An exaggeration? Maybe, for now anyway...

Say what??

How's that again??

Yeah but you're not supposed to question the "Chosen One."

Simply Brilliant

Hey, how about Obama’s pick for VP, Senator Joe Biden. Obama’s supporters immediately hailed this decision as nothing short of sheer brilliance. Yeah, I agree it was probably as good choice as he could have made. But come on now, you know as well as I do, the scripts had already been written and they were just waiting for a name to put in the blank. Hell, he could have picked Mickey Mouse and the die-hard supporters would still say it was brilliant, if not visionary. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating but come on, some of you act like Obama’s bigger than the second coming of Christ or whatever. I worry about what’s going to happen when you finally start to realize he’s just another politician who’s made way more promises than any he can ever keep. Oh well, I guess we’ll see how that all works out.
Real quick, I want tell you about an e-mail I received last week from a guy named Harry who was responding to last week’s column. Harry said for the most part he agreed with my views concerning Barrack Obama but was quick to point out that I had failed to mention that the next president would likely be appointing the next two, possibly three, Supreme Court Justices. Excellent point Harry. And for me, that point was driven home Wednesday morning when it was brought up on The Jim Cates Show that Hillary Clinton was possibly being considered for the job. Wow! Never, ever, in my wildest dreams, did I see that coming.
I know it’s a long shot, but let’s say maybe you still haven’t made up your mind about this guy. Before you cast your vote this November, ask yourself if this is really the America you want. If it is, knock yourself out. Just remember though, Harry and I are going to cancel out at least two of your Obama votes and we’re bringing lots of friends.
Then we have our very own Congresswoman, Nancy Boyda. A Democrat. I know, me being a Republican and all, I’m supposed to hate her. But to tell you the truth, I have a lot of respect for her as a person as well as the way handles herself on the job. Now don’t get me wrong here. I disagree with a lot of her policies. I disagree with her on her support of the minimum wage issue. I doubt we’ll ever see eye to eye on the issue of the so called, “fairness doctrine.” I see that for what it is. An attempt to shut down conservative talk radio. She says no. Whatever. And I strongly disagreed with her “old” energy policies.
I say “old” policies because if I remember right, she’s voted against expanding off-shore drilling every chance she’s had. You know, she voted against it before she voted for it, or something like that. Then again, maybe I’m off base here. It just seems to me, the Democrats finally realized this was a fight they couldn’t win. Now we have Nancy Boyda acting like she invented “off-shore drilling.” She wants to “drill, drill, drill.” She wants to invest in alternative energy sources like wind and solar. In the last commercial I saw her doing, she even said she wants to expand nuclear power as well. Way to go Nancy. So what?
Here’s what I think Nancy. If you and your Democratic Party want the energy issue as your own. Take it. And if you have a plan that will make America energy independent, go for it. But if you’re just feeding us another line of crap to win an election, then go do something else. We’ve been lied to by both parties since at least the 70’s and frankly Mrs. Boyda, we’re sick of it. Other than that, I think you’re doing an okay job.
For the record though, I fully intend to support Lynn Jenkins in this race. But that’s just me being a die-hard Republican. That’s not going to be good enough for a lot of people. Lynn, you’ve got a hell of a tough fight going on here and so far, your opponent’s the only one showing up.
Want to join in on the conversation? Visit Room 235 online at: www.rm235.blogspot.com or you can contact Kevin McGinty by e-mail at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

Is this the "new direction" he keeps talking about?

The Color Of His Skin Has Nothing To Do With It...

