Girl with a good idea
     By F. KIRK POWELL  Editor & Publisher

...Wow, this girl has a great plan!
...The plan for welfare reform was written by a 21 year-old female who gets it.
...It's her future she's worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she's being forced to live in!
...In her opinion, these solutions are just common sense.
...Her plan was first published as a letter to the editor in the Waco (Texas) Tribune Herald.
...Put her in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of them.
...No cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away.
...If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.
...Put her in charge of Medicaid, too.
...The first thing she'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations.
...Then, she would test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine.
...She says if women want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then they should get a job.
...Put her in charge of government housing.
...Ever live in a military barracks? Welfare recipients will maintain the property in a clean and good state of repair.
...Their "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If they want a plasma telephone or Xbox 360, then get a job and their own place.
...In addition, welfare recipients will either present a check stub from a job each week or will report to a "government" job.
...It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, what- ever the government can find for them.
...The government will sell their 22-inch rims and low profile tires and the blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good."
...Before they write that she's violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary.
...If they want our tax money, they need to accept our new rules.
...Before they say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.
...If we're expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices.
...The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.
...And while they're on government subsistence, they can't VOTE! For them to vote would be a conflict of interest. They will voluntarily remove themselves from voting while you are receiving a government welfare check. If they want to vote, then get a job.

...We lost another great member of our baseball family last week when just one day after announcing his retirement from the Kansas City Royals organization, long-time announcer and Royals supporter Fred White died.
...I can barely recall when Denny Matthews and Bud Blattner were the voices of the royals on the radio from 1969 until 1972.
...But I sure as heck remember the nearly 25 years of hanging out with Fred and Denny as they helped me feel like I was out at Kauffman Stadium and on the road with the boys in blue.
...But times change and Fred was "relieved of his duties" behind the microphone. I was not happy about it, just as I am still not happy about Frank White being dumped last year in the television booth.
...But this is a corporation and obviously someone knows more about the business that we, the fans, who pay the bills.
...Anyway, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Fred several times throughout my 18-year career (so far) in the press box and at other functions. He was a true gentleman and a great source of knowledge that he was more than happy to share with anyone who asked.
...Thank you, Fred, for all of the memories. You are not forgotten.
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...Congratulations to Jan and Kirk Powell on being named the 2013 Cass County Fair Grand Marshals!
...And thank you to the fair committee for listening.
...The Powells have been involved with the fair in Pleasant Hill since it began 20 years ago and I believe without them it would not have achieved the level of success it has in those 20 years.
...How do I know this? Because come this July I will be covering my 19th Cass County Fair, so I have been there first-hand to see it all!
...And Jan, too bad, so sad, but you are going to have to actually come to the fair this year instead of missing most of it while you sit in the office collecting results. We'll all pitch in to make sure the coverage remains at the high quality you demand.
...Again, congrats Jan and Kirk.
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...Back to the Royals, I am now convinced that this will be the season where we are getting going to get our hopes high enough and close enough to the end that play-off fever will begin here.
...Sadly, though, after what happened in Oakland over the weekend has me convinced that the boys in blue may not be there just yet.
...Or maybe that was exactly what this team needed to make the players realize if they want to be one of the best, then they have to beat some of the best.
...I hope someone figures out why Mike Moustakis is not hitting, Eric Hosmer is not hitting for power and Jeff Francouer is just not getting it.
...With those three pieces of the puzzle solved, along with defense plying better and the pitching continuing to shine, maybe I will be wrong about September. Maybe Kansas City will be in the play-off hunt to the very end.
...Being wrong is good sometimes!

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