Hey Dorothy, you better stay in Oz

Several years ago, a man wrote a story about a little girl in Kansas who got hit on the head and went to a magical place called Oz. But no matter how special the place was, all she really wanted to do was go home. After all, there was no place like home. So she wanted to go back home to Kansas. But after what I heard today, I wonder if she'd really feel that way any more.

First, it was the notice that since the state, after lowering corporate income taxes on the wealthiest businesses, has found that there is a large deficit in state funding. So it seems that the governor, a staunch Tea Party member, has decided to increase the state sales tax. So instead of a progressive state income tax, the governor has decided to increase a tax which is the most repressive in the country. Why are sales taxes considered repressive? Because simply, all item are taxed the same. And since certain items are needed by everyone, sales taxes hit the poor the hardest. And the Kansas governor knows this. But he obviously doesn't care. Like I said, he is staunchly a member of the Tea Party.

Secondly, there was an incident last week where a woman at a restaurant in the state was shot in the leg. After an investigation, it was learned that the shooter was actually her husband. He has a concealed weapons permit, allowed in the city, and had the gun in his pants. He reached into his pants and accidentally discharged the gun and shooting his wife. After learning of the cause of the shooting, what was the reaction? According to some on the city council, the problem was that the city didn't have an open unconcealed gun law. This would have allowed the man to have the gun on the outside, in a holster I guess, and reaching into his pocket, there wouldn't have been a gun there. That's right, neither the gun nor the man wasn't to blame. He didn't lose his license for a concealed weapon. To these people, not allowing an unconcealed gun was the cause of the woman being shot.

So, today in Kansas, it is the poor that has to subsidize businesses, and the answer to a shooting is to return to the days of Dodge City. Dorothy, if I were you, I'd reconsider your desire to go home. But about one thing, you are exactly right: There's no place like your home: Kansas.