In my 30+ years of doing this kind of work, I have met many politicians of all political persuasions. And with very few exceptions, I have found them all to be decent people. That doesn’t mean that I agree with them all or would even consider voting for many of them. But regardless of party, they all seem to me to be good men and women who want to make democracy work.

I put Congressman Mike Flood in that category.

Close to 187,000 signatures were turned in for a petition organized by a group called Respect Nebraska Voters. This petition would amend the Nebraska Constitution to make it harder, if not downright impossible, for the Unicameral to tweak legislation after it’s been improved by the voters.

Now, on the surface, it might seem like a good idea, and I know the sponsors of the petition drive’s hearts are in the right place, but if the initiative gets on the ballot (which it most likely will), I hope the voters are smart enough to vote no.

In my talk radio days from the mid 90’s till around 2014, before I went on the air, I would sometimes ask myself, “What am I going to be outraged about today?”

I knew that if I found an extreme story about a person or group doing something outlandish, I could make it into a bigger issue than it was and get the phone lines buzzing. It would make for good talk radio and get me through the show.

I never made up an opinion or lied about how I felt about the story, but I often blew it out of proportion for the benefit of the show.

There have been times in my life when I’ve been dead-ass broke. Too much month at the end of my money, as the old country and western song goes. Thankfully, I’ve never been in a situation where I had to apply for SNAP benefits or government assistance of any kind, but I came close.

As a single man, my economic condition only affected me. And whether it was because of the way I was raised or just an inherent attitude, I knew my monetary setback was only temporary and that the hard times weren’t going to last forever.