Readers address climate change, election, Missouri law, GMOs, insurance

Veterans Day

On Tuesday, vote. Then, on Friday, remember the ones who made that possible.

Clyde Waltermate

Raytown

Global warming

There are so many climate-change deniers that it frightens me. We have clearly come close to and maybe even are over the tipping point, and still there are shrill cries to increase oil and gas production.

Our country is way behind Europe in understanding the gravity of the situation and doing something about it.

The amount of solar energy and wind energy now in use in western Europe puts our country to shame.

Giant glacial calving and Arctic ice melts cause ocean levels to rise and island nations to be swallowed up, not to mention hasten global warming by reducing the ice that reflects the sun’s rays instead of absorbing the heat and adding to the solar heating of the planet.

Minda Wetzel

President

The Conservation and

Research Foundation

Lawrence

Bullying elderly

A new Missouri law, passed as a provision of SB 732, provides more protection to the state’s senior population. It clarifies that bullying an elderly person qualifies as elder abuse.

Precise language will be distributed to law enforcement, the court systems, health departments, senior services and all other government agencies dealing with seniors. Private industry of multifamily management and property owners will be included.

Bullying is intimidation or harassment with actions including gestures, cyberbullying and verbal, electronic or written words, causing a reasonable person to fear for physical safety or property, as well as any threat of retaliation for reporting of such acts.

The law requires first responders (law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel) to report incidents of elder abuse to the Department of Health and Senior Services. Failure to report is a Class A misdemeanor.

Any person suspecting that an elderly or disabled adult is being bullied, abused, neglected or financially exploited should call the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-392-0210. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

Exploitation can occur in community settings, private residences and state-licensed long-term care facilities such as a nursing home or a residential care facility.

Edie Stephenson

Kearney

After the vote

Maybe it’s just campaign rhetoric intended to fire up the base in close races, but it has to give us all reason to be concerned about what Republicans intend to do if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency and Republicans hold the House and Senate.

A few Republican members of the Senate have publicly stated they will block any nominations for the Supreme Court and lower courts for Clinton’s entire term. Republican members of the House have publicly stated they have compiled enough information to investigate and hold hearings for Clinton’s entire term.

To top it all off, a few House and Senate members have stated they will immediately begin to hold impeachment hearings.

If Clinton wins, that would mean the votes of the American people do not matter to Republican elected officials. They would not only spend millions of taxpayer dollars on endless hearings, they would also grind the government to a halt.

We the people of this country deserve better than that.

If the voters elect Clinton president, shouldn’t Republicans honor that decision? Isn’t this a democracy, where the people, not elected officials, decide who is worthy of the office of the president?

Karen Lane

Shawnee

Act of kindness

My wife and I belong to a group of senior citizens who meet at the Irene French Community Center in Merriam for an exercise class. On the first Wednesday of each month, the group goes to a local restaurant for lunch.

On a recent Wednesday, about 20 persons met at the Italian Delight in Mission. We ordered our meals, and when it came time to pay the cashier waitress said the meals had already been taken care of.

Some kind person or persons in the restaurant had purchased meals for the entire group. On behalf of the group, I would like to thank whoever was responsible.

John Watson

Shawnee

Voter ID

Whenever I vote and am asked for an ID, I am reminded of my father who passed away three years ago at the age of 84.

For much of his life, my father did not have a birth certificate. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a copy; no actual birth certificate existed because the attending physician didn’t file one.

At about the age of 55, my father was able to acquire a birth certificate from Kansas by submitting affidavits from two people who remembered his birth. Fortunately, he was still able to do this; had he waited a few years, it might have been impossible.

My point is, it’s not always easy for people (especially the elderly) to obtain the paperwork currently required for voter registration.

I agree that voter fraud should be prevented whenever possible, but enforcing the law should not deny voting rights to thousands of Kansans. It appears to me that the cases that have been prosecuted would not have been prevented by showing ID.

I urge Kansas lawmakers to consider citizens like my father when enacting voting laws and not deny them their right to vote.

Andrea DeHart

Olathe

No GMO tomatoes

A letter writer (10-25, 6A, Letters) wrote about tasteless GMO tomatoes. To set the record straight: There are no genetically engineered tomatoes commercially available.

Currently, only nine genetically engineered crops are commercially available: alfalfa, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, potato, squash, soybean and sugar beets.

Incorrect statements such as that letter only perpetuate misinformation and misconceptions concerning this technology.

I have been a researcher in this field for more than 20 years and know the technology well. As a consumer, I have no hesitation feeding my family food derived from genetically engineered crops.

If you have questions related to genetic engineering, I would be happy answer them or point you in the right direction.

Harold N. Trick

Professor of

plant pathology,

Kansas State University

Olsburg, Kan.

KC pride

Our town has another big league team to brag on: The Kansas City Chorale, directed by Charles Bruffy, gave a world-class performance of Brahms’ Requiem last week at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village.

The group’s astonishingly uplifting singing may have exceeded what the full house can expect to hear in heaven.

Jared J. Grantham

Leawood

Language barrier

I have received my 2017 Medicare book. There is a listing of 15 languages that can be used.

Translations services are provided for the languages. My Medicare gap insurance coverage book lists 73 languages.

It clearly states you have a right to request translation services. There are languages listed that I did not know existed.

It’s one more step in establishing the Divided States of America.

Richard Blaisdell

Kansas City

Insurance cost

The next signup for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is upon us. Increases in policy premiums have been announced.

If you have had health insurance, you know premiums increase from year to year. So what is the fuss this year, besides the election? Why have premiums increased?

Insurance companies set their premiums based on several factors, including competition and the coverages they offer potential customers. Government does not set policy premiums, and the reasons for that should be apparent in today’s political climate.

Companies revise their premiums to maintain their profits and show their shareholders or owners that they are performing in accordance with owner expectations. If an insurance company withdraws from a market, that decision is made by the company for its own reasons — none of which are concerned with the fate of policy holders.

For every company that withdraws, other companies can fill the void and offer coverage under terms that appeal to people. That is a free market.

While it might be fashionable to blame the law for what is happening, the law hasn’t changed. Company conduct has, however. Think about that.

John Becker

Westwood Hills, Kan.

New process

If you as a voter don’t want to be forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, then demand that changes be made to the voting system to allow you to fully state your preferences.

The key change is to replace the ballot we use now with the ranked choice ballot. This will both enable and force political parties to nominate majority, rather than plurality, winners. In general elections, this will eliminate the “spoiler scenario” and make third parties competitive.

Maine has an initiative on the ballot Tuesday to do just that. The other states should copy them.

For more information, Google election reform advocates like FairVote, The Center Strikes Back and The Brennan Center for Justice.

Or we can continue the insanity of doing elections like we’re doing them now and expecting different results. The choice is ours.

Larry R. Bradley