Editorials

While the Second Amendment has been hogging the spotlight of late, the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States deserves consideration in the wake of a local homicide case.

Unless something changes by Tuesday, the April election will be about as exciting as a game of solitaire.

We would like to express our gratitude for the kind assistance given to us by the men at W-K Chevrolet on Dec. 6.

So much in life boils down to personal responsibility — choosing to speak and act in appropriate ways and accepting the credit or scorn that comes with those actions.

We hear a lot of talk about reforming entitlements and those who want to reform them consider Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security to be the entitlements that need to be reformed. But there is another entitlement that we don’t hear much about. Current income tax regulations entitle those who have income from dividends and capital gains (income from wealth) to pay a maximum tax rate of 15 percent, while income from work may be taxed as a maximum rate of 35 percent.

Despite tea party contentions and Grover Norquist’s foot-stamping tantrums, government does have a role in our society and it often serves beneficial purposes. That said, there are times when those who make the gears grind leave us wondering if they understand government’s role and scope.

Our holiday travels now are less likely to take us over the river and through the woods — we’re more apt to go over the highway and through the Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint. But increased traffic on roadways and folks hurrying to arrive on time for family get-togethers create increased hazards for motorists.

We are dubious about using a regressive tax to fund something as important as education — especially when the impact of the tax likely would, over time, create less revenue year to year due to people choosing not to purchase the targeted product because of the increased cost caused by the higher tax.

The federal school meal program provides lunch, and in many cases breakfast as well, to 32 million students nationwide. For far too many of those students, the meals they receive at school are all they get to eat each day.

The base of the term “fan,” as it applies to followers of athletes and sports teams, is “fanatic” — defined as someone with excessive and single-minded zeal. But even the most obsessive of Kansas City Chiefs fans cannot explain away the detestable behavior exhibited Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Melody Sablan said it best: “I’m sure people are driving by the site and thinking, ‘What the heck are they doing over there? What’s taking so long?’ ”

The annual visit to share wishes for a most-desired toy with the big beard himself, Santa Claus, is a tradition in many families and in many communities. Through the Santa House on the Pettis County Courthouse lawn, it was a longtime “must-do” for dozens of Christmas seasons in Sedalia.

The Citizens for a Clean Sedalia Committee has spent the past several months examining code enforcement matters that have become thorny issues for city officials and residents alike.

Anyone tuning in to the Olympics, or pretty much anything else on commercial television recently, has been victim of the assault of screeching, smears and overstatement in the current crop of hate-laden negative political advertising.

Some problems have complex, convoluted solutions. They require extensive strategic planning and implementation of multi-level programs to ensure success. Others require simple efforts carried out by everyday citizens.

Pettis County leaping to the front to ban the herbal mix known as K2 is eerily reminiscent of the Sedalia City Council acting in August to eradicate any possibility of adult businesses setting up shop within Sedalia’s limits.