because Japan and Europe were in ruins for many years after the war and China, India, Brazil, Taiwan and South Korea hadn’t emerged as economic powers.

Last, our factories switched easily from war to civilian production.

Furthermore, pent-up demand during the war years for consumer goods created a buying explosion that fueled a surge in employment with good wages.

Granted, good jobs for today’s middle class are an important issue, but Reich comparing 1946-1975 wages to today is like comparing car travel to a horse and buggy.

Beginning just before midnight Monday and ending around sunrise/moonset Tuesday morning, our moon will move eastward into the Earth’s shadow during a total lunar eclipse.

For about the first hour, the moon will pass across the outer and fainter penumbral shadow and the reflected sunlight from the moon will slowly dim. Then, just before 1 a.m., the moon will enter the dark umbral shadow and will remain dark until it starts to exit from the other side of the umbral shadow around 3:30 a.m.

Adding to the viewing will be the nearby bluish-white star Spica and the planet Mars. If you have binoculars, all three will nearly fit within the field of view. And with a telescope, it may be possible to see the closest dwarf planet, Ceres, and Comet 2012 PanSTARRS K1.

Knowing how fickle our weather can be, do not despair if we miss out on this one because there will be more opportunities to view total lunar eclipses on Oct. 8, 2014, April 4, 2015, and Sept. 28, 2015.

More information about this eclipse: bobs-spaces.net/sky-shots/april-15-2014-total-lunar-eclipse.

This story was originally published April 12, 2014 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Obamacare fiasco, control spending, not country music."