Letters: Readers offer their perspectives on Trump, illegal immigrants, Medicare and the Chiefs
Half-blind trust?
Perhaps the moral (electoral) majority can elucidate: Does Trump’s proposed half-blind trust mean that all Republicans see no conflicts of interest or corruption and the rest of us see it plain as day?
Is it, “No peeky between my fingers”?
Yup, the biggest flaw in Obamacare is no coverage for vision.
Steve Porter
Cleveland, Mo.
Be aggressive
We need to develop a way to expedite the deportation of large numbers of foreign nationals who are illegally entering or maintaining residence in the United States. The American taxpayer should not be expected to foot the bill for people who have no moral or legal right to be here.
Sanctuary cities should be dealt with swiftly and, if need be, aggressively. The anchor-baby loophole is being ruthlessly exploited by foreign nationals and no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally intended. This antiquated provision in the law needs to be eliminated.
We need to be selective in the people we grant citizenship to. They must reflect our religious, moral and constitutional values. If they don’t, they have no business being granted citizenship.
We are not citizens of the world, but of the United States of America. Our obligation is to our own welfare first, not the rest of the world. The days of accepting freeloaders into our midst must come to an end.
Gregory H. Bontrager
Hutchinson, Kan.
Lead danger
A Kansas City toddler playing in her living room places her mouth on the window sill. Her toy drops and rolls across the floor. Upon retrieving it, she starts chewing on it.
Harmless toddler behavior, right? Unfortunately, this child is at risk for the neurocognitive effects of lead poisoning.
Common sources of household lead include dust, soil, toys, imported spices, imported makeup, ceramic dishware and lead-based paint found in homes built before 1978.
Data from 2014 revealed 522 children in the metropolitan area with elevated blood lead levels. This number significantly underrepresents the number of cases in our city. In Jackson County, it is believed that only 20 percent of all children are screened for lead.
Infants and toddlers are at highest risk because of normal mouthing behaviors that lead to lead ingestion. There is no safe lead level. Even low-level elevation is associated with lower IQ levels, inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, antisocial behavior and other behavioral concerns.
There are no medications or therapies for low-level elevations. The only solution is removing the source.
Families can contact their pediatricians or local health departments about lead testing, hazard identification and prevention.
Shawna Patch, M.D.
Lenexa
Protect your jobs
This is an open letter to Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. Sam Graves, as well as a warning to anyone near retirement age.
Most of us are not wealthy, but we expected to have a modicum of retirement security through traditional Medicare, as did our parents and grandparents.
If you do not resist and prevent the destruction of Medicare that is being proposed by the GOP Congress and president-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointments, your careers will be over.
Seniors vote, and we are not so stupid as to believe that Medicare is going broke, yet it has money for the private profit required by rapacious insurance companies.
We know what will happen to premiums and benefits if our relatively high-risk pool is turned over to these vultures — and so do you.
So protect us and your jobs. Relatively small changes can fix Medicare without gutting this most popular program.
Seniors, call and email your federal representatives before this obscene attempt to destroy your lives advances.
Jeff Gerner
Gladstone
Rename the Chiefs
I like the Kansas City football team, but a name change is needed because it stereotypes Native Americans.
Native Americans have a great culture and history. They are human beings, not sports mascots and logos.
I have a couple suggestions for a new team name: the Kansas City Red Wolves or the Kansas City Wolf Pack. I hope team chairman Clark Hunt will change the name.
Jack Mike
Independence
This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers offer their perspectives on Trump, illegal immigrants, Medicare and the Chiefs."