Letters: Readers discuss newborns’ crib safety, Josh Svaty’s lackluster campaign for Kansas governor and schoolchildren who can’t pay for lunch
Paris decision
Not only did this Republican president embarrass the United States while he was in Europe, now he is alienating our closest allies by exiting the Paris climate accord.
It would be good to know what scientific experts coached him in determining this was a hoax, as he always stated in his campaign speeches.
Also, I’m certain our illustrious Republican representatives (Rep. Kevin Yoder and Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts) fell right in line with their ignorant leadership as always.
What a sad day for the people of this state and our country.
Susan Tozier
Olathe
Plain crib, safe crib
Would you leave your newborn in a bathtub unattended? Drive him or her around town without a proper car seat? Many parents are practicing habits potentially just as dangerous although not nearly as obvious.
I am talking about the environment in which we lay our babies down to sleep.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 25 percent of sudden unexpected infant deaths in 2015 were due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. These were babies’ lives we could have saved.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommendations on what it means to place your baby in the safest possible sleep environment. This includes not sleeping with your baby and keeping the crib free from extra clutter, including blankets, pillows, toys and bumper pads. These items may make for a more attractive crib, but they put your baby at significant risk.
Whether you are expecting and decorating a nursery for the first time, recycling supplies from a previous nursery or buying a gift for an expectant mother, remember to consider the risks these common items pose.
A plain-looking crib is an easy price to pay for a safe baby. Make the right choice.
Megan Tucker, M.D.
Kansas City
Real definitions
Leaks: Publicly revealing information counter to the United States’ interest.
Whistleblowing: Publicly revealing information about improper behavior on the part of a government or business official.
The so-called leaks that President Donald Trump whines about are actually whistleblowing. And, of course, the only true leaks in this sad state of our affairs come from the Donald in the Oval Office, of all places, sharing highly sensitive, confidentially shared information with Russians.
Inexplicably palling around with the Russians and later bullying our European Union and NATO allies? Go figure.
Ronald Reagan is truly rolling over in his grave, as the cliche goes.
The Donald defensively opines after the fact that he, as president, has the authority to disclose any information he wants. Does that make it right or in the best interest our great nation? I think absolutely not.
E. Eugene Harrison
Mission
Get serious, Svaty
Dear Josh Svaty,
You don’t have a website or social media presence where people can see you in your bid for Kansas governor. The other Democrat, Carl Brewer, doesn’t manage his own social media presence.
Are you really just as out of touch as he is? It costs $200 to get a website on the same level as Republican Wink Hartman’s.
Unless you step up your game , you will lose to him as well.
You know what Bernie Sanders did? He started talking in the middle of a nearly empty park to a group of 20 people. Why can’t you be more like that?
Come to the cities. Stop trying to persuade these stubborn Republican farmers in western Kansas to vote for you. They never will. Focus on Wichita, Overland Park, Lawrence and Kansas City. Ignore everything else that doesn’t fall on the path of Interstate 70.
Do you want to lose? When I Google your name, I cannot find a single video of you even declaring. All there is (after extensive digging) is a 43-second audio clip on KPR’s website that has you complaining about “the problem.”
Either put a little effort into your campaign or quit now.
Be like Bernie.
Mikey Coleman
Overland Park
Lunch shaming
I read The Star’s May 27 editorial, “The lessons of lunch shaming at Harrisonville Elementary School” (12A), and I have never been so ashamed of America to think this is happening to children in this country.
What has happened to society that allows children to be shamed because they can’t pay for their lunches?
We all pay taxes for the schools. We should stand up and say, “No more.”
My heart is hurting so badly I want to cry.
Marilyn Pay
Oak Grove
This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss newborns’ crib safety, Josh Svaty’s lackluster campaign for Kansas governor and schoolchildren who can’t pay for lunch."