Okay, let’s see if I’ve got this right. Asking Obama about his refusal to wear an American flag on his lapel is really code for, “he’s black” and the only reason I bring it up is because I‘m a racist. You can say that I guess, but just because you do doesn’t make it so.
Maybe that issue’s important to some people, I don’t know. And I’m not going to sit here and claim that race isn’t an issue in this campaign. But just because someone questions his extreme left agenda doesn’t automatically mean they’re a racist. Do you really believe his ongoing crusade against “Big Oil” is going to result in lower gas prices? And doesn’t his plan to steal from the rich to give to the poor sound a little weird to you? He’s got everybody in a tizzy with his promise of free health care for all and thousand dollar rebates or tax cuts or whatever to pay for people’s gas. Free government handouts. Hell yeah, sign me up for some of that free stuff. Would it be considered racist to point out that none of this free stuff Obama’s promising is going to be free?
I know a lot of people consider him a hero for his unwavering and unconditional support of abortion rights. And by now, most of you know my views on abortion so I’m not even going to go there today. How about we talk about his unconditional support of the dirty little secret called “infanticide?” Are you okay with that one? Be honest here. Are you okay with allowing babies who have somehow survived an abortion and have actually been born alive to be tossed in the trash only to die a long drawn out, agonizing death a few hours later? This is progressive? Does thinking this is about as wrong as you can get make me a racist? I don’t think so.
Does it make me a racist because Obama offended the hell out of me by telling the world he’s embarrassed by American’s who don’t speak French? He offended me when he said Americans needed to quit worrying about whether or not immigrants learn to speak English. He told us we just needed to make sure our kids learn Spanish. Does Obama offending me somehow make me a racist. I’m sure some of you will say so.
How about questioning his plan to substantially weaken the American military? Would that be racist? Just wondering, because I’m going to anyway. Quick, tell me what his stand is today concerning Iraq? It keeps changing, doesn’t it? One day he’s ready to pull out “now.” Then we had the 16 month time table. That turned into “depends on the circumstances on the ground.”
I know this is going to turn into a “Bush lied, kids died” thing. But you know what, none of that really matters now, does it? It is what it is. Whether you like it or not, we are at war. That being said, does it makes sense for Obama to tell the world he’d pay for his programs first by not spending $9 billion a month in Iraq.
He said he’s save hundreds of billions by suspending the development of unproven missile defense systems. Maybe he hasn’t heard about Russia being on the move. He once told an audience that Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba were tiny countries compared to the Soviet Union and posed no real threat to America. Hmm, that’s not exactly true now, is it? This might shock some of you, but there’s a pretty good chance Iran's proceeding full speed ahead with their plans to build nukes regardless of what they’re saying. And yes, I am suggesting that even if we’re nice to them, they might actually lie to us about it. Oh yeah, hopefully it was just a slip of the tongue when he referred to the Soviet Union in the first place. You’d hope he realizes the Soviet Union hasn’t really been around for a while.
Russia and China continue to develop new missiles capable of reaching American Cities that carry multiple war-heads. Obama proposes a halt to all new work on nuclear weapon systems. China is working hard to gain a military presence in space. Obama pledges not to pursue weapons in space. This is the guy you want defending us?
I believe an Obama Presidency would leave us weakened and return us to the days of Jimmy Carter‘s America. Remember that? Remember the 444 days Iran slapped us around like the whining little school children we had become. Call me a racist if it makes you feel better. But just for the record, you’d be wrong.
Whether you agree with me or not, free to visit my online blog at www.rm235.blogspot.com to join in on the conversation. I just ask that you keep it clean. Or you can e-mail me at: www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Joey Baggz aka (Joey Little.)

Okay, I probably got carried away with the title. But hey, that's just me being me. This is a picture of our photographer, Joey Little.

100 Kansas Towns

You’re going to think this weird, you know, me being an old guy and all. But I’ve got a story to tell you today about meeting one of our local rock n roll DJ’s last Friday. Most of you know him as Joey Baggz, the hard charging, loud mouthed, out of control, DJ on V-100’s morning show. I’m not going to claim to listen to his show on a regular basis but I do tune in from time to time. The last time I tuned in, Joey was trash-talking A-hole bosses. Yeah, Joey Baggz cracks me up and he’s very good at what he does.
I’ve know for a long time there was more to this guy than meets the eye though. I remember a letter to the editor he wrote a couple of years ago. He wanted to know why so many Topekan’s had such a negative attitude about this place we all call home. He pointed out a long list of things Topeka has to offer and asked what else people wanted. From time to time he’d show up on the Jim Cates show to ask the same question. I don‘t remember for sure, but I don’t think he ever did get an answer to his questions. Hey, a guy can only do so much. He’s given his time to several non-profit organizations like the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Foundation, The American Cancer Society, and Toys for Tots. Yeah, his heart’s in the right place.
Oh, yeah, did you know his name’s really Joey Little and when he’s not being Joey Baggz and raising hell on the radio he becomes Joey Little , the photographer? And that my friends is where I come in. Joey Little, the photographer and I have a lot more in common then you‘d think. We’ve both done a lot of traveling around this great state. Either one of us can pull into almost any Kansas town and see the beauty it has to offer. We’re both interested in learning more about some of the history of the places we visit. And we both enjoy telling the stories of our travels. I use words to tell my story. Joey lets his camera do his talking. And he does it well.
Joey’s currently working on a project he’s calling “100 Kansas towns.” His goal is to capture unique photos from 100 different Kansas towns and so far he’s about 20% of the way to completing it. His travels have taken him to such places as Holton, Lindsborg, Marquette, Powhattan, Russell, Canton, Hoisington, Ellsworth, Great Bend, Lincolnville, and McPherson. And the list is growing all the time. I asked him why he was doing it and he told me it was just because he loves this state and he wants to give people the chance to see it the way he does. You can’t really fault a guy for that now, can you?
Joey’s built a web-site for his project at http://www.littlemanphotography.com/ and would love hearing from anyone who might be able to give him a few tips or ideas about some of the more unique little towns he might otherwise miss. I told him about the story I did a few weeks ago about my little Kansas ghost town, Hitschmann. He seemed genuinely interested and said he was planning to be in the area over the Labor Day weekend and would love to check out my little town. And because he uses only one shot per town, I’d be very interested to see exactly what he’d consider unique about a Kansas ghost town.
While I’m at it, I have one more idea for you Joey. After you leave Hitschmann, head back the way you came, when you get back to the main road, instead of going south through Odin. Head north about 5 or 6 miles, you’ll come to a really cool, old town named Dubuque. The only thing there is an old Catholic Church and a really beautiful old cemetery. Check it out, I promise you it’ll be worth the effort.
Joey, you’re a good guy and I thank you for sharing your story with me. But I do feel obligated to warn you that FM radio’s just a fad. You’d better get your own AM talk show while there’s still time. One more thing, if you ever come across a town named “Here Kansas” get a lot of pictures. I’d really like to see this place.
You can contact Kevin McGinty by going to his online blog at: http://www.rm235.blogspot.com/ or by e-mail at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

