Readers react to the Royals, Greek debt and Bernie Sanders
Royals TV limits
I think it is a darn shame that the Kansas City Royals are no longer on a local television channel. What happened to the good old days with the trading among Channels 4, 5, 9 and 41 to carry the games?
There are so many fans (especially senior citizens) who cannot watch the games because they are on limited incomes and cannot afford cable or dish.
Please consider the older and the poorer fans who support or supported this team and put the games on local channels for the people to see.
Stephanie Dareing
Raymore
Greek debt crisis
A little known bit of information is the roles that financial giants AIG and Goldman-Sachs played in both profiting from the Greek debt and trying to help hide it.
It is ironic that Germany has been such a hard-liner in negotiations with the Greeks. The Germans forget that they had their huge debt forgiven at the end of World War II.
Further austerity for the Greeks would only mean further hardship for the people.
While discussing national debt, it makes no sense that “socialism” has become a word used to scare people.
President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965. President Richard Nixon spoke of a basic minimum income. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 signed the Social Security Act and created many other programs meant to help people.
Did these acts make them socialists?
The private sector has been the recipient of many types of assistance over the years — tariffs, legislation, tax abatement, zoning and infrastructure to name a few. “Socialism” is meant to describe taking care of your neighbor.
Edward Acosta
Olathe
Sanders for president
With Pope Francis in the Vatican, if we could elect Sen. Bernie Sanders to the presidency of the United States, ordinary people and the poor would have a better life. These two fine men aren’t owned by the rich and powerful, so maybe the rest of us would have a little advantage for a change.
Mary Dyer
Independence
Term-limit Congress
Over the years, I’ve been opposed to term limits for our U.S. senators and representatives, figuring our votes would take care of time frames for poor legislatures.
Today, because of the power of the almighty dollar, lobbyists and the American citizens’ inability to get off their butts and vote, I believe it’s time for term limits.
If our president is limited to two four-year terms, it should be good enough for our senators and representatives. The maximum of eight years would be enough time to accomplish their reasons for running for office or feathering their nests.
You’ll hear these elected officials howl like wounded dogs, telling the public how expensive these elections would be and what great jobs they’re doing for their constituents. All I can say is balderdash.
I’ll go even further and suggest that after their four or eight years there should be no retirement or extra benefits. These super patriots should return home and work in their vocations like the rest of our citizens.
I can’t say these politicians are all poor, but power corrupts, and we would save them from themselves.
This needs to be more than a letter. It needs to be a movement.
John Koehler
Kansas City
Iran nuclear deal
After more than 13 years at war, I’m glad that Congress is turning toward diplomacy and peace.
The Iran deal looks as if it will move through Congress, and I support the senators who have spoken out in favor of the deal (9-3, A1, “Iran deal gets key backing”).
The deal dramatically shrinks Iran’s nuclear program, gives international inspectors unprecedented access and could open diplomatic channels for the U.S. and others to finally end enduring conflicts in the region.
Now is the time for peace. Now is the time for diplomacy. Now is the time for Congress to support the Iran deal.
Thomas Aber
Kansas City
Misleading lawmakers
Recent email newsletters of Congressman Kevin Yoder and Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts display very selective facts. Regarding Planned Parenthood sending fetal tissue to researchers, they fail to mention this process was approved by bipartisan legislation in 1993.
Researchers using fetal tissue discovered the polio vaccine, saving thousands of lives worldwide a year. They discovered the measles vaccine.
The only payment made is for processing and handling to get it to the researchers.
The Kansas lawmakers are enraged about the videos without mentioning that they are highly edited and that many in Congress knew about the videos a month before they were released to public.
If it was so awful why did Roberts, Moran and Yoder wait before expressing their outrage? None of these facts is included in the newsletters.
Regarding the Senate Finance Committee’s report on the Internal Revenue Service examining conservative 501(c)(4) groups more than progressive groups, no evidence was found to indicate the IRS delayed approval for one over the other. Reuters reported “liberal and progressive groups were subject to the same mismanagement by the IRS as the conservative groups.”
Yet, the newsletter from Sen. Roberts says “key Republican findings include” the IRS delayed approval of conservative groups.
Sue Thompson
Mission
Argentine pollution
Contrary to John Loven-
burg’s claim in his Aug. 5 commentary, “Air quality study is misleading,” the wind frequently blows from the north across the BNSF Argentine rail yard, and studies show a link between diesel emissions and serious acute health impacts, such as cardiovascular disease hospitalizations, on the day of exposure or a few days after.
The elemental carbon we measured is widely accepted as a marker for diesel emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Village Green research monitor does not account for these.
The EPA has found elevated diesel emissions at a similar rail yard in Cicero, Ill., and we have invited it to replicate our work.
The elemental carbon standard BNSF cited from an industrial hygiene authority does not exist. We found a distinct hot spot near BNSF’s locomotive maintenance shop at the east end of the yard, one of only 11 such operations in the system. Fifty to 60 locomotives are staged for testing on any day.
BNSF’s emissions inventory listed 28 old switching locomotives emitting more than 10 tons of fine particles.
The three cleaner units Mr. Lovenburg bragged about were financed with a federal grant.
We think BNSF’s owner, Warren Buffett, can easily afford to repower the rest on an accelerated schedule.
Leticia DeCaigny
Argentine/Turner
Good Neighbor
Committee
Kansas City, Kan.
Protecting fans
Some people have said the Kansas City Royals should not install additional screens to protect the fans at games, arguing that all sorts of potential dangers to people exist, like car wrecks, that cannot be controlled.
The fact that fan protection can be implemented while car accidents cannot be avoided seems to be lost on people.
While a college baseball player, I hit a line drive into our dugout, which had no protective screen. The ball smashed into the face of a teammate, and all I saw were his feet sticking up after the ball had blown him off the bench.
He ultimately had numerous eye surgeries and ended up with minimal vision in the eye.
A few years ago, a St. Louis Cardinals player was hit in the face while standing in the on-deck circle, ending his career.
With the proximity of fans to the ballfield, their apparent decrease in attentiveness as they look at cellphones or scoreboards, and the increasing danger from splintering bats, do we wait for someone to be killed before something is done?
Surely a compromise, such as placing a screen at least to the edges of the dugouts, is appropriate.
Terry Rodenberg
Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to the Royals, Greek debt and Bernie Sanders."