Letters: Readers discuss mouse problems, Obamacare and election hacking

Mouse control

I take exception to one of the controls suggested by Mike Lafollette in his recent “Handyman” column. (Jan. 8, 2C, “Got mice?”)

I love the information and ways to prevent mouse infestations, but rodenticide and bait boxes are poor ways to control these pests. Not only do these bait boxes invite other mammal species to the table, but the animals that prey on mice and other small mammals are at risk.

Many rodenticides work slowly, allowing poisoned animals to stay active. Before they finally die, they typically have many times the lethal dose, greatly increasing the toxin load to animals such as owls and foxes.

To make matters worse, many of these predators do a great job of keeping mouse populations down. For example, a barn owl can eat hundreds, even thousands, of mice each year.

The best way to deal with a rodent problem is prevention. If that does not work, an old-fashioned snap trap works well, as do the new electric ones. They are quick and humane. You can even use live traps if you want to invest the time and money.

Please do not use poisons to control rodents. The owls will thank you.

Joel Whitaker

Leawood

Obama’s legacy

Recently, there have been loud proclamations from some that Barack Obama is the worst president ever. I don’t think that narrative fits the facts, even if it satisfies the emotions of some.

Obama will be remembered similarly to Harry Truman, a president who was also very unpopular with an extremely loud minority and whose presidency suffered from an obstructionist Congress. Truman’s Congress was more productive, in fact.

Obama’s legacy is a mixed bag surely, but it’s disingenuous and factually wrong to label him a failure. His predecessor left office having launched a war in the wrong country, lost us thousands of jobs monthly and demonstrated historic incompetence in failing to stop the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history.

During Obama’s presidency, on the other hand, more than 11 million jobs have been added over six-plus years. Preventive care is now a tax benefit. (Nope, it’s not “free.”) The stock market is at a historic high, which is distinctive because it performed poorly under George W. Bush. Osama bin Laden is dead. And for all the bluster about the Islamic State group, it kills fewer than two dozen Americans a year.

This is Obama’s legacy. I, for one, am thankful.

Ryan Stevens

Kansas City

President Harry Truman first proposed a government-run national health insurance fund in November 1945. For 65 years, Congress could not reach consensus.

Health care reform is difficult. Uncounted interest groups have positions on all sides of the law. Everybody has something to win or lose.

A repeal-only vote will likely bump up against deadlines and become a political football kicked down the trail ad infinitum. History foretells the future.

Certain basic ideas must be agreed upon. All people need health care in their lives. No citizen should be excluded because of an existing condition. Providers and allied industries should be free from unnecessary government interference.

Americans should not pay more for healthcare than the median paid in similar countries. There may be working world models that can assist. Socialized medicine, such as the system in the United Kingdom, is not something to which Americans can agree.

Better health care can reveal itself only if easy opportunities for political payback are resisted and a sensible approach to repeal and, more importantly, to replacement is adopted.

Alan Portner

Leawood

Give or take

Regarding the president’s daily intelligence briefings, assuming president-elect Donald Trump decides to participate, will Trump receive the briefings or will he give the briefings?

Jim Kilen

Kansas City

Blame game

Listening to the Donald Trump transition team blaming the Democratic National Committee for getting hacked sounds a lot like hearing that a women was raped because of what she was wearing.

Darlene Wiltanger

Kansas City

This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss mouse problems, Obamacare and election hacking."