Clinton-Rice ticket

Definitely, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should run for president of the United States in 2016.

And, of course, her running mate should be Condoleezza Rice. (Condoleezza should patriotically and happily switch parties.)

There are absolutely no others who are more experienced, knowledgeable and fair-minded in our politics. What a pair.

Annie L. Brown

Kansas City

Voter ID rerun

Sen. Will Kraus has proposed another voter identification law for Missouri. What on earth is he thinking?

This has already failed twice in Missouri. And voter ID laws have had problems in other states, too.

The laws have been recalled, failed a court challenge, been delayed by the courts or been blocked by the Justice Department.

Given a lack of evidence of voter fraud, one must wonder why an elected official would waste state resources at a time when education funding is being cut.

Several Republicans are on record having admitted that the voter ID laws were meant to suppress the vote. We can only conclude the same.

Voter ID laws throughout the country have been promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a right-wing group funded by corporations to promote corporate interests, not the interests of the American people.

Working with Republican legislatures across the country, ALEC has gotten taxes for corporations cut, unions disabled and regulations rolled back.

Corporations are the most profitable they’ve ever been, and the gap between the rich and the poor is the greatest since the 1920s.

Let’s stop this attempt to let corporate interests trump what is best for Missourians.

Anne McGregor

Kansas City

Develop former mall

I am writing about the Bannister Mall area. The formerly thriving and bustling mall is now a pathetic and grotesque excuse for what was and what could’ve been.

After opening in 1980 the Bannister Mall had been a place for all ages to cooperate and enjoy themselves for a nice day of shopping.

But after developing a reputation for being a “high crime area,” it seems that no one is putting any time or effort into redeveloping the long-abandoned property.

The site looks as if it would be an easy place for crime to fester now. Actually crime and the population have considerably declined with the loss of that once-flourishing mall.

As a kid who grew up and still lives in the community, I would love to see more time and effort put into making the Bannister area a better place to live.

Eric A. Perry II

Kansas City

Time to raise taxes

Come on, people, we have to raise taxes. There are important things we must do.

There are many more planets we must spend $2.5 billion per flight on to determine whether there has ever been water there.

The General Services Administration has to reserve suites for $2,000 a night for its meetings.

There are many more aircraft like the unusable multibillion-dollar F-22 that must be designed.

Our public servants have many important overseas trips and vacations that must be taken.

And on and on and on.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Raising taxes is the only way.

Bill Inghram

Kansas City

Carrying guns in open

Regarding open carry, I’d prefer that people carry their guns out where we can see them rather than hiding them. They should have to deal with the consequences of how everyone will treat them rather than sit smug with their little secret.

John Stark

Overland Park

Backward gun logic

The National Rifle Association’s response to the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults is to arm people in schools. Four firefighters not long afterward were shot while trying to respond to a fire and do their jobs.

Should firefighters take armed guards to each fire scene?

I think arming people is what got us into this.

Seriously, having armed guards roaming the hallways of our high schools makes me think those kids outnumber the guards. How long would it take before the students take the gun?

It’s there. They are angry. They react.

That’s why good guys turn into bad guys real fast.

Eileen Ellis

Kansas City

New conservative era

A while back, when the president and Republicans couldn’t agree on whether it was day or night or what day it was, I came up with this brilliant idea: Republicans should give President Barack Obama everything he wants. And by everything, I meant everything.

The president wants higher taxes on the wealthy, even though that might lead us into another recession. You got it.

Obama wants to fully implement the Affordable Care Act, which could raise about 20 new taxes and keep the economy in the doldrums.

We won’t waste the president’s time, and ours, fighting over it.

Whatever else you want, Mr. President, it’s yours — because we’re tired of fighting over everything with you.

But there was a method to this madness.

I figured when the economy tanks, when millions more Americans lose their jobs, when people realize Obamacare is the nightmare Republicans were warning about, the president and his cronies in Congress would get all the blame, and that would usher in a new era of conservative ascendance.

Larry McCallister

Overland Park

Protect animal rights

Many companies continue to do animal testing. It is very hard to know exactly how many animals endure this pain.

Most of the animals that are being experimented on are mice, rats and rabbits.

Millions of animals are poisoned, blinded and killed every year, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

There are many cheaper and faster alternatives that produce more accurate information, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Human skin model tests are one of the many alternatives.

But some companies do not want to change their way of testing, if what they are doing is working.

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, U.S. laws allow animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, drowned and addicted to drugs.

The animal rights group takes a big role in preventing any type of animal abuse. It also has a quote posted on its website stating, “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any way.”

If companies aren’t going to test on humans, then why test animals?

Animals have feelings and emotions just as we do.

Maleah Moorman

Lee’s Summit

Life-saving heart

My family is most grateful for the professional, caring service provided by the St. Luke’s Health System’s Mid America Heart Institute in successfully transplanting a heart for my husband.

We are not able to say enough good things about every staff member at the hospital who assisted in his care.

Last year at this time, we were unsure if it would be our last Thanksgiving together.

The transplant would not have been possible without the wonderful gift from the donor family. We will forever be thankful for the family members’ decision to continue life even while mourning their personal tragedy.

I would encourage all families to have the discussion about becoming an organ donor and making individual wishes known.

In addition to signing your driver’s licenses as donors, it is important that your loved ones are aware of your wishes.

Diane Stewart

Shawnee

Love endures all

Except for mealtime, my wife, Twila, an Alzheimer’s disease patient, is pretty well confined to bed and restroom trips on the arm of helping aides.

During the hours with her one day, I thought she was still the most beautiful lady in the world, and I am so fortunate to have her as my wife.

During our first date many years ago, she invited me to a sorority party.

Her voice was soft. Her smile made me smile. The touch of her hand brought goose bumps with joy. Her laugh was happy, and when she spoke, I enjoyed listening.

Wow! Who is this girl who can do this to me? Suddenly the thought came.

Here is a delightful young lady who is beautiful.

Here was a lady with innocent “girl power,” and I loved it.

Several dates later, we found ourselves laughing, looking at each other, holding hands and swinging on a porch swing, and then we had our first kiss.

That was the beginning of a wonderful and true relationship, and after World War II, we became man and wife.

Now, 62 years later, she continues to thrill me.

How fortunate and wonderful.

Doug Sutherland

Raymore