Krugman column

I’m offended. Paul Krugman, in his Sept. 22 column, “GOP is full of contempt for the working class,” once again twists the truth and makes outrageous assumptions just to further the socialist programs of the left.

His column highlights the despicable tactics the Democrats are using to stay in office. I’m sure I read one of his columns awhile back that lamented the loss of civil discourse in U.S. politics today.

Yet Mr. Krugman is one of the biggest destroyers of civility in print today.

Mike Scarpelli

Lenexa

KCI canine unit

Thank you for your nice Sept. 23 Star Magazine article about the Kansas City Police Department’s canine unit. It was very interesting.

But I want to mention that there is another police canine unit in this city. It is at Kansas City International Airport. The officers train their trusty animals continuously to keep them ready for each and every related problem that might take place.

The handlers are diligent and conscientious Kansas City Aviation Police officers who take and carry out their jobs very seriously. They are tested and graded by other agencies, such as Homeland Security, on their performance.

I want people to be aware of something they don’t see taking place. But rest assured that the travelers passing through our airport are in good hands quietly behind the scene.

The canines and their handlers are on the watch and on the prowl.

Ed Kline

Kansas City

Hot fuel?

Where does the 90-degree gasoline come from that you are concerned about in your Sept. 26 editorial “A costly verdict hurts consumers”? Service stations pump gas up from underground storage tanks, which are cooled by the ground.

The fuel heats up and expands in the vehicle’s tank, which is designed to allow the expansion of the cool fuel it receives.

Ed Yeater

Raymore

Seeking medical help

Recently, it has occurred to me I need to seek help concerning possibly being diabetic, having shortness of breath, the inability for sores on my legs to heal and a seizure. While I don’t think it’s an emergency, it seems time to seek professional help.

I was laid off from Union Station a year ago and no longer have insurance. The free clinic is full, and Truman Medical Center says I cannot visit the diabetic clinic without a doctor’s referral.

Do I have to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance to receive attention? The woman who answers the phone in a diabetes center is most unpleasant, and so I’m trying to find out how to achieve results.

Terry Giboney

Kansas City

Medicare rip-offs

After a recent hospital stay, I returned home to find a guy, the very next day, at my door with a large oxygen converter, which he proceeded to set up in my house. I said, “Hold it. My oxygen level is fine. The inhalation therapist at the hospital told me my breathing level was OK.”

He said, “Your doctor ordered it.”

I responded, “But I don’t need it.”

He said, “Medicare pays for it. It doesn’t cost you a cent.”

Therein lies the problem. I made him take it back.

Other instances came up during my confinement when I was informed that I didn’t have to worry because Medicare and my secondary insurance provider would cover all costs. Aren’t I the lucky one?

But, you see, someone has to pay for all this. Look in the mirror, Mr. or Mrs. American citizen. It’s you.

Do I believe that Medicare is good for the country? Yes.

Does either political party have the answer? They do not.

Oversight committees, congressional intervention, complete overhaul? It’s all in the offing.

They’re ripping our Medicare off, folks. Let’s somehow get it stopped.

Bob Hemenway

Kansas City

Romney bad for women

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s policies are an assault on women and would erase all the progress women have made in the last 50 years.

First, Romney and Paul Ryan plan to ban all abortions, even in case of rape or incest.

Second, they would defund Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive health care and family planning to 5 million women a year.

Third, they plan to ban all forms of hormonal birth control.

Lastly, they would repeal the Affordable Care Act, which will provide women coverage for birth control and other health screenings. Thanks to widespread access to birth control, abortion rates have declined since 1990.

But the GOP plan to ban contraceptives would increase unwanted pregnancies. Republicans favor deregulation of corporations and big banks, but they want to over-regulate women’s reproductive rights.

How dare Romney and Ryan impose their conservative moral values on women and return us to the Dark Ages?

Jane Toliver

Leawood

Brownback hurts Kansas

Gov. Sam Brownback has decided to cater to the needs of the wealthy. The more one earns, the lower taxes one has to pay.

There are those of us who already are struggling to pay what we owe in taxes. Next year, we will be forced to pay even more thanks to Brownback’s plan.

I find it extremely disturbing that we are being forced to pay for the massive gap caused by tax cuts.

There needs to be a much better way to address this problem.

We need to support local candidates who support equality in taxes.

We need to ask our state candidates their views on Brownback’s tax plan. Their responses will tell volumes about their views on whether they truly support the public.

Leslie Tomita

Lenexa

KC pension blues

The Star’s Sept. 25 editorial, “New wake-up calls on public safety pensions,” lists several fixes for city employees’ underfunded pensions.

One reason for the shortfalls is the city’s failure to contribute fully to the funds for a number of years predating the recession.

Paying what it agreed to should be on the list. I’ve never heard of an employee putting in only what he wants.

One of the fixes suggested is to reduce the “mostly automatic 3 percent annual cost-of-living adjustment,” also known as COLA. In truth, retirees receive a 3 percent COLA only once after their first year of retirement.

That amount stays the same every year thereafter, translating to 2.36 percent at 10 years and 1.91 percent at 20 years. The historical rate of inflation is 3.36 percent, so retirees’ COLAs start short and decline over time. Cost-of-living adjustments should be taken off the list.

A city is as good as the employees it hires.

Start selling them short and see how much luck we’ll have finding people willing to get shot at, run into burning buildings, stand knee-deep in freezing mud or maintain our parks and roads.

Capt. Tom Wilson

Kansas City

Fire Department

Retired

Kansas City

Becoming a U.S. citizen

I received my citizenship legally almost 30 years ago. I had to work hard for it during a six-month process.

I studied a 95-page pamphlet containing the history of the United States and its government, with many dates to memorize.

I had to recite the presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan — in order.

It was a great learning experience, and I think everyone who desires to become an American citizen needs to go through that procedure.

In addition, I was fingerprinted, checked by the FBI and had to present two witnesses who had known me for at least five years. An agent of the immigration service administered the half-hour exam, which I passed with flying colors to truly be a legal American citizen.

I love my new country, and I especially love to live in the Midwest.

Christl M. Upchurch

Overland Park

Chiefs math lesson

I love the Chiefs. I want to help them win.

I hope this math tip will help them. 3+3+3+3+3 will never equal 7+7+7+7+7. So, come on, guys, go for the sevens.

Ellen McLanahan

Lee’s Summit

Chiefs’ effect on KC

With the atrocious start to the Kansas City Chiefs’ season, here are the early winners and losers:

• Loser No. 1 — network TV. Why should I be confined to a television and watch the Chiefs play horribly? I’ll probably doze off anyway during the game.

• Loser No. 2 — grocery stores. It used to be that we’d have friends over, and everyone would bring appetizers. I guess we don’t need wings, chips and party pizzas from the stores now that we aren’t watching the game in a social setting.

• Winner — 101 The Fox. Instead of sitting on my couch in front of a TV, I can listen to the Chiefs on the radio as they stink the place up. Meanwhile, I continue to work in the yard or in the garage.

Ed O’Toole

Kansas City