Letter to the Editor

Give us to Kansas, and other BS ideas

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Dear Editor,

In the past or even recently the subject of "brain drain" has been mentioned by politicians and dignitaries, I guess you can use those two kinds of people in the same sentence. It's nor an oxymoron is it? Anyway the brain drain got me to thinking. That's a brain drain right there, me thinking.

Now I know that brain drain thing usually means that smart people leave the state and make their fortune or at least a living elsewhere. We the people that stay in Nebraska think we have the good life. One of our state mottos says so. Now if we stay and have the good life, which are die smart ones? Or who are die brainy ones? I'm not sure on that one, but I do like to live in Nebraska.

One day or was it night, I got to brainstorming. That's kinda like draining the brain so I guess when you or a group gets to brain storming, lots of good ideas and maybe some not so good get mentioned. Maybe no one ever goes through with the ideas but it's good to bring them up and maybe other ideas or ways to do things will crop up. You just can't tell.

One of the brainstorming ideas, we'll call the BS for short, was to help the prison overcrowding. The talk from the prison officials is that we need to build another 750-bed prison. Now my idea, brain storm or BS for short, is to let the prisoners sleep in shifts.

Eight hours a day to an assigned bed. Three shifts a day. Some of the prisoners, or inmates to be more politically correct, are used to staying up at night anyway- that's what got some of these where they are. If they had been working days and sleeping nights, they might not have got in trouble. Let those that aren't sleeping, work eight hours doing something, making license plates or anything. Give them eight hours to themselves and their God and country.

Sound familiar?

OK, that's part of the solution; the other part is to give the non-violent inmates the chance to work on the outside. There are many jobs that the politicians say the Americans don't want to work at. If an inmate would take the job of an illegal alien, he could earn money to help pay his way or support his family and in the process help send an illegal back to where he came from. This could apply to the female inmates as well. Two problems solved.

Term limits for our state legislators came out in the BS session. Doesn't matter if you are for or against them, the law is the law. So what's wrong with giving all the ousted senators a job, like being a page or writing bills for the new senators? Someone needs to carry drinking water to the speakers. They can get very dry, just like some of the speeches. How about arranging press releases or editing the news that comes out of the capitol?

Maybe some could even go home and have a life. This BS could have merit.

Cutting taxes was another BS idea. Remember that BS stands for brain storming, and BD for for brain drain; don't get them confused with BM.

I don't think the sales tax works too well. It just makes a lot of money that the lawmakers or we have to find a way to spend. If I buy a used car that has had several previous owners, each one of them and myself paid a tax on the transaction; Ever hear of that funny idea of a transaction tax?

Now I know where they got the idea. Let's just forget the sales tax and not think up ways to spend it. No tax, just relax.

Thinking about water for the legislators or speakers brings to mind the water problem in the Republican River. Guess it isn't so much the water in the river as the water under the river!

Kansas says we use too much and they want money. Don't know how they will drink money unless they go to Oklahoma and buy fire water to keep them warm.

Well this BS idea has merit and is well thought out. There are only about five counties along the Nebrask Kansas border where the Republican River flows or doesn't flow cause it's dry.

WE, that is Nebraska, should give these counties to Kansas. It would only extend the Kansas border about 36 miles north for some 80 or 100 miles, east and west. A lot of the older people went over to Kansas to get married. In the old days there was no waiting period to get married, and to some people time was important. The Nebraskans in the eastern part of the state wouldn't miss us. I'm not sure they know we are here. But they will if they get a bill to pay for the water no one has.

There might be a carpetbagger that could miss us, but that wouldn't be for long if he got elected Governor. That's just a petty dig; it doesn't have a thing to do with the water issue.

Anyway for some reason, I've got it in my head, if you take water out of the ground, and put it back on the ground you haven't changed things too much. I'm sure someone will have a rebuttal for that statement.

I'm starting to get a headache from this BD or BS (not to be confused with BM), so let's put off some items until a later day. Until then, keep thinking.

Respectfully submitted,

John Hubert,

McCook

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