Readers share views on discrimination, Medicaid expansion and child abuse
End discrimination
The message being sent to Indiana and Arkansas by corporate America is that we will not put up with discrimination, even if it is caused by a strong Christian belief.
It amazes me that someone hasn’t come up with an easy answer to this question.
I submit that if a business owner’s beliefs are so strong that he or she might discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, then that business owner should simply close his or her business.
Problem solved.
Thomas Galbreath
Independence
Medicaid expansion
If your state representative has basically prevented the Medicaid expansion, and one of your friends dies basically because he couldn’t get into an emergency room because it has been closed, you can blame your state lawmaker.
The majority party in the General Assembly decided to stop the federal exchange, and the state doesn’t have its own, so you may be paying out of your pocket instead of getting a subsidy.
Realize that hospitals were subsidized by the federal government before the Affordable Care Act, and your representatives didn’t think anything about that. By the way, that was more expensive.
And remember those having Medicare, a government program, would be saying, “Keep the government out of my health care.”
Wake up, Missouri.
H. Lon Swearingen
Kansas City
Senseless promotion
Why does The Star continue to promote Jeff Roe, with a Sunday front-page puff piece no less (3-29, A1, “Consultant weathering a political storm”)?
Thomas Hogan
Kansas City
No U.S. rescue
My friends, I’m on my high horse, and I invite you to climb up here with me.
I am outraged.
The view from here is bloody, and the world seems to be in the process of being taken over by barbarians. What is wrong with this great country?
Why isn’t the United States doing more to put an end to this brutality?
I have always believed that the United States could be counted on to demand justice, protect the weak and fight for what is right. So why, from my seat on this high horse, do I see innocent people being beheaded, women and children being slaughtered and military prisoners being burned alive, and my beloved country doesn’t seem to be doing much about it?
What has happened to us?
Where is our reliable world leadership? It’s time to ask that question of our president and Congress.
The world needs the answer, and we are running out of time.
Frances Carmack
Kansas City
Prevent child abuse
As I read the tragic March 26 story in The Star, “Child ‘in pretty bad shape,’” about the abuse and neglect that occurred in Independence, I realized how much work we have before us during National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
As coordinator of KC Child Abuse Roundtable Coalition, I am writing to encourage every citizen to write down the toll-free numbers for Kansas and Missouri and call whenever there are possible signs of abuse or neglect: 1-800-922-5330 for Kansas, 1-800-392-3738 for Missouri.
Our theme this month in Kansas City is “Be their voice — speak up to prevent child abuse.”
There were people in the Independence neighborhood who were interviewed, and posts on Facebook indicate some people clearly knew of this tragic situation.
I am sure there is a child in the hospital today who wishes someone had called about his or her situation. Remember: Calls can be made anonymously.
Please pay attention to children in your world, (friends, co-workers, family, neighbors) and report when you suspect something is not right. Your call could save an innocent child’s life.
Kansas City police Chief Darryl Forté announced in January that the first homicide of 2015 was a victim of child abuse. We can do better and we must.
Debby Howland
Coordinator
KC Child Abuse
Roundtable Coalition
Jefferson City
Campaign financing
A March 31 letter writer attempted to paint contributors George Soros and Michael Bloomberg among others as the true political panderers concerning campaign contributions. His figures not mine: Soros gave $3.8 million and Bloomberg $23 million.
A less well-known family contributed $74 million, all to Democratic candidates. In contrast, one Koch family gave $5.8 million and the other $2.5 million to the GOP.
What the letter writer failed to mention was the group known as the Koch Consortium pledged nearly $900 million to 2016 elections nationwide.
This reminds me of the saying attributed to Mark Twain: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, some of the uber-wealthy now have the hobby of buying politicians. When billionaires in Palm Beach, Fla., and Las Vegas whistled, who came running to audition for president of the United States?
That would be former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Rand Paul and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
I don’t need deceptive, handpicked figures and statistics to see which politicians are for sale and who is buying them.
Richard Bono
Lenexa
Liberalism lives
Because only people who live in Kansas have a right to comment on the death of liberalism, I claim my right to present an opposing opinion.
Liberalism in Kansas has not died simply because the ruling Republicans have managed to gerrymander the districts and suppress voter registration. It has become increasingly obvious that the only reasons Kansas remains a red state is that the liberals in this state are deprived of their rights to change the political climate and the Koch brothers can buy the elections.
I applaud The Star for its opinion pages and will continue to subscribe and read the daily paper even if some of the letters to the editor do not fit with my idea of what is “correct.”
Glenda Channel
Edwardsville
Toll road alternative
Instead of a very expensive upgrade to Interstate 70 between Kansas City and St. Louis, why not a much cheaper upgrade in Missouri to U.S. 36? Make it interstate quality from St. Joseph to Hannibal, Mo.
Move I-70 traffic to an alternate highway. U.S. 36 across northern Missouri, upgraded to an interstate, would provide such an alternative.
U.S. 36 from St Joseph is already a very good four-lane, divided highway that connects to I-72 at the Mississippi River in Hannibal. I-72 across Illinois connects to I-55, I-74 and I-57 at Urbana, and continues east as I-74 into the large interstate highways at Indianapolis.
A multiyear project to complete limited access of U.S. 36 surely would cost a fraction of the cost to build a six-lane highway or convert I-70 to a toll road.
A future realistic option could be to extend Missouri I-72 from St. Joseph via a new Kansas I-72 connecting to I-70 and I-335 in Topeka.
The beauty of Missouri and Kansas I-72 is that southwest/northeast transcontinental traffic could completely bypass St. Louis, Kansas City and Topeka.
The ease and convenience of I-72 would self-advertise its existence.
Bill Mason
Lansing
Guns, vegetables
Some have declared that guns are now easier to buy than vegetables. Sure thing.
Haven’t you seen the endless bins of weapons at Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Publix, Kroger’s, Safeway, Van’s, Wal-Mart and the farmers’ markets? Just the other day I picked up a five-pound bag of 9 mms, on sale to boot.
It’s inconvenient to have to go all the way to the canned ammo aisle for bullets, however. You’d think they could plan better than that.
At least the private store brand is usually cheaper. You have to feel for those pioneering vegetarians, though, having to go out and shoot down their dinner batch of free-range succotash before PEEV, or People for the Ethical Emancipation of Vegetables, puts it on the endangered list.
Len Stephens
Independence
This story was originally published April 4, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers share views on discrimination, Medicaid expansion and child abuse."