Letters: Syrian refugees, climate change, Trump helps Clinton

One bad apple?

It seems to me that those who are against allowing Syrian refugees into the country because they are afraid that “one bad apple” can cause a lot of damage, are the same people who also say not to blame all gun owners for mass killings because of “one bad apple.” They are all for vetting foreigners coming into the country yet are vehemently oppose any form of vetting when it comes to potential gun owners.

They ask us to look at what just happened in Paris and, as we all should, be horrified at the deaths that took place there. Yet these same people ignore the fact that dozens of people are killed, injured, maimed, murdered or take their own lives with firearms each and everyday in America.

No outrage there; just silence. If we are to call ourselves a Christian nation, we should remember both the parable of the Good Samaritan, and also give equal value to any death, wherever and however, it occurs.

We must also remember what is written at the base of the Statue of Liberty and not let the Islamic State or any foreign power and our own fear dictate whom we allow into our country. We must seek justice and mercy as a matter of course.

We must also remember that silence is complicity.

Tom Davis

Merriam

Syrian refugees

Shame on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the other 30-plus governors who have refused to allow Syrian refugees into their states.

Never mind that governors can’t prevent refugees in their state once they are granted refugee status by the federal government. Furthermore, refugees go through a rigorous screening process that takes 18 to 24 months involving three or four federal agencies.

Ironically, many of these same governors oppose stricter gun control laws and closing the gun show loophole.

American citizens with guns, not Syrian refugees, are the real danger in the U.S.

Jane Toliver

Leawood

Climate change

Many people have adopted the stance of our president — 97 percent of all climate scientists agree that human behavior is causing global warming. We now call this climate change since NASA satellite data shows the Earth has had zero warming in the last 18 years.

Because this is unexplainable, some refer to this as “the pause.” I don’t question the stance of those who use the 97 percent argument as proof but I do question the veracity of this percentage they use.

I urge them to develop other arguments to promote their thinking unless they can answer to their satisfaction this two-part question. Who conducted this survey and what method was used to arrive at 97 percent?

Did someone gather all the scientists in one room and ask for a show of hands or send out a ballot, asking them to vote yes or no? If you can’t answer this question, I suggest you stop repeating this silly statistic over and over and over.

Jerry Kaplan

Prairie Village

Trump for Clinton

Is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump secretly working for the Clintons? How else do you explain the fact that every time he opens his mouth, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton becomes more electable?

At the rate Trump is going, she won’t need to leave her house until it’s time to attend her inauguration ceremony. She probably promised Mr. Trump a cushy appointment in her administration as payment for his ongoing help.

The Clintons have always been experts at nasty political tricks, but this time I believe they’ve gone too far. By prompting Mr. Trump to unleash such toxicity for their own political gain, they’ve reached an all-time low.

George Lafferty

Fairway

Fast-food overload

As a concerned citizen of Olathe, I have noticed an increase in the amount of fast-food restaurants. Although I understand the importance of such establishments for employment and general economy of the Olathe area, I believe that there are far too many fast food restaurants in the area.

These restaurants, as we all know, are unhealthy and can cause many different health issues including diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and obesity. This area is a growing with new shopping malls and parks. It’s just not important that our residents grow, too.

These restaurants are also an eyesore and downgrade our town and our pride. They make our city look cheap as well as the residence here. Have you ever wondered why no one has heard of Olathe? It’s because our restaurants are fast-food chains.

If we were to replace these new fast-food restaurants with more local businesses, Olathe will be a booming place of pride. I implore all of us to think about the consequences of adding more fast food restaurants to the area and how they affect the living standards for everyone.

Jessie Teegarden

Olathe

GOP freeloaders

The Red Skelton character of years ago must have been a conservative, free market Republican. The current group of conservatives including what is left of the tea party and now the angry supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump apparently don’t want to pay taxes that support our country’s health and well being.

They want someone else to pay for roads, schools, health care, etc., hence a bunch of freeloaders on the rest of the citizenry. A recent analysis by The Kansas City Star of a southeastern Kansas county showed that the people of that red county were drawing more money from government support than they were paying in taxes.

This is the conservative mantra: cut my taxes and let someone else pay for the necessary functions of government as long as I get to keep all of my money.

By privatizing as many departments as possible and eliminating taxes on small businesses, Gov. Sam Brownback has converted these companies into freeloaders, with the rest of us paying their tax load. That is what Republican government is all about.

Why would any rational person vote to economically shoot himself in the foot? Think about it the next time you vote.

Dale Thomas

Leawood

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Letters: Syrian refugees, climate change, Trump helps Clinton."