Vote for McCaskill

One of the most dedicated senators that Missouri has had is Sen. Claire McCaskill.

She has investigated wasteful and abusive contracts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She strives to root out government waste by focusing on contracts and the means by which the federal government provides accountability to those contracts.

She supports earmark reform, credit-card regulations, consumer protection and full benefits to our veterans.

Sen. McCaskill reaches across the aisle to work with Republicans to get things done and has helped pass laws that bar insurance companies from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions.

She is always in there fighting for the rights of the people.

She is truly a public servant who works for us all and who needs to be able to continue her work.

Give her your vote this November.

Judy Fremerman

Prairie Village

Greed, global warming

Why is Earth experiencing climate change? Since the Industrial Revolution, rich nations have been scrambling to extract natural resources in the name of mercantile profit.

As resources ran out on the home front, colonization of foreign lands commenced. Minerals and precious metals brought riches while laying waste to peoples, civilizations and lands.

Why do countries develop nuclear power for energy sources and military might? The bigger the weapons, the more power.

As for nuclear energy, it appears to be a way to keep the home fires burning in case some rogue country decides to make a first strike.

Corporations profit from nuclear power and weapons. They give people jobs and often illnesses.

The bottom line is profit — not for the worker but those at the top.

War is profitable. It allows the aggressors access to resources. Often these resources include cheap or free labor.

Add to this mix the idea that the powerful nation’s god is duly on its side, proved by passages in holy books. Whether this means war, colonization (complete with the premise of converting the heathens) or extraction of natural resources, the unrestrained pursuit of profit lies at the root of all destructive forces.

Rosemarie Woods

Kansas City

Hollow McCaskill

Sen. Claire McCaskill is praised for her work in reforming wartime contracting. So what did she do that was so outstanding?

Anyone can read an inspector general audit report that identifies waste and misuse of government funds and then rant and rave about it during a congressional hearing. But nobody was held accountable.

There are plenty of laws and regulations already on the books to prevent misuse of government property. Until there is better enforcement, she is in my opinion just another blowhard politician.

That she has achieved.

Will Hodge

Higginsville, Mo.

Private equity pluses

How come nobody wants to talk about the millions of jobs and companies saved by private equity?

These people are skilled at turning around failing businesses and troubled companies and subsequently saving jobs and providing tax revenue and charitable giving.

Private equity is a risky proposition, and usually it is asked to step in when conventional funding is not available or too expensive.

As in life, there are winners and losers in business, and I know private equity firms think they have failed when they have to liquidate a business.

So let’s look at the millions of jobs saved by the hard-working people in private equity who do turnarounds using private capital and stop demonizing them over the small percentage of companies that fail.

Nobody likes to see a business close, not the employees, not the investors, not the communities.

But there is little recognition for saving a company, even though people in private equity rejoice when a business is saved.

We should be thankful that private equity is available to save jobs.

George Benjamin

Olathe

Doors for disabled

On the reopening of the Department of Motor Vehicle location in Mission, I spent 2½ hours there recently to get my new vehicle registered.

The new office is nice, but it lacks doors for people with disabilities.

I ride a cart and had to wait five to 10 minutes just to get someone to open the door for me. Oh, the outside doors are handicapped accessible, but the new doors to the enclosed space for DMV are not.

I also checked the Olathe DMV, and its doors are not handicapped accessible.

You would think that Johnson County offices would be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Larry R. Thomas

Shawnee

Runners create hazard

At 4:35 on a recent Tuesday afternoon, I approached the intersection of Tomahawk Road and Mission Road from the west. I had a green light.

Here were 10 or more young male runners on the northwest corner (the corner with the Pioneer Family sculpture). I was almost to the crosswalk, about to turn north on Mission, when the runners took off running south, right in front of me.

The light, by the way, was still green on my side, so it was clearly red in their direction. I braked and didn’t hit any of them, but next time they may not be so lucky.

Someone needs to have a serious talk with these boys. They were lucky.

I would have taken out at least three of them if I hadn’t been paying attention and hadn’t been driving slowly.

Marc Robinson

Prairie Village

Criticism telling

In response to Eric Winston’s scolding of Chiefs fans, a contributor to Fans’ Takes said, “I applaud (Winston) for standing behind his QB.”

I think I just discovered why the Chiefs are 1-4. Aren’t the offensive linemen supposed to stand in front of their quarterback?

No wonder Cassel suffered a concussion.

Larry Hoffman

Excelsior Springs