Avoiding car crashes

When picking up my sister from Notre Dame de Sion High School, I witnessed a near accident that could’ve been deadly for both drivers. The incident appeared to have occurred because while exiting the school and making a left turn, it is very hard to see around the corner because of the natural landscape.

I’m sure that this is not the first such near miss. This particular section of Wornall Road is heavily traveled at all times of the day.

I propose that there be a stop sign or even a stoplight for cars coming around the corner to avoid such possible collisions. I think it is in the best interest of the school and the community as a whole to address this issue as soon as possible.

Jordan Churchill

Kansas City

Iran’s echoes of war

Each time I hear the name of Iran on the news, a hint of déjà vu reminds me of the years before World War II when the warnings of an approaching war were long and loud.

Because we did not heed them in time, we suffered more loss of life and territory than we should have. Europe and the Pacific were overrun, and we lost most of our surface battle fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Fortunately, at that time events moved more slowly than they do today, and we had time to recover, regroup and rearm.

Should we persist in ignoring the warnings of a nuclear bomb and delivery capability by Iran, I hope we get time to take cover.

William. H. Finnegan

Independence

Akin for U.S. Senate

I cannot imagine why anyone regardless of political party could vote for Sen. Claire McCaskill vs. Republican challenger Todd Akin.

Is Akin the sharpest pencil in the drawer ? Probably not.

Is he an honest, good, Christian and family man? Yes. Is he guilty of opening mouth before engaging brain? Yes.

Are any of us guilty of that? Definitely. Is he just an average guy with average intelligence? Yes he is.

But the most important thing is he is not owned by anyone. You cannot say that about McCaskill.

McCaskill is a President Barack Obama-union puppet. Before her re-election campaign, she was totally in the Obama camp.

Now she is staying away from him like the dog that killed the skunk. She will quickly go back to that smell if she is re-elected.

The unions own her. She helped pass the health care bill with the rest of the skunks. She voted for bills that provided her and her husband a great deal of money for his business.

She “forgot” to pay taxes on her personal airplane. (How many of us have that luxury?)

Think before you vote. I trust Mr. Average Akin vs. the aristocrat.

Charles Jackson

Platte City

Presidential hopefuls

President Barack Obama is a showman, not a statesman. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is a statesman and not a showman.

Darrell L. Apple

Kansas City

U.S. political amnesia

Consider the three most recent presidents and the wannabe president. They are Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and George W. Bush and Mitt Romney.

There’s a similarity between the first two and the second two. The first two were raised by strong, single, free-spirited mothers and had hard-scrabble lives as kids, if not in poverty, nearly so.

Yet they advanced themselves through education and hard work. They had no background in the business of politics.

The second two were raised in wealth and privilege. Neither was particularly interested in education, neither had to work (not to say they didn’t work; they just didn’t have to), and both were from families of professional politicians.

Then it occurred to me how similar my upbringing was to Clinton and Obama and how that probably has a lot to do with the disgust and disdain I have for Bush, Romney and their ilk. I truly don’t understand how anyone who was not “to the manor born” as they were can support them.

I know people whose backgrounds are similar to mine who support them. I honestly don’t understand how.

Have they completely forgotten who they are and whence they came?

Paul DeRanek

Kansas City

Hypocritical Republicans

Years ago I had to ask a friend what the expression “hoisted on their own petard” meant.

Now it seems appropriate to use.

Assuming that right-wing Republicans were responsible for the myriad “Obama is a Muslim” emails, it is perfect that they now must support a Mormon.

I personally adhere to the Constitution and know that no religious requirement can be imposed upon a person running for president.

Nonetheless, it does my heart good to know that those Muslim rumormongers are up there swinging on their petards.

Mormons are wonderful people.

However, if they subscribe to Mormon teachings, they simply are not biblical Christians.

We are never to judge; only God makes those judgments.

To be a Christian one would need to denounce the Book of Mormon and the teachings of Joseph Smith.

Christians are cautioned by the apostle Paul to “beware someone preaching a different Jesus” and the apostle John to “test the spirits to assure that they are from God.”

I hope that those who were sure that President Barack Obama is a Muslim will feel a little bit hypocritical as they vote for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Ruth Sandefur

Leawood

Follow money to love

President Barack Obama has the bulk of his wealth invested in U.S. Treasury bills and notes. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has much of his in foreign bank accounts.

So, America, as actor Telly Savalas in his role in “Kojak” used to say, “Who loves ya, baby?”

Judi Vallejo

Overland Park

Kudos to night workers

There is a side to Kansas City many of you 8-to-5ers will never see. It is the people who work overnight all night.

These people are the auditors, taxicab drivers, the security guards and the trash truck drivers. This group works all night so the city will run smoothly during the daytime.

Your bedtime is their 7 a.m. Unfortunately, it seems like these people are unappreciated at times, and we do not realize how crucial a role they play within the city.

I invite anyone who reads this to go downtown during the 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. hours on a weeknight to see all the work that takes place overnight. You’d be surprised.

To all of you working the overnight hours, cheers to you.

Joe DeMarco

Overland Park

Cheers for KC, leaders

I had the opportunity this summer, on multiple trips, to visit a few Midwestern cities for the first time: Omaha, Neb., Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, Milwaukee and Chicago. My experiences in each — all favorable — have given me a new and even more favorable perspective on my hometown, Kansas City.

I traveled by car. This gave me a stronger sense for each metropolitan area — the suburbs, traffic, points of interest and overall livability.

Each trip caused me to measure my hometown differently, and I want to applaud what I believe is a core of professionals whose insight has Kansas City on track for future success — Mayor Sly James; Rick Hughes, CEO of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Bill Dietrich, president of the Downtown Council.

These individuals work hard to implement long-term programs and infrastructure that keep Kansas City a viable destination for families and jobs.

Riley Dunn

Lee’s Summit