DARKness falls

Ah, the shame. Plenty of it in fact, up and down the halls of Congress.

And the worst part of it all? Those responsible, just don't care.

So let's just start with Kansas' lackluster congressional delegation, notably Mr. Pompous himself, Mike Pompeo, a Wichita Republican, who can't wait to batter Obama or Hillary Clinton or anyone who isn't a puffed-up Pompeo clone.

But, he's enough of a buffoon that apparently, no one gave a damn when he tried to get a DARK act passed in congress, taking away the consumers' right to know if the food they're eating contains genetically modified organisms.

So he must have sidled up to our ever-illustrious Washington, D.C., resident, Sen. Pat Roberts, whose only real claim to fame is that he was a staffer for Keith Sebelius.

(For the record, I'm not opposed to GMOs, but as a consumer, I think I have the right to know what I'm eating. I have the right to choose, to avoid or to select certain foods.

Monsanto and multiple other GMO groups must have sidled up as well, along with a bounty of cash. How else can you explain it?

Roberts, however, has never cared about Kansas constituents. He has become more interested in the Washington environment, where I'm sure he'll be retiring. (Hopefully soon.)

I've known Pat for a lot of years, and I used to respect him, much as I did Jerry Moran, the state's other senator. Jerry still visits Kansas, traveling on the public's dime and using a trip or two to justify it. He mutters the magic words, that he's there to "listen," when in fact he promptly forgets when he returns to his Republican stronghold to shutter out the cries of help.

Pat rarely even travels to Kansas. Why should he? He no longer cares.

I'm not sure what changed with Pat or Jerry, but the tea party revolution prompted them both to rally up and hate everything. They're useless, not even respectable figureheads for the state.

Their job is to represent Kansas.

Pat is not working for Monsanto or any of the other GMO groups; he is working for Kansas.

Yet he pushed to keep consumers in the dark about what's in their food. He wanted to halt a patchwork of regulations.

Bullshit.

He wants a payoff. He wants the adoration of other groups, all of whom should be shunned for their treatment of consumers.

The American and Kansas financial bureaus — they like to claim they represent farmers — hailed the move. Wheat grower groups, who salivate at the thought of GMO wheat (which failed miserably when it was first trotted before the pubic).

What few people recognize is this is a farewell to the notion that the customer is always right. It is a promise that the supplier is all that matters.

"Over 1,000 organizations joined me in putting the farmer and rancher first," Roberts said in a press release.

A quick read show no consumer group among the supporters.

That's why I say shame on Pat Roberts. May his legacy be a footnote in an out-of-date history book. Shame on all the other senators and representatives who voted for it,  whether they are in Kansas or not or Republican or Democrat.

What you did was a disservice, and unfortunately, Obama likely will sign it, as bruised and battered as he is over issues near and dear to him.

If the nation's political system worked as it should, Congress would represent the public (not business) and the president would veto it.

So to be clear, the GMO labels are a sham.  It's just a method to cover up what no one really wants.

Sad state of affairs

I don't know how else to say it: What the fuck is going on with our country.

People are crazy. We are slipping into a revolution, a death spiral that's scary.

Yes, black lives matter, blue lives matter. All lives matter.

We have to stop this insanity. People are people. Treat them all with respect.

Political leaders need to get a grip. We don't need their goddamn prayers. We need leadership. Stop fucking around and help fix this problem.

The sad state of politics

I've avoided talking much about politics — so far. There are a lot of reasons for that, foremost among them is the questions: Where do I start?

But after reading this dailykos post, oddly titled "Donald Trump and the 53-inch penis," I decided I'd just post a link to it. t's a good read. Not just because it targets Trump, but highlights some of the achievements in recent years, achievements that have been forgotten or simply ignored.

Anyway, rather than post the whole thing here, and it is a fairly long read, here's the link:

Trump's small hands

It will open in a new window.

Enjoy.

Ah, the heat. It's what we Kansans love to hate, and complain about, every summer.

