Letters: Readers discuss Greg Orman, ethanol for farmers and advice for the Chiefs draft
Back to school
Maybe we should have been spending more money on teaching math when our Kansas House and Senate members were attending high school. How else can we explain an $80 million first-year error in our Kansas school funding plan? (April 11, 4A, “Kansas lawmakers looking to fix $80 million error in school funding”)
Calvin Wrege
Overland Park
Real policies
Last week’s partisan attack in The Star, disguised as opinion about Greg Orman, was nothing more than a set of recycled talking points from the 2014 campaign. (April 5, 15A, “Just what does Greg Orman actually believe?”) It was wrong then. It’s still wrong today.
Anyone who paid attention to Orman’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and this year’s race for Kansas governor has seen him answer policy questions with intelligence, insight and courage. It’s why the stalwart conservative George Will, after an interview with Orman in his Shawnee office in 2014, wrote that “Orman discusses policy problems with a fluency rare among Senate candidates and unusual among senators.”
Let’s check the facts. Since Orman announced his candidacy Jan. 24, he’s been quoted in 38 news reports by 26 media outlets across the state. By contrast, if you look at the other major candidates’ websites and listen to their words, what you’ll see and hear are partisan platitudes that fit nicely on a bumper sticker.
Orman is a successful entrepreneur and common-sense problem-solver. The fact that both sides keep attacking him only indicates he’s right and the party elite have nothing to offer Kansas voters other than a rigged system that’s letting people down. You can read more at ormanforkansas.com/updates.
Sam Edelen
Olathe
Ethanol sense
The Crappie Masters All American Tournament Trail will make its first stop in Missouri on Saturday at Sunrise Beach on Lake of the Ozarks. What makes our tournament trail unique is that every winning team’s boat for the past three-plus years has been powered by ethanol, some of which is made right here in our state.
Missouri is home to six biorefineries that collectively produce 276 million gallons of ethanol per year. I’m proud to support a clean, renewable industry that helps boost the local economy.
However, misinformation remains about ethanol and marine engines. That’s why the Renewable Fuels Association, which represents U.S. ethanol producers, is again the co-title sponsor of the tournament.
There are more than 12 million recreational boats registered in the U.S., and all are compatible with E10 gasoline. I want to let consumers know ethanol is safe. It’s already used by many boaters, and it helps clean out engines.
If you’re a fan of fishing, stop by and check out why ethanol is the fuel of choice for boaters in competition.
Brian Sowers
Co-host
Crappie Masters TV
Clinton, Mo.
No honor
As an African-American who has not forgotten how Missouri’s Republican leaders — behind closed doors and in the middle of the night — approved Rush Limbaugh’s bust in the state Capitol, I’m not surprised at their desire to keep the statue of a racist in the nation’s Capitol. (April 9, 8A, “Missouri shouldn’t commemorate a racist in the nation’s Capitol”)
In light of Francis Preston Blair Jr.’s barbaric comments regarding his view of blacks and Limbaugh’s long history of utter disdain for causes near and dear to the hearts of African-Americans, there should be no question that neither man should be commemorated by any state that purports to support equality.
Eddie L. Clay
Grandview
Draft strategy
Memories are great for NFL fan favorites, but usually the future beyond five years that is customarily prime time is no more than a faded rose from days gone by.
Five-year contracts for star players only bring a false sense of security, and discontinuing them was an overdue policy change for our Kansas City Chiefs. Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali were all almost instantly injured after those types of signings. Instead of “no pain no gain,” the reality for NFL players is “pain and never the same.”
A similar false sense of security exists with the current Chiefs offensive line. Only through his agility and speed did Alex Smith manage to avoid season-ending sudden impacts. In the NFL’s weekly gauntlet, Patrick Mahomes will need better protection from an offensive line that is good but needs improving.
Great potential exists within this young quarterback, but he won’t be able to play dodge the linemen like Smith. To avoid a repeat of Andrew Luck, the Chiefs need to place an emphasis on offensive linemen in the upcoming draft.
Mike George
Springfield
This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Greg Orman, ethanol for farmers and advice for the Chiefs draft."