Readers discuss Trump, JoCo group, Amendment 3, early voting
President Trump
This will be the shortest letter to the editor I’ve ever written. If Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wins the presidency, it will be the worst thing that has happened to America since the Civil War.
This from a former Republican.
William R. Park Sr.
Shawnee
Not so mainstream
For years, I have been bemused and irked by the name of the Johnson County MainStream Coalition.
One of the early leaders was the Rev. Robert Meneilly, who one would think would be very ethical. Instead, the group chose a totally misleading name, no doubt deliberately to fool potential voters looking for unbiased advice.
There is nothing “mainstream” about the organization. It is very liberal group that hides behind a false name.
Witness its current list of recommendations — with few exceptions, it urges votes for the Democrat candidate.
Why the group has not been unmasked before is a mystery to me.
Oh, forgot. The Star, too, is an arm of the Democratic Party.
Walt Vernon
Prairie Village
Preschool vote
Today in Missouri, we face an early childhood education crisis.
Just 3 percent of Missouri 4-year-olds are enrolled in public pre-K compared with 76 percent of 4-year-olds in Oklahoma and 60 percent of 4-year-olds in Iowa. We are falling behind our neighbors and doing a great disservice to Missouri children and our economic future.
Studies show that early childhood education helps reduce crime, improve graduation rates, grow the economy and save taxpayer dollars in the long run. We can finally prioritize early childhood education by supporting the Early Childhood Health and Education Amendment, which would provide $300 million in guaranteed funding to this critical cause.
About 330,000 Missourians — myself included — signed a petition to put this amendment on the ballot in November. But cheap-cigarette companies concerned about their profits are doing everything in their power to defeat it.
We should not turn a blind eye to the early education crisis we face as a state. Missouri’s kids and future depend on it.
Daniel Zamora
Kansas City
Early voting
Republicans in Kansas have attempted to suppress the vote in their state by passing voter ID laws. Missouri Republicans have also voted to use voter ID laws to suppress voter rights.
Missouri does not have an early voting provision, and that in itself is a form of voter suppression. I have proposed that this great state of my birth should allow early voting starting a week before Election Day.
Give voters a chance to exercise their constitutional right so that no one will be disenfranchised because they cannot vote on the one day that is allowed under current law.
Gene W. DeVaux
Greenwood, Mo.
This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Readers discuss Trump, JoCo group, Amendment 3, early voting."