To the editor:

Ready, fire, aim (RFA)!  Emperor Brownback and his out-of-state mercenaries charge once more into the fray in this new year!  So what did they do in 2011?

RFA, Brownback abolished the Kansas Arts Council. Federal funding was pulled. Oops, no arts funding! RFA, Brownback refused the federal health care exchange grant. Kansas has to fund its own exchange. Oops! RFA, the emperor announced the closure of numerous SRS offices. “They can travel to offices in Topeka and Kansas City.” Not so, we learned. Instead, local taxpayers had to pick up the bill for services we had already paid for through our state taxes. Oops! RFA, the emperor announced a plan to move juvenile justice services to SRS. A big mistake, said the juvenile justice folks. Oops!

What’s in store for 2012? RFA, the emperor announced he wants to open Kansas lands to the oil companies for “fracking” of natural gas. The oops? Do a quick Google on fracking and read about the poisoned wells and flammable tap water in New York, Oklahoma and Texas. RFA, revamp school financing. The oops, small rural school districts will go broke. RFA, soon we will learn the emperor’s plan for revamping the state tax system. The oops, lower taxes for big business and wealthy folks, higher taxes for the middle class and the poor, count on it!

Ready, fire, aim! Perhaps it’s time to tie down these loose cannons? Perhaps it’s time to review the options for recall of the emperor?