Letters to the editor: Last-minute mergers, road construction

Zipper mergers

It has come to bother me when I am driving and there is traffic. It is not the traffic that annoys me. It is the fact that people will speed up and wait until the very last second to merge, which is inconsiderate to everyone else and slows everyone else down significantly.

A possible fix to this problem could be what officials have started to propose in Montana, which is called the zipper merge. That is drivers stay in their lane until the end and then take turns going.

This works because there is a system to it, and there are no crazy merges or near-wreck-causing lane switches. As a concerned civilian, I would like to see something done to try to fix this problem and make traffic around wrecks or lane closures move more efficiently so everyone can drive safely to his or her destination.

Triston Groff

Lee’s Summit

State Line Road

The city has done an awful job on the construction on State Line Road. It has taken all summer and is still going on today.

State Line Road is one of the busiest roads south of downtown and has not been fully open since last spring. So I believe the construction effort should come to a stopping point and call it a year, and then continue on next summer so that the flow of traffic can start to be better.

Roman Ibarra

Kansas City

Spineless politicians

If we must go to war, then let’s do it all out. This “what if …,” “what about this ..,” in Congress is just holding us back. War is winner take all or don’t go.

We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to train generals. The Senate must confirm the appointment of every general.

Then when the time comes, we want to hold back and piecemeal the deal. The discussion we had in Congress is out of date now because the smart enemy has already adjusted to a new approach.

We should define the enemy. Tell the generals go get them.

Report back when the mission is accomplished. Let the trained professionals do the job.

The untrained, unskilled, spineless politicians need to stay out of the way.

Richard Blaisdell

Kansas City

Have some respect

I fully understand the concept of the loyal opposition, but at what point does it become something else? The assault on the president of the United States has become close to treasonous.

Things are being said and actions taken that undermine the people’s faith in government. I seriously disliked President George W. Bush but I would never have spoken of the president like some speak of this president.

Have they no respect?

Dan Lopez

Kansas City

Political apartheid

If you were politically active in the 1980s or just aware of the life of Nelson Mandela, then you have heard the term apartheid. Many South Africans lost their freedom or lives combating this system of discrimination based on grounds where a minority ruled over a suppressed majority.

In the United States today, we are unfortunately nearing our own state of apartheid. Instead of race, creating this segregation in the U.S., the problem in our country is wealth.

As shown in the Senate vote this month, all but one Republican voted in opposition to moving forward with a possible constitutional amendment that would overturn the Citizens United decision. Polls are clear that the vast majority of Americans do not want large corporate donations dictating what happens in the nation’s capital.

However, here we are again with a minority of middle-aged to elderly white men, who accept these corporate funds, telling the rest of America that they do not care about us. Conservative friends argue there is no difference between big money donations to the Republicans and big money donations to the Democrats.

Here is proof that there is. The PACs and donors to the Democrats didn’t tell those senators to vote no.

Jack Deyoe

Olathe

Positive action

Concerning the current National Football League abuse scandal, I’d like to point out that the league’s leaders, though the undisputed champions of the cover-up and looking the other way, are not the ones who beat their wives and kids. The spotlight must continue to shine on this very real, very sad problem.

It’s a reflection on all of us. On our society; on our culture of violence that we permit.

Here’s one thing we could do right away — turn off the television and stop going to the games until the supremely arrogant NFL leaders fix themselves and their broken game.

Steve Bock

Shawnee

This story was originally published September 30, 2014 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor: Last-minute mergers, road construction."