Readers sound off on rose disease, history, lies, politicians, Supreme Court
Rose reassurance
Some of you may have recently read about a disease affecting rose plants in the Kansas City region. This disease, called rose rosette, has been in our area since 1998. It is caused by a virus for which there is currently no cure.
The rose, our national floral emblem, is universally loved as a cut flower and in the garden. It is used as an expression of affection and is widely considered to be the most beautiful of all flowers.
For these and many other reasons, you should not give up on roses. The Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden in Loose Park has been only mildly affected by rose rosette, losing less than 0.5 percent of its plants each year.
We encourage you to keep growing roses, but stay informed about how to recognize and manage this disease once you find it.
Beginning in the spring, we will present educational material to inform hobbyist and professional gardeners, landscapers and landscape designers about the significance of rose rosette disease and the best practices to minimize its impact.
Don’t give up on roses.
Sheldon D. Andrew,
Rose Society
Kansas City
History repeating
Fifty years ago, on Oct. 23, 1956, the Hungarian Revolution began.Thousands of protestors tried to free their country from the Soviets, who had controlled it since the end of World War II.
At first, it appeared the revolution might be successful, as Soviet troops withdrew and a new premier was installed.
The Soviet Union’s new leader, Nikita Khrushchev, a successor to the brutal Josef Stalin who had died in 1953, was thought to be a more moderate ruler. Unfortunately, on Nov. 4, 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest and crushed the revolution.
An estimated 2,500 Hungarians were killed and 200,000 fled the country — many coming to the U.S. The new premier was eventually executed.
I drove a group of fellow college students to a public square in Cleveland to protest the invasion. We were dismayed that the U.S. was unwilling or unable to do anything to aid the Hungarians.
Recent actions by Russia’s current ruler, Vladimir Putin, using the Russian military to seize parts of Georgia and Ukraine, remind me of the actions of Khrushchev in 1956. I think any person who admires Putin should not be considered for a national political office in the U.S.
Tim Thomas
Leawood
Pants on fire
This year’s presidential campaign should be chronicled for posterity as the great Lie-O-Rama of 2016.
There’s been enough lying about enough topics by both candidates and their staffs to make the art of political fibs a science to be studied — and lied about — for elections to come.
But all the shenanigans won’t stand up when compared with the best of the best — the three greatest lies from sitting presidents:
1. “Read my lips: no new taxes.”
2. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
3. “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan.”
These are so good you could make the case that the current candidates are merely liars in waiting.
Election Day lies ahead.
Richard F. Thomas Jr.
Kansas City
Supreme Court
Donald Trump was not my choice during the Republican primaries. I will, however, vote for Trump in the general election.
It’s not because I like Trump. It’s because the most important issue in this election is the Supreme Court. The economy, illegal immigration, terrorism, etc., are important issues. Lumped together, they are not as important as the Supreme Court.
Setting aside the Supreme Court, the nation could tolerate four years of a Trump or Hillary Clinton presidency. Congress could keep either from making any disastrous mistakes.
The next president will appoint at least one and perhaps three or four justices in the next four years. These justices will be on the court for many years.
We need to ask the question: What type of justices do we want to fill these positions?
Clinton said she would appoint justices who would undoubtedly legislate from the bench, meaning they wouldn’t follow the Constitution. Trump has provided a list of 20 judges, all of whom would be strict constitutionalists.
The Constitution is the reason the U.S. has been the greatest nation in the history of the world. A Clinton presidency would be a disaster for the future of America.
Bill Gochis
Overland Park
Air pollution
I don’t hear anyone talking about or complaining about how our blue skies are being ruined. Doesn’t anybody look at the sky anymore?
Watch the skies.
Craig Kinsel
North Kansas City
Behind the mask
I have the finer things in life,
Chauffeured cars, a trophy wife.
I have it all, wealth and fame,
Steel gilded with the family name.
Helicopters at my call,
Have several planes, I have it all.
My name is Trump. I am the best.
Despise the small, dismiss the rest.
Enriching Donald is my game.
It hasn’t changed. It’s still the same.
But now I run, now I speak.
Attack the wise, mock the weak.
I ooze bravado, talk the talk.
I do not care on whom I walk.
I promise things that cannot be.
I’m using you, but you can’t see.
A vote for me is from a fool.
You’re just my pawn. You’re just a tool.
What you don’t see I will not show.
Behind my mask you will not know.
Behind facade I am a child.
In truth I’m weak, my show defiled.
My ego rules the all of me,
Possesses Trump? How can that be?
As it owns me, I am a slave.
It will be so until my grave.
But set aside reality.
I am the greatest, don’t you see?
I want your vote, a call to task,
So choose the man behind the mask.
Randy Kietzman
Kansas City
This story was originally published October 30, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Readers sound off on rose disease, history, lies, politicians, Supreme Court."