Letters: Readers discuss a ‘stable genius’ president, Chiefs referees and voter ID
Out of the barn?
A true stable genius is able to keep his own stall clean. (Jan. 7, 19A, “Trump defends his mental health, says he’s a ‘stable genius’”)
Tom Vrabac
Shawnee
A sad farewell
I want to thank The Star for a great obituary for its greatest reporter, Mike “Mick” McGraw. (Jan. 7, 1A, “Mike McGraw, Pulitzer winner for reporting, dies”)
We worked together at the paper during the 1970s and early ’80s with reporters Harry Jones Jr., J.J. Maloney and Dick Johnson, among others. It was a wonderful period for American newspapers as investigative journalism took hold.
The Star’s obituary dealt with many of McGraw’s successes, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning series on problems with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of the meat industry.
One of Mick’s less-heralded stories came after a storm toppled a tree through the roof of his home. In a first-person piece, he recounted how he saved his son but failed to mention that his wife, Ruth, was in on the adventure, too. It became known as the story of the “motherless child.”
After an absence of nearly 35 years, my wife and I moved back to Kansas City in 2016 and resumed our frequent outings with the McGraws. Last fall, we learned of Mick’s cancer. On Saturday, we all were relieved that his suffering ended, but I was profoundly saddened at the loss of a great journalist and one of my best friends.
Thomas G. Watts
Gladstone
Not so easy
I want the Chiefs to be the pallbearers at my funeral so they could let me down one last time. (Jan 7, 1A, “Curses! Another collapse”)
Randall Vaughan
Independence
Officiating fumble
If you are as outraged by the officiating in the Chiefs’ playoff loss as I am, you can do something about it: Take pen in hand and write to the NFL’s headquarters. The only way we will ever be able to overcome bad referees is to take a stand.
I’ve been a Chiefs fan since before they lost the first Super Bowl, and I’ve had it. But one fan will not make a difference. We must flood the NFL’s offices with so much mail that it can no longer overlook the fan in the name of the almighty dollar.
Has anybody else never heard of a forward progress call on a quarterback dropping back, getting hit and fumbling while off the ground? Twice in one game? I have never heard that call made on a dropback pass. It’s impossible, because there was never any forward progress.
Robert E Barger
Hampton, Va.
A test for all
Everybody says our political system is broken, and I agree. The question is why. Can it be fixed? Or must it be thrown away and replaced? I hope it can be fixed, because I seriously doubt there could be agreement for any replacement constitution.
Although I’m a registered Democrat, I agree with Republicans who advocate voter IDs. I do think some voters should be excluded — not minorities, but the dummies. Any ignorant fool who is a citizen, at least 18 years old and not a convicted felon can vote. That’s stupid. No wonder we’re in this mess.
A recent column by Jonah Goldberg presented some shocking disclosures: “Nearly three-fourths of Americans cannot identify all three branches of the federal government, according to an Annenberg Public Policy Center poll. One in three can’t name a single branch.” (Jan. 3, 13A, “Institutional failure the source of current American weirdness”)
We require immigrants who want to become American citizens to pass a citizenship test. I propose that all people who want to vote pass that same test to receive voter IDs.
If it requires a constitutional amendment, then let’s amend the Constitution. I’m sick and tired of dummies and the willfully ignorant making bad decisions that affect everybody.
Rick Witkowski
Kansas City
Grand leadership
I just read Melinda Henneberger’s column about Winston Churchill (Jan. 3, 13A, “When words mattered: My year with Churchill”) and had to tell you how much I enjoyed it.
I was born in London (I’m 92) and served 2 1/2 years in the Royal Air Force as a radio operator on a Lancaster bomber station, using Morse code. Other girls and I sent the bombers out, and hopefully brought them home. We were their only communication in their eight-hour bombing raid.
My sister served nearly six years, my eldest brother nearly four and my youngest brother 2 1/2, all in the Royal Air Force.
I still vividly remember every one of Churchill’s speeches. We crowded around any radio we could find when we knew he was going to talk. He truly held the country and the people together.
I was not old enough to vote before I came to America in October 1946, but my sister told me many years later that she supported Clement Attlee for prime minister after the war, thinking a change was necessary, and always regretted it.
We shall not see Churchill’s like again for many a year.
W. Joan Hall
Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss a ‘stable genius’ president, Chiefs referees and voter ID."