Time to get voter ID

Well, another election has come and gone, and it seems that as in other elections, numerous issues arise. I believe that I have an idea that might eliminate at least one of these issues.

We have almost four years before the next presidential election. During a normal year (non-leap year) there are 365 days, so over four years that would be 1,460 days or 35,040 hours.

That seems like plenty of time for everybody to be able to acquire some form of proper photo identification.

That way, if the subject is brought up or someone tries to pass a law requiring everybody to display a photo ID before voting, there won’t be accusations of an attempt at disenfranchising voters.

It’s time for people to move into the 21st century and acquire some form of identification.

Rick Bullock

Clearview City, Kan.

Sal Montalbano

Parkville

Diuguid column

Lewis Diuguid’s Jan. 28 opinion, “To reduce gun ownership, tax weapons like property,” asserting taxation of guns, ammunition and clips seems symptomatic of the left’s increasing frustration and bitterness.

The ramping-up of these liberal trial-balloon pieces is troubling. Liberals are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

Diuguid’s wrongheadedness is stunning. Paying a tax for the privilege of exercising your constitutional right?

Why not a tax on free speech? We could tax every word or idea that Diuguid has, offsetting any damage his inflammatory opinions cause. Also, it would price him and others out of the opinion market, thereby reducing the supply of people such as him.

Not a bad result.

It would be poorer people who would be excluded from gun ownership with his proposed tax.

Liberals hate the wealthy. Why would they want them to be the only ones armed against tyrants or criminals?

The Second Amendment isn’t just for sporting purposes. That’s a ploy to repeal by degrees.

It was a wisdom gained by the experience of living under tyrannical rule. It is healthy for the government to live in fear of the governed.

Yeah, taxing free speech. What could be wrong with that?

James Childress

Smithville

Make KCI adjustments

It is a Wednesday at Kansas City International Airport, and I had sense enough to know that the garage parking at Terminal B would be full. There are no spots from Tuesday through Thursday most weeks.

KCI has two major carriers right now: Southwest and Delta. They are one and two, respectively, in traffic, and the others are not close.

So, why is it they have to be in the same terminal when there is so much dead space in terminals A and C?

If I were a cynic, I would say KCI officials want to make things seem worse than they really are to garner support for their new airport plan.

As an alternative, KCI officials could move Delta to C and give Southwest all of B. This would allow Southwest to set up one security checkpoint for the whole terminal, which seems to be the biggest fiscal complaint about the current arrangement.

KCI officials could give Southwest more gates if the airline wanted to expand service. I am pretty sure this would be a lot cheaper than a new airport, but why spoil the plan for KCI officials?

Sal Montalbano

Parkville

Cut Congress’ budget

I understand that Congress is very concerned about cutting expenses, especially, I assume, the ultraconservative wing. May I suggest that congressional salaries be cut 25 percent to 50 percent.

Along with that, a similar cut should be made in expense accounts and support staff finances.

While it wouldn’t be a huge amount in consideration of the debt, it would indicate a step in the right direction.

I wonder what support they might find from their constituents for such a plan?

Ruth Fine

Paola

Fed up with Congress

Can we impeach the Republicans in the House of Representatives before the next election?

Robert Hedrick

Liberty

Excessive violence

Recently, I had the misfortune of paying to watch the movie “Django Unchained.” This movie is an example of the rubbish that should not be permitted in our theaters.

Zero stars would be more than it deserves. As we try to recover from the horrible Dec. 14 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., one would think that movie house owners would have the decency to not show this kind of filth.

For those who have not seen it, here’s a brief synopsis: Two guys, the stars, shoot everyone they meet. It’s almost like a video game. After 20, I quit counting.

This is interspersed with people being horsewhipped, mauled by dogs and facially branded, blood being splattered on the walls, explosions and general torture.

It is no wonder that a mentally unbalanced person would be encouraged to act out a scene like this. As if the film wasn’t bad enough, many critics thought it was a good movie and had merit.

This further exacerbates the distortions provided by the movie industry. Let us hope that the gun-control legislation bars this type of excessive and unrealistic violence.

William Roth

Lawrence

Nuclear violence in KC

The Jan. 28 front-page article in The Star, “Honeywell plant on the move,” projects a $4.76 billion cost over 20 years in the face of concern about the economy.

Certainly we could question the high cost. But we also have to ask, “How does building nuclear weapons leave a positive legacy for our grandchildren?”

Those who wish to make money off this project would have to ignore this question. And it is not just about jobs.

It’s about what serves the common good. In Kansas City, members of the public will have a chance to express their opinion in a vote on April 2.

People can curb this kind of boondoggle by voting “yes” on Question 3.

Ron Faust

Gladstone

Tackle climate change

Thank you for your insightful Jan. 27 editorial, “United States should lead on climate change.”

This last year, Missouri suffered a drought second only to that of the Dust Bowl years in its severity, and extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common. Global warming is an exacerbating factor, if not the outright cause.

Your leadership on this issue will hopefully help clear the constant misinformation from coal-funded global warming deniers and move the public debate toward finding solutions to global warming that provide a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable future for all of us.

Stuart P. Keating

State Advocate

Environment Missouri

St. Louis

Guarding schoolhouses

We as a nation have embraced the gun, and now we face annihilation by it.

In a society where children are desensitized to violence through interactive video games where the good guys always walk away, we have created an unreal version of reality in the minds of our children.

The argument has been made that to outlaw military assault weaponry would eliminate a lot of our problems. Society has outlawed heroin, meth, cocaine and marijuana, and we see where that has gone.

We as a nation have long allowed ourselves to embrace the notion of a free and armed populace. We now reside in a two-way shooting gallery.

I have a suggestion. Every card-carrying National Rifle Association member and every gun owner should be required to stand guard at the local schoolhouse door for eight hours a month or surrender his guns.

For schools that are hard-pressed to pay for teachers, this would alleviate a problem those same gun owners have created.

Michael Boatright

Kansas City

Poor aim of NRA

So, the National Rifle Association’s solution to the problems of guns is more guns. How totally predictable.

There was a time — a long, long time ago — when the NRA supported sportsmen who pursued beasts and fowl with rifles and shotguns. No hunters would consider using military ordnance to blast their prey to bits with AK-47s or A30 Bushmasters with high-capacity magazines.

However, with the advent of these weapons and the blatant acceptance of their use by civilians, it is time to change the National Rifle Association’s acronym from NRA to NKA — National Killing Agency.

And our legislators who hide behind twisted interpretations of the Second Amendment to justify support of their NKA benefactors are obviously not concerned with the safety of their constituents or the public. They seem to wish only to continue feeding at the NKA’strough.

Lord help us all if we allow this insanity to continue.

Larry Kauffman

Kansas City