Readers sound off on Donald Trump, downtown costs, birth control

Trump’s appeal

Years ago, when we lived in Peoria, Ill., there was a crash on the interstate leading into town. A truck that was too tall for the overpass bowled into it, damaging it and causing a hellacious traffic jam on the highway.

The Peoria Journal Star reported that, when asked by the police whether he knew how tall his freight was, the driver said, “Yeah.”

And did he see the signs that warned him how high the overpass would tolerate? The driver said, “Yeah.”

“So why did you drive under the overpass?” the police asked.

“Well,” the driver said, “I thought if I drove real fast, I thought I could make it.”

I don’t know what happened to that driver, but I’m guessing he’s voting for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Mike Hartnett

Lawrence

Cost of downtown

Hats off to those fine folks at Kansas City Hall, playing follow the leader with most other cities in the United States by performing CPR on the downtown area and giving the bill to my children and grandchildren.

Mike Crawford

Kansas City

Men, birth control

I don’t know anyone on the left who loves abortion. The question is how can we stop it?

Well, we probably can’t. But we can do what Roe vs. Wade did, and that is make it safe and hopefully rare.

During a visit to Israel, I asked about unwed mothers, and the response was that they are rare. How? Birth control.

That is the answer to minimizing abortion and unwed mothers. They push birth control in schools in Israel, which is something we are not allowed to do in the United States, to my knowledge.

The other issue I have is What about the men? I have yet to hear a politician or religious leader talk about the part men play.

Why is it all about the woman when she wouldn’t be pregnant without a man? Let’s have a new debate that includes men and birth control.

Diana Basler

Lee’s Summit

Money in politics

Are you fed up with war, high health-care costs, unsafe roads, mass shootings, the National Rifle Association, corporate welfare, the unfair tax code, climate change, politicians saying wacky things and state and federal government dysfunction?

There is one very simple answer to most problems created or ignored by our state and federal representation. Get the money out of politics.

As long as our representatives have their hands out for the almighty dollar, the best interest of our country will be ignored. This country is awash in money used to buy influence.

We differ on how involved government should be in our lives. If we get rid of the money used by lobbyists and campaign contributors (also known as billionaires), we might have a shot at compromise in order to solve some of these important issues.

The current system is a complete failure.

Linda Christian

Greenwood

Food labeling

I want to know what is in my food and on my food, where it was grown and when it was picked and packaged.

Please remember that respectable science organizations and our government said for years that fluoride and mercury fillings were safe for us.

Today we have fluoride toxicity, and our own government conspired to hide the fact that mercury fillings are harmful and should be banned.

Only full disclosure and transparency in our food sources are acceptable. Nothing less.

JoAnn Durant

Blue Springs

Democrats’ victory

Reality show host and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is a celebrity entertainer, not a politician. He has no experience in government and few policy ideas.

Trump is an arrogant, egotistical, offensive narcissist. His candidacy serves nothing more than to boost his ego.

So far, Trump has offended women and Hispanics. He cannot win the presidential election without support from these groups.

While Trump is garnering all the attention in the race, the Republican Party has a real problem. If Trump doesn’t win his party’s nomination, he might run as an independent.

That would assure a Democratic win for the White House.

Jane Toliver

Leawood

Meddling legislature

Once again, out-of-state corporations are out to take away decisions from Missouri’s local governments and citizens. We have to make sure our voices are heard.

House Bill 722 passed the state legislature, and was then vetoed by the governor. HB 722 seeks to remove the rights of municipalities from enacting any changes beyond what the state requires, even if cities and voters have a need that the state is not meeting.

Local control is important because each community is different and deserves to have its needs and values met by its community members. Yet, once again, well-funded lobbyists, who are more concerned with their companies’ bottom lines and not our communities, are pushing to take away our ability to make decisions.

Whether it’s paid leave to take care of a sick child or improving work conditions, HB 722 risks putting the wants of the state over the needs of our residents.

A city’s obligation is to its people, and our state legislators have the same obligation. We must call on our state representatives and senators to uphold the governor’s veto of HB 722.

Valori Sanders

Blue Springs

Court, marriage

You have a right to say you’re married, and other people have a right to decide whether they agree with you. You do not have a right to have the government force people to say you’re married.

You do, however, have a right to the same contractual benefits (and liabilities) as any other citizen. Hence, the simple solution: Get the word “marriage” out of government documents altogether.

Recognize domestic partnership contracts for people, regardless of their (completely irrelevant) sexual relationships (or lack thereof), and let society decide who is “married.” Let government govern what’s appropriate to govern, and stop trying to be the thought police.

I don’t require that people agree with each other, merely that they mind their own business.

The Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law, and this supports that. Where I part ways with the Supreme Court is in its social engineering — correct decision, dangerously unconstitutional reasoning.

The high court should have concentrated exclusively on the legal and contractual aspects and not even mentioned all the social gobbledygook the justices ranted about in their majority decision.

Matthew Haefner

Kansas City

Living wage need

I have two questions. My first question is, why is it unreasonable for any worker to be asking for a living wage? My second question is, why is a teacher with a master’s degree in science not worth more than $15 an hour?

Oh, wait, maybe I do know the answer. The trickle-down theory doesn’t work.

Danny Estrada

Shawnee

Federal aid burden

For the governors of Texas, Louisiana, Florida and New Jersey, should the federal government increase the national debt just to provide federal relief for the effects of hurricanes on those states? Would any such aid be contrary to states’ rights?

Should the citizens of other states bear the burden of such aid?

Jack Mayer

Mission

Royals broadcasts

This is a plea to the Kansas City Royals’ management. We are fed up with the inane blather of Rex Hudler.

We cannot all afford to attend a lot of games, and listening to Hudler makes watching the games on TV hard to enjoy. Let’s “knock” him off the team, give him a “cookie” and “a big piece of cheese,” and then let him “drive the bus” back to California.

Ah, the thought of it. It’s “a beautiful thing.” Jeff Montgomery would be a great replacement.

Go Royals. Be gone, Rex Hudler.

Ralph Egleston