Readers share views on guns, social media and Kansas
Guns, crime, books
I have been reading about how the number of guns and lack of control contribute to the United States’ number of gun-related deaths. I think it would be interesting to analyze our relative positions in mental health care, poverty and illiteracy to the number of deaths by guns.
I think improvement in those areas would lower gun deaths and crime in general.
Instead of harping on background checks, start harping on every child being able to read by the time he or she is in the third grade.
Corky Lewis
Lee’s Summit
Social media debate
One of the positive effects of social media is that you can talk to family members, and they can show you what they want you to see via Skype or FaceTime.
Another good thing about using social media is that you can make new friends or develop new relationships.
My final example of why social media sites are good is that they introduce new technology, preparing people for the future, which I am sure will be full of if not controlled by technology.
Well, those are some positive points on how social media is good. Now let’s look at the bad points.
First, they make some people lose their ability to think independently. They can ruin people’s health by altering their eating habits.
Another reason they are bad is that some people constantly spend money online.
Worst of all, in my opinion, is cyberbullying, because it can distress people and cause some to commit suicide.
Siyawosh Price
Kansas City
Intense Kansas sun
It is now 21/2 times more expensive to file an annual corporation report in Kansas than it is in Missouri. Sales-tax rates in some community improvement districts in Johnson County are just less than 11 percent.
The transportation experts say their coffers cannot be robbed to pay for Gov. Sam Brownback’s income-tax cuts to our wealthiest citizens and our businesses without risk of adverse consequences. It seems that everyone who understands the fiscal mess in this state is claiming there is no more blood left to squeeze from the turnip.
Meanwhile, our poor and disabled go without adequate food and medical treatment. Our seniors quake in fear about cuts to Medicare while some lack proper identifications to vote.
And our schoolchildren are held as pawns in a high-stakes game of educate them or more lushly line the Koch brothers’ pockets.
My salutations for a heck of a job to Gov. Sam Brownback, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder and the Kansas electorate.
If the sun shines any brighter in Kansas, we might just all spontaneously combust.
Sarah Douglas
Mission
Irritation showing
I am increasingly amazed by the ridiculous and childish actions of individuals holding significant positions in our government. Their actions make their lack of respect for constituents, other elected officials and frankly themselves clear.
What motivates House Speaker John Boehner to lower himself to make incredibly blatant and infantile facial and body movements as a show of his extreme disgust toward President Barack Obama as the president speaks?
This is no one-time incident. Boehner can be counted on. The fact that he clearly knows his actions are being televised worldwide shows not only contempt for President Obama, but for the office of the president.
This from the speaker of the House? Boehner certainly doesn’t deserve the seat in which he sits.
Here in Kansas, evidently too many voters didn’t place enough weight on the financial ruin that Gov. Sam Brownback is creating. Loyalty to his wealthy thugs overrides what’s good for Kansas.
As the financial hole grows deeper, credible sources repeatedly prove his claims false. Who would believe that as governor he “didn’t know” before the election the state’s finances?
Continued lies show a deeply rooted lack of respect for all Kansans. His many words about being a Christian are overridden by his actions.
We must hold these men accountable.
Lisa Hays
Overland Park
Fair share in taxes
Every day you hear a politician declare that everyone should pay his or her fair share of taxes. Several times a week there are letters to the editor about people paying their fair share of taxes.
What is a fair share? Remember, 47 percent of the people in the United States pay no federal income tax. Chances are they pay no state income tax.
How is a fair share of taxes to be determined?
I look forward to an answer.
John Lovelace
Olathe
No on I-70 tolls
Concerning proposals to turn Interstate 70 into a toll road, if our legislators succeed, tourism and interstate commerce will suffer. People will do their best to avoid driving in our state.
We will have long lines entering and exiting our highway. We will have to pay expensive tolls to travel from Kansas City to St. Louis.
That’s in addition to the gas tax we are already paying. This would amount to double taxation.
Also, instead of having a choice of gas stations and restaurants to stop at, we will have toll plazas. Won’t that be fun?
Consider, too, that some news accounts warn motorists not to speed in toll lanes. E-Z Pass is watching.
Several states, including New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania, say they monitor speeds through fast-pass toll lanes and suspend E-Z Passes for multiple speeding violations.
This sounds like Big Brother is watching you. If we insist on spending money, wouldn’t a high-speed train make more sense?
Philip D. Gipson
St. Charles, Mo.
Sunflower recipe
A recipe for creating a flyover state:
1) Simmer a massive debt.
2) Chop debt by defunding once-great schools.
3) Cut social and mental health services.
3) Discard national capital to expand Medicaid.
4) Stir the pot to lure gun manufacturers by allowing all residents to conceal and carry without a license.
5) Sprinkle in more incentives so enterprising young entrepreneurs can expand their gun-making businesses.
6) Garnish $900 million on candidates who will continue such measures.
7) Season voters to believe these are Christian practices.
8) Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Boyd Bauman
Roeland Park
Cash in campaigns
I keep reading that the Koch brothers are trying to buy elections. They are helping the Republican Party.
I have never seen how billionaires George Soros, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are helping the Democratic Party.
Why is this? There are many millionaires and billionaires in California helping the Democratic Party. I guess they are not trying to buy elections.
Maybe people should wake up and understand it is both parties, not just the Republicans.
Richard K. Minear
Kansas City, Kan.
Missouri Gas Energy
Do you think just because you have a monopoly on gas utility service in the Kansas City area that you don’t have to value your customers’ time?
I marvel at how you can possibly not provide a time window for when you will be to my home.
Just a simple “morning” or “afternoon” would have sufficed. I’m fortunate because I’m retired and can waste an entire day waiting on Missouri Gas Energy to call 30 minutes before showing up.
What happens to people who have to work? Are they expected to take a day off to sit and wait?
What further disturbs me is that we scheduled this service call. This was not an emergency. The utility didn’t work us in. Is business run so inefficiently at Missouri Gas Energy that there is no such thing as an appointment?
All other major utility companies in Kansas City provide customers with a time frame for service, such as 8 a.m. to noon, noon to 3 p.m. or 3 to 6 p.m.
This is the 21st century, so I would advise Missouri Gas Energy or its parent company, Laclede Gas Co., to get with the program and stop wasting the time of your customers.
Patricia Brown
Independence
This story was originally published March 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers share views on guns, social media and Kansas."