I Too Have A plan

My daughter, Misty really gets on my nerves. She called me early last Tuesday to ask why she should vote for my guy, Eric Rucker in the Shawnee County District Attorney’s race. Sensing an attitude in her voice, I decided to play my ace in the hole. I pulled out the “dad card.” I told her she should vote the way I said because I was the dad and like always, I know best.
Well, that plan didn‘t get me very far. She said it was a nice try and it might have worked if she were still ten years old. She told me she was going to give me one last chance to convince her Eric Rucker was the guy. Otherwise, she’d probably be voting for Robert Hecht. Wow.
We spent the better part of the next half hour debating back and forth about the two candidates. I explained to her that I was convinced Eric Rucker would be more effective in getting violent criminals off the streets. She countered with Robert Hecht’s record of removing corrupt politicians from office. And what about the issue of dirty cops? She wanted to know if my guy, Eric Rucker was going to turn a blind eye to these kind of crimes. Eventually she told me she was going to do her own research and make her own decision and that there was no way she was going to vote a certain way just because I said so. Bam! So much for me being the boss.
She called late Tuesday night to tell me she had in fact considered my opinion and in the end, she decided maybe I had a point and decided to vote for Eric Rucker. On one hand, I’m glad to know she’s grown up to be an independent thinker and not willing to just follow the crowd. But dang it, things sure were a lot easier for me when she was still a little girl and had to do what I said just because I said so. Oh well, such is life.
Hey, I know this is late and I should have gotten to it sooner but I’d still like to thank Mayor Bill Bunten for using his veto power and putting a stop to the much touted Elevation Parkway project. Again, the City Council voted to spend millions of dollars on what’s probably a pretty good project but at a really bad time. Supporters like to point to the economic development the project will likely create. Come on now. What kind of economic development will it really bring to the table. How many more convenience stores or fast food joints does Topeka really need? They have a valid point when they talk about needing to do something to alleviate the traffic backups at the intersection of 21st and Fairlawn though.
This has to be one of the most poorly planned intersections I’ve ever seen. Just drive west on I-470 between 4:00 and 5:00 any weekday afternoon and more than likely, you’ll find cars lined up clear up to the top of the off ramp. You know, it’s gotta be hell in some of those cars too. Can you imagine if you’re in a hurry, you have three little kids with you. The youngest one has just peed his pants, one of them is hungry and crying, and the other one is busy tattling on the other two. To top it off, the idiot in front of you could have easily gone, but hell no, apparently he’s waiting for some kind of special invitation before he moves his sorry self. And oh no, what's that smell. Great, the baby just pooped. Why do we put ourselves in these kind of situations anyway?
Luckily, like T Boone Pickens. I have a plan. Unlike Mr. Pickens’ plan that will cost us bazillions of dollars. My plan won’t cost us a dime. Are you ready? How about taking another route. How about getting off at the Gage exit and taking 29th west to Fairlawn. How about simply traveling through town and avoiding the whole mess all together. But hey, what do I know, I’m just an old guy.
You can reach Kevin McGinty and join in on the conversation at his online blog at: http://www.rm235.blogspot.com/ or by e-mail at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net