Readers discuss guns, Missouri Senate seat, Zika, KCI
Guns in cars
Regarding road rage with fatal consequences: Why do people carry guns in their cars in the first place? Are they going to or returning from drills of their well-regulated militias?
That's the only rational excuse I can think of for a dangerous practice.
Norm Ledgin
Overland Park
Missouri race
In the race for the 17th District Senate Seat, Sen. Ryan Silvey sued his opponent, J. Ranen Bechthold, for not meeting residency requirements.
Bechthold was out of state. He was in Afghanistan, serving his country in the Army.
Silvey lost the suit, then appealed. He lost the second suit as well.
Now, did he appeal because it was a sneaky, underhanded way of depleting Bechthold’s campaign fund, or was Silvey simply stupid?
I talked with some union people who were campaigning for Silvey because he’d voted against the bogus “right to work” bill, aka, “the union buster.” Well, Bechthold is against “right to work for less” bills, too.
So, I ask myself, do I want to vote for an honest, intelligent, union-supporting veteran, or a union-supporting candidate who’s sneaky, underhanded and/or stupid?
Guess what? I’m going with Bechthold.
Suzanne Conaway
Kansas City
Zika threat
A glaring consequence of our poor stewardship of the planet has been climate change. Globally, 2015 was the hottest year on record.
We must recognize that a deadly byproduct resulting from hotter weather is the Zika virus.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that is spreading rapidly in the Western Hemisphere, and as climate change continues all regions will be affected. The World Health Organization has declared Zika an epidemic, with millions to be infected by year’s end.
Mosquitos thrive in hot, wet environments and even dry areas where people tend to collect water in containers, which creates a perfect environment for them to lay their eggs.
So far the Zika virus has brought some things to the forefront that demand our attention and sense of urgency.
Climate change could produce more viruses, affecting the poor worst and first because of their lack of access to protection and consequences from the insecticides being used to kill the mosquitos with concerns of side effects, including contamination to environment and wildlife.
We can, however, use this threat to strengthen our resolve to come together as nations to combat this current epidemic and prepare for future ones.
Richard G. Green
Ozark, Mo.
Better choice
A suggestion for those of you torn between really bad candidates for president.
Two conservative candidates each served two terms as Republican governors of their states. But, because they are not reluctant to express their views, particularly favoring small government, they stepped on some important toes and were pushed aside by their party’s big wigs.
But they will be on your ballot Nov. 8: Gary Johnson (two terms as the Republican governor of New Mexico) and Bill Weld (two terms as Republican governor of Massachusetts) are the Libertarian Party’s candidates for president and vice president.
I do not agree with all of their views, but I do believe they would represent America and American voters much better than the candidates of the two major parties. And they might even get our elected representatives in the House and Senate to represent their country rather than their political party.
Bill Blair
Overland Park
Education spine
I was disturbed when I read recently about conservatives in Kansas attempting to rename our public schools “government schools.”
From my travels in Latin America, what comes to mind when I hear “government schools” is that many of these countries have two-tiered educational systems in which a decent education requires an alternative to “government schools.”
As a result, only the more affluent are able to receive this education.
As we know, in the far right’s view, government has the connotation of intrusive, wasteful, the nanny and whatever other words can be used to make it the problem rather than the solution.
Undoubtedly, the strategy is to denigrate public education enough to justify inadequate funding and the war on teachers and end up with a two-tired system.
How destructive, when a good public education, open to all, has been the backbone of our country and our state.
George Tormohlen
Overland Park
Redo, please
Where are the patriotic leaders of both parties? Where are political leaders who put God and country first, above individual and party? How are we, the American people, to understand this situation when no one who leads us cares about the honor of our country?
It is obvious that both election machines are hell-bent to support their candidates no matter what is found out about the unworthiness of either to run for the most respected position in the land.
This current process is no longer supported by the American people. Yes, most will vote in a party stupor and not for what’s best for our country. We do not want to vote, but we have no choice.
Where are the candidates worthy of our most honored tradition, the power of the vote?
This current process is broken, but the media continue to feed on this mess instead of realizing that they are participating in the destruction of a hallowed institution.
Where are the editorials insisting that neither candidate is worthy of this honored office and asking that this process be stopped and re-evaluated before we make the biggest election mistake ever perpetuated on the American people.
Don Rohner
Lee’s Summit
KC embarrassment
Our city’s airport — you know, that concrete embarrassment north of the Missouri River, that place where we all have to travel about 30 minutes outside the city to get to the middle of a wheat field — is the first impression for people who travel to our city.
I recently traveled through Washington Dulles International Airport as well as airports in Philadelphia and Hartford, Conn. All were booming with traffic and people.
I understand Philadelphia and Dulles being much busier than Kansas City, given their populations and locations. But Hartford?
Virtually every airport bay actually had a plane entering or leaving it. Amazing.
Then we landed back in Kansas City. One terminal is closed. The second, where our plane was parked, had only three other planes there.
We had to wait five to 10 minutes for a worker to come out with glow sticks just so we could park. When the captain announced that to the passengers, there were chuckles.
How embarrassing. We can take the “I” out of KCI. There is nothing “international” about this airport.
How about we call it KCE — Kansas City’s Embarrassment?
Joe DeMarco
Kansas City
So many scandals
My observations on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: They mostly engage in personalities while sidestepping, for the most part, important issues.
Lately, Trump has openly questioned why New York has no road money when it should have millions. It has to be going somewhere.
As for Clinton, I remember well the scandalous behavior of her spouse’s second term. Even Warren Harding had the sense to go off campus for his flings. To a person who loves their mate and is betrayed by that mate, infidelity is one of the cruelest things a spouse can inflict, with consequences that can last for years.
If these two think they are fooling the American people, they should wake up and smell the coffee. I hope everyone is as shocked as I am by the revelations of Hillary Clinton’s newly leaked emails. That’s done it for me.
Virginia Hudson
Independence
Rigged?
If Donald Trump loses this election, it can only be because it was rigged.
It won’t be because he has insulted every Hispanic in the country.
It won’t be because he has preached religious intolerance, especially toward all Muslims.
It won’t be because he repeatedly insulted women, individually and as a group, throughout his campaign.
It won’t be because he bragged about using his status as a “star” to excuse being a sexual predator.
It won’t be because he mocked a man for being handicapped.
It won’t be because he failed to disclose his tax returns.
It won’t be because he failed to even offer verifiable proof he actually is being audited by the IRS.
It won’t be because he was the primary drive behind the birther movement.
It won’t be because of his attack on John McCain.
It won’t be because of his attack on the Khan family.
It won’t be because of his attacks on a voting process that is mostly being run by his fellow conservative Republicans, who control about 55 percent of both the state legislatures and gubernatorial offices.
Or it might be the simple truth that more people will have freely voted for someone else.
Rev. Clayton Chittim
Blue Springs
Not so perfect
According to The Kansas City Star’s online editorial summary (10-16, 28A, “In an ugly election, the choice is clear: Hillary Clinton for president”), “Hillary Clinton has the resume, the temperament and the critical decision-making skills required for the most stressful job in the world.”
Too bad she didn’t use any of those skills during her 30 years in government service.
Also, I prefer a neutral newspaper that presents the facts on all political issues, and one that does not blatantly choose sides.
Barbara Whited
Easton, Kan.
This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Readers discuss guns, Missouri Senate seat, Zika, KCI."