This is the time of the year that the state is ablaze.  Kansas is fairly unique in the fact that for some reason, I very much fail to understand in this day and age of pollution control and health, we decide to set the whole state on fire for a couple months.  We burn the fields for weed control and so the cattle gain weight through more nutritious greenery.

I do this every year.  If you have never experienced, you wouldn’t believe it.  It is sometime like England must have been back in the 1600’s when they were burning peat and coal for heat and cooking.  Most nights and morning I walk outside and it smells like there is a fire in the neighborhood.  We took Tucker and Hawkeye out west of town to walk and we could see numerous plumes of smoke surrounding the whole city of Topeka.

I wither in these conditions.  I’m normally in a slump and my throat is raspy nearly all the time. Even the advertising on the radio warns of the hazards of the “wildfires”.

These aren’t wildfires.  These are set by man to make money.  I wonder if someone could actually tally up the health costs compared to the money for the cattle, if it would be a wash.

Most of the burning around Topeka isn’t for cattle.  It is ditches, fields with no fencing, nearly anywhere that will burn.  These people are pyromaniacs and don’t understand the burning is for a reason and not for fun.

They aren’t supposed to burn if the wind is over 15 miles per hour, but these people totally ignore that law.  I just went and saw the Segwick County burning permit.  It is free.  Maybe if it cost something, less people would do it for fun.  On the permit is says – YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FIRE, AND ITS SMOKE. If that is the case, then someone owes me a plane ticket to leave here for awhile, because their smoke is going into my lungs.

Yesterday it was pretty windy.  Over 30 mph.  But they still burned.  The fires west got out of control and they were talking about evacuating a town of 1000 people.  The governor declared a state of emergency and 15 fire districts responded.  WTF?  We’re starting fires and burning down our own towns so cattle get heavier?  Photos from the Topeka paper.

Man, if my house burnt down because of a grass fire that was set on purpose, then I would be pissed.  I wonder if they called and told them that they were going to burn.  I could hardly ride my bike, why would someone light a fire.

Anyway, this is going on for another month.  Eventually someone is going to address the situation.  But our political bodies are so fucked up, it won’t be for a long while.  In the meantime, the beat goes on.

We couldn’t decide how to avoid the smoke.

This is a small one.

Front page of the paper this morning.

Tucker and Hawkeye are super buddies now.

But, Tucker needs his alone time now that he is a teenager.

My arms are a mess from playing with Tucker. Sharp teeth and claws.

I try to stay clear of politics here, but it has gotten to such a tipping point, it is nearly impossible to do.  Kansas might be more screwed up politically than it has ever been before.  And that is saying something, because Kansas has a history of jacked up politics.

Politics.  I sort of hate that word.  We elect politicians to represent us, our views and supposedly our needs, to form the government that guides us.  I’m not sure it is working nowadays. Actually, I’m really sure it isn’t working.  Not even close.

There is even a book, “What’s the Matter with Kansas”.  The book is about how Kansas has become a poster child for conservatism here in the US when it was initially left-wing, the People’s Party, which evolved into the Democratic Party.  It is pretty interesting.

Anyway, we all have our issue with politics.  I think most Americans are dismayed with this presidential election.  Trudi just returned from Europe and she said she was asked all the time about this election.  Europeans are more up to speed on our elections than most Americans. Most Europeans think we a nuts, which is probably an accurate observation.

Kansans are the proud owners of the Koch brothers.  David and Charles Koch are the post childs of warping elections by throwing money at elections.  They inherited Koch industries, which, makes its money by coming up with a new way of refining oil.  Their father Fred, was one of the founding fathers of the John Birch Society.  Obviously their agenda is very, very conservative. Their influence is approaching a billion dollars this year.   I think they are having a problem with this year’s Presidential election.

Anyway, we have some serious budget problems here in Kansas.  Our governor, Sam Brownback, cut taxes, seriously, 3 years ago.  He made a law that excludes any small business, any LLC, from paying any state tax.  Now we have nearly 200,000 LLC, out of a total population of 3 million.  Our Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, is bragging about how many “new” businesses are starting up and how it is a leading economic indicator.  Pretty delusional guy.  I don’t understand why Kris can’t see all the “new businesses” are starting because of the tax law?

Anyway, through this tax cuts, our state budget is in the hole seriously.  We’ve already taken nearly $500 million out of the state highway fund to balance the general budget.  And our roads suck.  Our legislators just gave up, today, on trying to figure it out.  And that is what we elected them for.  They are too scared to raise taxes, because of re-election, that they were rather do nothing, and get re-elected, than to do something and risk being not elected.  Maybe that says something about the people voting for them.  It is just wrong.

Our elected officials are there to do a job.  Somehow they became so entrenched in their political views that they have become dysfunctional.  Just look at Kansas as an example of what can happen when people dig in and don’t compromise.  They are completely unreasonable. We’re circling the drain and no one seems to want to put the stopper in.

Tucker had his first doggie cone yesterday. He loved it as much as Bromont did.