City Hall sandbagging

The water main breaks in the Kansas City area have been awful in the past couple months. One break outside of a friend’s house has not been fixed for more than two months.

We have called several times to have it fixed, but water department officials say they need to fix major problems first. In addition, the Kansas City water department has said it will be fixed in a month.

Workers have put sandbags outside the house, but that still does not fix it.

It just shocks me that they would take this long to fix a problem that has been ongoing for so long.

John Cuddy

Kansas City

Improve KC housing

While normally I admire your editorial approach to issues, I am disturbed by your recent focus on the city’s new demolition policy (9-20, A4, “KC’s mayor brings down the house”).

While no one can argue that demolitions are sometimes necessary, they should be undertaken only as a last resort, especially in established and/or historic neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, the city has had a woefully inadequate approach to distressed housing. Instead of vigorous code enforcement, it has facilitated “demolition by neglect” to the point where demolition is the only option.

Demolitions can decimate a neighborhood and lead to lower property values and less investment.

I hope you investigate the whole of the city’s policy in this regard and help advocate in the future for a proactive policy that keeps neighborhoods viable and housing values stable.

Better housing-code enforcement is also the better environmental option.

Joan E. Adam

Kansas City

Repair KC homes

It seems Kansas City Mayor Sly James enjoys tearing down houses (9-20, A4, “KC’s mayor brings down the house”). He was giggling like he was in a candy store.

The house had a story and probably belonged to someone who was down on his or her luck. In this terrible economy, house repairs are at the bottom of budgets.

The main priorities are food and putting gas in cars to get to a job. I don’t think authorities should be arresting the elderly and disabled people for code violations.

My town has the same mentality. This is repulsive.

Thousands of outstanding warrants for housing-code violations? Come on. How do you expect the Kansas City Police Department to have time to serve these warrants?

The police need to concentrate on all the murders and let the housing situation come last.

I grew up in Kansas City and would never move back.

City officials’ priorities are all messed up. Where are all the volunteers to help people fix people’s homes?

Rita May

Richmond, Mo.

Too politically correct

Is there too much political correctness in the upcoming election?

It seems that in today’s elections candidates speak in vague terms in fear of singling out certain groups.

They stick to political correctness in hopes that it keeps everyone at bay.

I think political correctness initially started with good intentions, but today I think people have become overly sensitive.

It seems to me that this political correctness is just making it harder to convey the goals that each candidate will pursue if elected.

The entire concept has created more ways to be unintentionally discriminatory rather than grant everyone a level playing field.

Both Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama watch their words more closely and are often discouraged from going off script. I would rather both candidates add some spontaneity and truth that they themselves say instead of the teleprompter feeding them their words.

The only case that I saw otherwise was when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, spoke. He spoke, for the most part, unscripted, speaking what he believed was the truth. However, the media quickly said his unorthodox speech was “selfish” and didn’t conform neatly to today’s political correctness standards.

Jake Lamb

Leawood

Tax cuts, low wages

I’m not sure whether anyone ever reads, much less believes, E. Thomas McClanahan’s murky little GOP promos (9-20, Blog Bit). But he attempted to blame the nation’s financial ills on the lack of income taxes paid by the poor.

A more preposterous notion could scarcely be conceived. But let’s hear what the respected Economist magazine has to say: “The reason many lower-income working Americans aren’t paying income tax these days, while they continue to pay other taxes, is largely that Republicans have repeatedly cut income taxes, and if you cut income taxes for rich and poor alike then the poor tend to fall off the scale.”

So, this “tipping point” McClanahan and Romney are clamoring about is the direct result of decades of irresponsible GOP economic policies.

B. Gwinette Mulroney

Overland Park

Hard-working citizens

People who work two and three jobs to support their families do not want to be thought of as victims. They are hard-working Americans with a tenacity of spirit who do not have trust fund daddies or safety nets when things go wrong.

Then the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, comes along and in a closed meeting of wealthy donors says, “There are 47 percent who are with him (President Barack Obama), who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.”

The problem is that many of the 47 percent of Americans that Romney refers to are serving in the military, students, the elderly and people who have lost jobs through no fault of their own.

How can someone who disrespects half of the country expect to be rewarded with the presidency?

Penny Moeller

Mission Hills

Compromise lacking

The reality is there is no way our politicians are going to work together and accomplish anything meaningful now or in the near future.

Even after the upcoming election, there will be those who refuse to cooperate and do all they can to cause havoc.

Is that not what we have been witnessing for the last three-plus years? The case for optimism was gone when the right stated, “Our top priority is to make this a one-term president.”

That statement, repeated more than once, should be enough to cause any logical, thinking person to react with outrage.

Then to double down on audacity, we find that most of those who won in the last election took the Grover Norquist pledge not to raise taxes under any condition, and they have proved their allegiance over and above their true oath of office.

Now if you call that patriotism, you need a reality check.

Val Pfannenstiel

Mission

Romney’s offshore cash

There is something fundamentally un-American about hiding U.S. dollars in offshore accounts and Swiss banks.

I understand that it’s legal to do so, but so is desecrating the American flag.

If Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney leads by example, our economic situation is not likely to improve should he be elected to the White House.

Mike Rogers

Parkville

Liberals’ platform

Of course liberals have dropped God from their party platform along with the rest of our founding principles. God hasn’t been welcome there for a long time.

Charley Morasch

Leawood

Pull stoplights on U.S. 71

In the spirit of dearly departed Skip Sleyster, who was so passionate about many subjects that he paid for his “One Moment of Your Time, Please!” column in The Star, I’d like to bring back this chestnut: Get rid of the stoplights on U.S. 71.

There are three grade crossings, which prevent this section of highway from interstate standards, at 55th Street, 59th Street and 63rd Street.

Over the years there have been many accidents at these intersections.

Eliminate the grade crossings and eliminate the carnage, simple as that.

Interstate 49 could link directly to Interstate 29 for a seamless interstate drive all the way to Canada.

But somebody decided it would end at Grandview, where it intersects Interstate 470.

When the highway was planned, there was great consternation from the community that it would sever the neighborhoods and businesses would suffer without grade crossings.

Research would prove that wrong.

If you look closely at this stretch of the road, you will find paths across the median where pedestrians, in effect, jaywalk across a busy freeway.

Is that safe?

For the sake of the next life lost, get rid of the stoplights.

Upgrade all of U.S. 71.

Timothy Earl Osburn

Parkville