Cheers to KC mayor

Kudos to Kansas City Mayor Sly James for his exemplary leadership skills in not allowing some reporters to create unnecessary high drama in playing the insidious blame game at this point in the explosion on the Country Club Plaza.

Lisa Blain

Kansas City, Kan.

Democratic amnesia

The left-wing scare machine is swinging into action.

The lefties would like us to forget that sequestration was President Barack Obama’s idea necessitated by the obstructionism by Democrats on the supercommittee.

How about starting by cutting largesse to Obama voters like illegal immigrants and imprisoned felons?

William Nowack

Leawood

Attack on teachers

This is my 40th year as a teacher in Kansas.

I have never witnessed such a blatant attack on teachers and public education as is occurring right now in our Legislature and executive branch.

The primary election of last summer eliminated most moderate Republicans. It finally brought the extreme right-wing interests the opportunity to advance their agenda unheeded.

A bill in the House severely limits the First Amendment rights of free speech and petitioning of the government by public employees through the collective voice of their organizations.

During the recent public hearings for the bill, Eric Stafford spoke for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, saying, “We need this bill to pass so we can get rid of public-sector unions.”

The laws have been rigged so that we allow huge corporations such as Koch Industries to pour millions of dollars into campaigns, using front groups such as Americans for Prosperity, to influence the outcomes of elections.

But we certainly can’t allow teachers or other public employees to band together to try to counteract what has become a right-wing monopoly of government in our great state of Kansas.

Darrell McCune

Ottawa

Drinking in Kansas

Living near the Missouri border, I know many residents along the state line who live in Kansas but shop for groceries in Missouri for the sole reason of being able to purchase at the same time a bottle of wine or a six pack of full-strength, 5 percent, beer (“real beer”).

I hate to see all of these dollars from my family, neighbors and friends going over to the Missouri side.

Right now, the liquor stores in Kansas can sell only alcohol. They’re pushing an agenda that Kansas would lose jobs if a proposal this session in Topeka succeeds. But what they’re not saying is the law up for review could actually help them.

Wouldn’t they like to better serve their customers by being able to sell cups, ice, mixers and snacks?

HB 2206 has been introduced in the Kansas House, and members of the Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development will hear testimony on it in the next few weeks.

The best effort I’ve seen, to date, in helping to bring about change is being led by Uncork Kansas. To learn more visit uncorkkansas.com or check out the group’s Facebook page.

Mike Sullinger

Prairie Village

22nd Amendment

I want to thank the wise people for ratifying the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1951. Can you imagine what shape our economy would be in if George W. Bush had ben elected for four more years?

Scary thought.

Larry Wilhite

Bonner Springs

Keep abortions legal

It’s been 40 years since Roe v. Wade — the landmark court decision that made abortion legal. Yet women are still fighting to make decisions about their own bodies and lives.

In its decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that the constitutionally protected right to privacy includes every woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions, without interference from politicians.

However, in the four decades since, lawmakers in multiple states — including Kansas and Missouri — still insist on legislating decisions regarding reproductive health by making abortions more difficult to obtain or imposing restrictions on providers.

According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 77 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances, and a 2012 Quinnipiac poll found that 64 percent of American voters agree with the Roe v. Wade ruling, so it’s clear elected officials are at a disconnect with the American public.

Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision that should remain with a woman, her family and her health-care provider, not politicians. The majority of Americans agree — abortion is a private medical decision that should remain safe and legal.

Erin Heger

Shawnee

KC police insensitivity

There are two things I remember vividly from my phone conversation with the Kansas City police: a long number and the click of a phone hanging up. To my dismay, I don’t remember a patrol car rolling up and taking notes on how my crime happened.

No, that’s because nothing happened. I drove my car home with a broken window, writing off any possibility of getting my belongings back. The thief took about $4,000 in property, including my backpack.

What kind of thief steals a kid’s backpack? How can my stuff be retrieved without a police investigation?

I felt like I became a statistic to the police, and as a scared kid who was just robbed of very important things in his life, this wasn’t the response I was looking for.

Maybe I’m asking too much, and I know many officers are attending to much greater and important matters.

But surely one officer could’ve put on the façade of a caring person. Had this happened a mile away in Leawood, I probably would’ve had at least one patrol car swing by to make sure I was OK.

I hope the Kansas City police can work on their responses.

Patrick Byrne

Raymore

Fixing the U.S. economy

Yet another fiscal showdown is about to begin, and Republicans are bent on holding the economy hostage again, like they did last summer, to get their way.

Republicans want to bully us into believing reductions to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits and other dangerous budget cuts such as those that would take food aid from hungry children, weaken education and food safety, and let our bridges and roads crumble are the only things we should be talking about.

Working families shouldn’t take the hit again so we can maintain expensive tax loopholes for Wall Street, drug companies and corporations that outsource jobs benefiting the richest 2 percent of Americans.

By the GOP dragging out the debt ceiling while complaining about cutting costs, they added billions of dollars to our deficit by destroying our AAA rating, costing each taxpayer.

Our priorities should be creating jobs by investing in infrastructure and education, raising wages, reducing inequality and increasing economic security for working people. And we can do it by first ending tax giveaways for Wall Street and the richest 2 percent.

Le Goebel

Pleasant Hill

Redo 2nd Amendment

Would it not be wonderful if there never would have been a Second Amendment? The amendment gives every person the excuse to own one or more weapons for self-defense.

How many does any one person need? You see, there would not be a need for self-defense, as the hunters and/or sport people would use these guns only for their activities and might even leave their guns at the clubs.

The parents and all of us would have peace of mind, and the children would be safe at school. Even if the government could pass some new laws, it might stop some of the killings, but it would hardly make a difference.

Things have gotten out of hand, and keeping track of millions of guns is an impossible task.

It seems to me if the founders could have foreseen the killings, they would have had second thoughts about the Second Amendment.

Maria Baldwin

Kansas City

Taxes to limit guns

I like my guns of every kind.

I keep them near at hand

I hope the rest of you won’t mind

If I shoot to beat the band.

I now can keep my guns concealed

And take them to the mall.

Statistics seldom are revealed

How many deaths in all

Are caused because my careless gun

Is found by a child at play

Or a gang of kids out having fun

Use my guns to kill today.

So, if you cannot see so far

As to limit the guns you store,

Please let us tax them like your car

And perhaps you won’t yearn for more.

Ruth Biggs

Leawood