Letters: Readers discuss SM North student protests, Bill Clinton’s abuse and KC taxation

Silenced support

I am a 1966 alum of Shawnee Mission North, a retired teacher and a Johnson County taxpayer who came to show you students of my alma mater my support on Friday.

I had made what I considered a respectful sign saying, “These kids will vote out NRA puppets” on the front, and “Proud to stand with you” on the back so that if some of you were behind me, you’d see that. I wanted you to know that I admire and honor the stance you are taking against the country’s lax gun regulation.

Unfortunately, I was unable to show you any support at all. I was told that I could not be any closer to the demonstration than the public sidewalks.

When I realized you were not coming out front where you would be seen, I tried going to an area near the stadium that was out of sight. At that point, I was threatened with arrest (a new milestone in my 69-year-old life).

Still, however, I want all you students to know that I am deeply grateful for your resolve and patriotism.

Please persist. You are our hope for the future.

Anita Macek

Roeland Park

Inconsistencies

After Gov. Eric Greitens was accused of sexual misdeeds, many people sought to explain why some women continue relationships with men who have assaulted them. These explanations rest on psychological factors and do not seem unreasonable to me.

However, I wonder where this insight was 25 years ago and before, when President Bill Clinton was accused of sexual assault by multiple women. You might recall the response of some of Clinton’s left-wing feminist defenders to charges made by Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey. These women were viciously attacked as liars, mainly on the basis that after the alleged assaults both had continued their friendship with Clinton.

If the psychological explanations have scientific merit, they would have been just as valid in the Clinton case as now in the Greitens case. Millions of Americans will continue to remain skeptical on the sexual assault issue until the political left is willing to confront the Bill Clinton legacy honestly.

Kenneth G. Hartman

Lee’s Summit

Kobach’s signals

So, Kris Kobach held a “pro-gun rally” Friday. (April 20, 4A, “Kansas City area students plan rally for gun control Friday”) What else is left for him to do to firmly stake out his reputation as overreaching and mean-spirited?

Kobach has already established himself as antisocial in his strident positions on voting rights and immigration. It is as if he is working from a playbook with instructions on how to be a misanthrope. From his lofty perch as secretary of state of just one state, he has injected himself into and initiated movements that are clearly designed to do battle with moderate and democratic beliefs around the entire nation.

This man must have complexes that compel him to seek out sensitive, non-combative segments of society to harass and trample upon. He is building on his future ambitions by using hard-line tactics.

Kobach seems to have an image of himself as lord and master of all he surveys. He is a dangerous individual who needs to be reined in by the citizens of Kansas.

Steve Sherry

Kansas City

Who really pays

Dave Helling does a good job of pointing out the inequities of the overall tax system in Kansas City in his April 18 column, “Kansas Citians pay high taxes, as far as anyone's eyes can see.” (17A)

Another example of an unfair tax paid for, in part, by Kansas City residents is the sales tax paid by shoppers and residents of Jackson County that covered the cost of building (and continues to cover the cost of maintaining) Arrowhead and Kaufman stadiums.

Jackson County residents who can’t afford even to park at the stadiums, let alone attend a game or purchase overpriced concessions, help cover these costs with nearly every purchase. Wealthier residents of Johnson County (and other places) pay plenty for tickets, parking and concessions (which come with a sales tax of nearly 10 percent), but do not chip in to cover the costs of building and maintaining the stadiums. These costs should be covered with an excise tax on tickets.

Voting matters.

The NFL prohibits the use of excise taxes to cover the cost of constructing or maintaining stadiums. A government that represents people, instead of corporations, might have something to say about that.

In next year’s municipal election, Kansas City residents should vote to elect a City Council that shares Helling’s enlightened views on taxation.

Winston Apple

Independence

This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss SM North student protests, Bill Clinton’s abuse and KC taxation."