Letters: Readers discuss student protests, Down syndrome kids and worry over ‘Muslim garb’

Gone missing

What happened to all those government checks and balances I was taught in high school?

They must have suffered the same fate as diagramming a sentence as I learned in English class.

C.D. Rinck Sr.

Mission

Let him speak

There is at least one student, Kyle Kashuv, making a name for himself by taking a pro-gun view. When I see what he tweets, and how assertive but courteous all the Parkland, Fla., kids are to each other and how civil they are in their passion, I’m very favorably impressed.

My takeaway is that there is no wrong way to react intellectually to the events they experienced. Bad behavior is unacceptable. Civil protest, whether in Florida or elsewhere, is not only not bad behavior, it is a protection for the social order, regardless of the side of any given issue one takes.

So, my heartfelt thanks to school administrations around the country that have taken the long view, the constitutional view, the humane view, and encouraged our high school students to stand up in a civil way and voice what they believe.

Kate Moore

Manhattan

Inconsistent

George Will’s column, “How Iceland fixed an immoral Down syndrome ‘problem’” (March 20, 11A) about the practice of aborting fetuses that have tested positive for Down syndrome reveals the inconsistency of Will’s pro-life versus less-government positions.

Will has also advocated for placing a cap on the rate of growth for Medicaid beneficiaries. People with Down syndrome usually need expensive education, medical care and other services. Many cannot work. How are these to be provided if caps or cuts are placed on Medicaid and other programs?

I am witness to the blessings that a Down syndrome child can bring to a family, but that family has the financial means to care for its child. I ask Will to spell out how his advocacy for budgetary cuts and caps helps parents deal with the wrenching decisions about care for a Down child.

Steve Schwegler

Liberty

Hometown pride

You have to love a guy who does not forget his roots. Thanks for being the grand marshal in our St. Paddy’s Day parade, David Koechner. (March 18, 4A, “Oh, the things you’ll see on St. Patrick’s Day in Kansas City”)

Maureen Purcell

Leawood

Food assistance

It appears some Missouri lawmakers want to risk damaging the health of about 48,500 poor children by making it harder for their families to qualify for the average $1.35-per-person per-meal benefit under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. (March 18, 6A, “Missouri lawmakers disagree on food-stamp limits’ effects on kids”)

In the meantime, they want to give massive tax cuts to the wealthiest Missourians. My prediction is that Missouri will run into the same budget mess we experienced in Kansas if the tax cuts for the wealthy pass. The result would be that malnourished children would harm Missouri and cause significant health-care expenses in the future.

I urge people to contact their state representatives and urge them to avoid the chance of increasing child hunger in Missouri by opposing making it harder for poor families with children to qualify for SNAP.

Hopefully, common sense will prevail and these additional restrictions will be defeated.

Daniel Keleti

Leawood

Tech know-how

FIRST supports competitions such as these all over the world, allowing kids the opportunity to design and build robots over a six-week period and then compete against other teams during the spring semester. Kudos to the several thousand students and supporters from all over the Midwest who converged here the last two weekends.

And a big shout-out to the teams from these high schools whose winning ways will allow them to move on to the World Championships in Houston next month: Olathe, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Shawnee Mission North, Independence, North Kansas City and Lee’s Summit West.

Christopher Hope

Kansas City

We’re just people

I just read the article in the Tuesday Star about the person who felt so threatened by a group of a people in “Muslim garb,” celebrating Malaysian Independence while flying the Malaysian flag, that he actually contacted the FBI. (5A, “Malaysian flag thought to be ISIS at Kansas lake leads to suit”)

I have to admit that I am puzzled by his reaction. In September, I had the privilege of participating in an Access to Justice Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have included a picture of the some of the professors, students and attorneys I worked with during my week there. Scary, huh?

Joanne Katz

Kansas City

This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss student protests, Down syndrome kids and worry over ‘Muslim garb’."