Readers talk about Moran, Blunt, Clinton, endorsements, war, critical thinking
Re-elect Moran
It’s a divisive year as each party pushes its presidential nominee. But for the U.S. Senate, we’re united for the single best person for the job, Sen. Jerry Moran.
In his six terms in the House and subsequent service in the Senate, Sen. Moran has always put Kansas at the top of his priorities. He travels all the time back home, listens and follows his own path despite pleas from special interests.
American goals are Sen. Moran’s goals: controlling outlandish overspending, including the dollars paid unnecessarily to finance our debt; advancing America’s national security interests; and assuring local control over our schools. He’s the best representative for Kansas.
Let’s remember in these tumultuous times to protect our own state interests in continuing to send a proven winner back to Washington to fight for us. Who knows, next time you’re filling up your tank, turn around and you might see Jerry doing the same.
David Seldner
Leawood
Critical thinking
We all have been deluged with political advertisements regarding the pending presidential election. If even some of the accusations are true or partially true, then we must conclude that those vying for the presidency are not perfect.
Some errors in judgment have probably been made and some actions taken they regret. How, then, are we to decide about our voting choices?
We must engage in critical thinking. What seems likely to be the truth regarding the issues that really matter? Who seems to have the better qualifications and pertinent experience?
Whom do you want to be your commander in chief, who must decide when, where and whether to send our troops into harm’s way and has control of our nuclear arsenal? Who will best represent our nation on the international stage? Who will be able to actually deliver some of what has been promised?
Some voters seem to have decided on none of the above. But other than simply not voting, which is just not a choice, it is going to be one of the above. So think critically, not emotionally, and vote.
Merrill Stiles
Overland Park
U.S.-Mexico wall
The U.S.-Mexico border runs 1,989 miles, or 10,501,920 feet. To have someone install a 4-foot chain-link fence would cost $7 per foot or more.
So the cost for the wall at the border would be $73,513,440. Because a 4-foot barrier would mean nothing, I assume the wall would need to be somewhat more substantial than a 4-foot chain-link fence.
So the actual cost would be phenomenal.
No advocate of this wall has said how he or she will get Mexico to pay this amount. Maybe these brilliant people who disdain government involvement in their lives can come up with a non-governmental way to create this symbol of the United States’ genius at solving international problems.
Jim Semadeni
Kansas City
Blunt’s candidacy
Sen. Roy Blunt’s TV ad against challenger Jason Kander condemns “pinkos, Commies and leftists” in an embarrassing appeal to the ignorant that comes right out of the 1950s — Blunt’s favored view of America, it seems.
The charge is laughable for anyone but ditto-heads moved by right-wing talk radio and ultraconservatives who hold conspiratorial views of modern American politics.
For Sen. Blunt’s sake, I might point out that President Ronald Reagan ended the communist threat.
President Bill Clinton took the Democratic Party away from “leftists,” and the emerging millennialists see “pinko” as a fingernail polish.
Sen. Blunt might want to consider a new advertising agency that has moved beyond “The Andy Griffith Show” as a cultural ideal and the John Birch Society as a political action group.
David N. Wetzel
Kansas City
Clinton qualified
Hillary Clinton is a right-of-center Democrat. Her political history has always been in that category. Right of center is where 60 to 70 percent of all voters reside. This is our political comfort zone.
Clinton politically lines up with 65 percent of all voters. Her record of accomplishments and experience is by far the most extensive for a presidential candidate in a century.
Her downside is she uses email to communicate. That’s so yesterday.
Also, being a woman seems to have put some people in a psychological tailspin. Could it be their mommy issues? Or it could be outdated social concepts of where a woman’s place should be.
The positives about Clinton are she has experience, intelligence and political savvy. She knows her way around the geopolitical landscape. Clinton’s domestic political team is comprehensive and represents all ethnic, religious and capitalist interests.
In my view, the world is in a position similar to before World War I, when it was was populated with unstable leaders.
Clinton is the candidate to steer the ship of state in these troubled waters.
Paul Comerford
Blue Springs
Don’t endorse
I was very disappointed that The Star endorsed a candidate for president, although I know several other papers have done so.
It has been utterly impossible to watch TV, listen to the radio, read the paper or just have normal conversations with neighbors, friends and families without disputes, arguments and hurt feelings.
I really don’t want to know whom my neighbor, movie stars, talk shows and, especially, my paper endorse.
I have not showcased yard signs or “liked” Facebook posts, so as not to have my beliefs scrutinized. I ask you this, is there not an expectation from your readers that you would stay unbiased and not take sides?
I naively had hoped The Star would stay neutral so I could trust your reporting; now I cannot. I will cancel my subscription, because when you publicly take sides, your message is that you are not worried about alienating the other side, which in this region is hundreds of thousands of people.
Patty Milbourn
Shawnee
KC’s classy hotels
A comparison to consider in the planned Hotel Savoy renovation: The Raphael Hotel experience includes the valet, the walk-down steps, the friendly welcome, the intimate bar with a musician or two and our special table with a bottle of wine. It is truly the most European dining experience in Kansas City.
Then the Savoy Grill experience: walking back in time in Kansas City, the maître d’, the bar, the murals, the table service, the waiters, the food. Can someone save this historic experience?
John Stack
Overland Park
Trump, women
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump loves women, and he says so all the time. Yes, this 70-year-old loves his women younger.
With each wife, he trades in on a newer model: Ivana, 67; Marla, 52; and Melania, 46. I guess that’s why 78 percent of Republican women plan to vote for Trump.
They respect a man who’s a real man? I’m at a loss.
John Meyer
Blue Springs
No more war
War is not a humanitarian solution.
While the military industrial complex and political and media supporters pound the drums for war in Syria, we need only recall earlier failed humanitarian interventions. It is time to unmask the lie of an emotional drive to war, based on supposed benefits to people whom we — or allies — bomb.
Humanitarian needs abound in Syria, but prior efforts in Libya and Iraq should give us pause. To depose tyrants, we bombed civilian populations who, not surprisingly, did not welcome us as liberators. We destabilized nations, leading to the rise of ISIS.
The second lie we must unmask is the belief that, because of our high ideals, the U.S. can do no wrong. This belief blinds us from recognizing that the litany of ills we recite for the other side consistently mirrors our own.
In Syria, for instance, we armed and supported “moderate” rebels, some of whom were allied with al-Qaida, and supported them with sophisticated weaponry.
Humanitarian crises require solutions that address underlying social needs. Congress and the president must seek solutions through diplomacy, not war. We must demand the same from those who seek office in the coming election.
Amrita Burdick
Kansas City
This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Readers talk about Moran, Blunt, Clinton, endorsements, war, critical thinking."