Readers weigh in on eye exams, Kansas elections, education, money in politics

Backward law

My husband recently went to an optical store because his eyeglass frames broke. The frames could not be repaired, so the eyeglasses must be replaced.

Because his prescription is more than a year old, however, he is required to get a new prescription to get new glasses.

As a result of this law, my 78-year-old husband, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia and most likely will not be alive at this time next year, must choose between enduring the trouble and expense of an eye exam and new lenses he neither wants nor needs and spending his remaining days with duct-taped eyeglasses.

Exactly whom was this law intended to benefit?

Regina Berens

Raytown

Changing Topeka

OK, Kansas Republican voters, you gave me a glimmer of hope after the August primaries. We told Topeka we were not going to take it anymore, and we let our votes do our talking.

While a few managed to slip through our voting fingers, we got rid of many of the architects of disaster who did their best to ruin our state. Part one is accomplished.

However, this is a two-part test, and we must not fail part two. We have to make sure we show up again in November and get this group of Republicans to Topeka.

We can’t let the Democrats on the left take over our state government. We have schools to fund, roads to fix and people who want to work, and this group can get it done.

Have a great fall and enjoy the changing of the seasons because in November we are going to change Topeka.

Jerry Harper

Lenexa

Kander for senator

I want to challenge all supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to prove you are not just a bunch of hypocrites. I keep hearing how much you want to “shake things up” and how you hate the way government works or doesn’t work right now.

If what you say is true, you will not vote to return Sen. Roy Blunt to Washington, D.C. Between his time in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Blunt has been there forever.

What has he done for the average Missourian (not employed by Monsanto)? Not a darned thing that I can think of.

His wife and kids are doing pretty well, though. Baby Blunt (son Matt) didn’t even run for a second term as governor before cashing in.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is an energetic, positive young man who has served his country when it needed him. Why not vote for Kander for senator?

If you want to shake things up, let’s show Roy Blunt the exit ramp.

Linda Christian

Greenwood

Education at risk

Any public school teacher who votes for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump betrays his or her profession and students.

At the top of his hit list would be the U.S. Department of Education. Next would be his goal to kill all teachers associations and teacher tenure. All of this would in turn destroy the learning process in the schools.

Once upon a time, I walked the miles as a teacher. The miles I’ve walked in 87 years bring me to believe I have experience and acquired wisdom about student learning that Trump will never have.

Ken McCully

Retired teacher

Hickman Mills

School District

Belton

Why Trump

The next president will be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. The Kansas City Star has told us why it prefers Clinton. Let me tell you why I prefer Trump.

I am told that both have done things that should not have been done. Up to this point, I feel that Clinton has harmed me more than Trump.

Looking forward, I feel that Clinton will harm me more than Trump, because she probably will do little or nothing to stop the degradation of our culture. I am especially concerned with the way the present administration shows so little respect for the First and 10th Amendments.

The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of speech, but we are losing both. When a baker says he cannot bake a cake because of his sincerely held religious belief but is told by the courts that he must change his belief, he is losing religious freedom.

Trump has pledged to appoint only judges who will support the Constitution. The Constitution means so much to me that this is, in itself, enough for me to vote for Trump.

David F Robinson

Overland Park

Guns kill people

If guns don’t kill people, as the National Rifle Association says, then why do countries in western and northern Europe have lower homicide rates than we do in the U.S.?

Are they exempt from the warning in Matthew 15:19 that out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, false witness and other such evils? I don’t think so.

What they have are sensible gun laws that restrict access to weapons for people who should not have them. Their approach deters the public from purchasing guns intended for the military, such as the AR-15 rifle or its derivatives.

Hunting rifles are common, but these are guns for hunting animals, not humans. I see no problem with guns used for target practice in safe zones.

I had a rifle as an adolescent on the farm to dispatch trapped muskrats and groundhogs and had a BB gun mainly for target practice. I also belonged to a rifle club in high school.

Still I think it is clear that, in our urban society, the proliferation of guns is an important factor in accounting for our high homicide rate.

Niel Johnson

Independence

Untrustworthy

I love my children, grandchildren and my country too much to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Like President Barack Obama, she is one of the biggest liars in the world.

Another deplorable.

Sheryl Hay

Leavenworth

No comparison

When I hear some voters say of our presidential candidates, “They are both so bad,” I have to disagree.

One candidate has factually proved he is unfit to be a role model for my child, let alone a world representative.

The charges against Hillary Clinton, other than her being a tough, tenacious, ambitious political force, are not grounded in fact. She has been investigated, deposed and questioned under oath by some of the best lawyers in the business, and no charges have been filed against her.

The “Kool-Aid crowd Trumpsters” are perhaps not reflective enough to know why they hate her name so vehemently. Their hatred might stem from racial attitudes of the 1960s and 1970s, when Hillary Rodham, a young lawyer at the time, was working for voting and housing rights for minorities in Arkansas and other parts of the South.

So, it is logical to assume that segregationist rhetoric, still heard at Donald Trump rallies, would pass from grandfathers and fathers to younger generations.

So, let’s lock her up for being that pretty young white girl who helped minorities in segregationist America decades ago.

E.G. Bohannon

Fairway

Vote on principle

The theme of this year’s election has been fear. We have been told we must choose the major-party candidate we fear less. But what good will that choice accomplish when most agree it is a choice between two different sources of harm?

As we exercise our rights, we should consider the implications for our Constitution. Although it is true that a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote lost for the lesser of two evils, like it or not, our vote sends a message to Washington.

A vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump sends the message that a low-quality candidate is acceptable. It sends the message that the parties need not change.

I implore everyone to have the courage to vote on principle rather than fear. Cast your vote for a candidate who seeks to defend our founding documents. Send the message that government exists to serve. Send the message that courageous public service will be rewarded with future votes.

S. Christopher

Conway

Jefferson City

Get money out

I am tired of the compromised representation that we the people are subjected to. The remedies are well known:

▪ Dismantle the effects of Citizens United.

▪ Do away with lobbyists. Expert input is readily available.

▪ Finance campaigns for viable candidates in an impartial and fair way through the tax system.

▪ Proscribe any and all gifts of money and favors from any entity except normal family or friends gifting.

▪ Maintain the highest vigilance to ensure “influence money” is kept out of our political process.

Ed Papacena

Kansas City

Justice nomination

If Hillary Clinton wins the job, she would be wise to nominate a lawyer with an even temperament: Barack Obama.

It would give him something to do. It would serve the obstructionists right.

Ken Hansen

Smithville, Mo.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Readers weigh in on eye exams, Kansas elections, education, money in politics."