It's already settled in, even though today is -- or will be -- the first day of summer. I've already seen comments from people that they've had enough of summer already. Breaking new: We'd have to have summer before we can get sick of it.

But I must admit, it's been difficult not to join in the growing chorus of people saying enough is enough. It's the humidity, however, that I can't take.

Oh sure, the rain has been nice this spring. Make no mistake about that. We needed it and will continue to need it.

But if the heat continues, we'll soon be right back into it, where we're struggling to have enough moisture.

Bottom line, we're not out of the drought. We've just had a vacation from it.

I still argue, and will continue to do so that we've been in a drought since 2000, when rain started shutting off.

Oh sure, we've had intermittent rains, timely ones in fact, to help farmers raise the crops they needed.

Receiving big rains, however, don't help replenish soil moisture, fill ponds or replenish aquifers.

Ponds in my neighborhood, for example, are not yet full.  They're a lot closer, but not there yet.

The heat, and a recently mentioned prospect of a flash drought, like that in 2012, I think it was, threaten the notion that we've turned the corner.

A flash drought coupled with near-century mark temperatures spell trouble.

Obviously, I'll only be able to tell you how that works after the fact. But for now, batten down the hatches, we might be in for a bit of a tough ride this summer.

The heat is on

It's hot.

Really hot. As in hot enough for a person to start sweating within seconds after stepping outside. No breeze only adds to the discomfort.

A friend of mine on Facebook suggested it was time for fall, even though winter soon follows. She might be having second thoughts now that it's been pointed out that winter quickly follows.

But it is difficult to take.  The humidity from this spring's blustery weather hasn't helped much at all.

Me? Give me winter. I'll take the cold. I can put on enough clothes to stay warm. Never can take off enough to stay cool.

This Kansas weather

It's relatively cool, but that's only because of the cloudy conditions. But as we enjoy the weather, we wait for the storms.  Where they will hit and how bad they will be remains to be seen.

Sitting on the porch, drinking a bit of coffee and listening to the thunder (no rain) yet, along with the chirping of birds. Ain't retirement great.

Oh wait, here's the rain, light and straight down. An odd view in its own right.

Continuing abortion battle

Kudos to Oklahoma's governor for rejecting that states attempt to invade women's bodies. The right to an abortion is long established.

Shame on Oklahoma legislators.

Time flies

Here it is, almost two months after retirement and nary a word from me.
I'm shocked, but I've enjoyed the time so much.
That's not to say I haven't been watching the world, its actions and reactions. I've been disgusted and pleased, although I must confess, the pleasing moments on a state or national scale are a scant few.
Suffice it to say, the political world at both the state and national levels are disgusting, up and down the line. It's hard to believe our state leader can be that heartless — the only way I know how to put it.
Gov. Brownback ( pick the name you wish to call him) has certainly stooped to a new low. Let's face it, his actions as the state's chief are heartless, but also the most unchristian-like I can imagine. He's downright hateful to any but the select few.
Kansas will struggle for years after his departure, and might never recover.
His legislative henchmen need to go as well, although I'm sure not enough will be booted in the upcoming election. And that's a crying shame.
I'm not anti-Repbublican, but there are few in the Statehouse that should remain. However, I feel the same about Democrats, few as they might be. I find it hard to believe they can't work with legislators across the aisle to accomplish something; so yes, Democrats need to be replaced as well.
On the national scale, what can I say other than holy crap.
I thought I knew Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts. With Republicans in control, they're beyond worthless, going far beyond the party line. Moran long has talked about working with Democrats, but I'm confident he doesn't even know how to say hello to one.
Pat no longer is a Kansan, and should just go away. His chairmanship on the Ag committee is about as effective as Tim Huelskamp representing anyone other than himself, and he does a poor job of that.
Enough for now, but I hope to be back on a regular basis, raising cain and taking aim.
There's plenty wrong out there, and the hate needs to stop.
Until next time, be involved. It helps us.

This is where Mike Corn will soon be discussing Kansas.