Letters: Readers discuss gerrymandering, truck safety, Trump’s speech to veterans
Change the system
The June 29 column, “Let’s change how we elect the House of Representatives” by Rep. Don Beyer (13A) is the most hopeful thing I have heard out of Washington in years.
As a retired high school social studies teacher, I stand in favor of this form of selecting representatives.
The gerrymandering of the last 30 years has overcome the voice of the people and created professional politicians — not regular people holding office.
I think Beyers has a great idea, but I cannot see a way it will pass in Congress, because it would reduce the opportunity for the professionals to get re-elected. They will block this bill.
If we want it done, it would have to be by an amendment to our Constitution, and that would have to begin at the grass roots in state conventions. Of course, our present Missouri governor most likely would not support this idea either.
Let’s get started today and help Rep. Don Beyer get this bill into law.
Irvin L. Jones
Independence
President’s speech
President Donald Trump’s speech honoring veterans Saturday evening at the Kennedy Center in Washington was wonderful.
My brother and I, both veterans, felt humbled and honored by it. It was such a shame that it was carried on TV only by Fox. It could have been available to a much wider audience.
Are the other networks so prejudiced against the president that they are unable to even respect the office of the presidency?
If you didn’t hear it, I hope you find it and listen to it.
G. David Dixon, M.D.
Leawood
Different standards
I’m getting pretty tired of men analyzing a feminist movement they clearly don’t understand.
More movies are being produced with female leads and directors, and each one has to live up to sky-high expectations across the board or it is a failure for feminism.
Each character must be three-dimensional and unique while still emphasizing her femininity; the plot cannot repeat anything from the past or women are just copycats; and the film must have an inherent moral that is uplifting and empowering — but not too much.
Funny how that has never applied to men.
Maybe women just want to be allowed and accepted as normal in all spheres of life.
In reviews for recent movies such as “Wonder Woman” and “The Beguiled,” critics need to take a step back from their assumptions and judge them with the same criteria as any other film.
Jessica Peterson
Westwood
Kobach’s request
Does it scare the daylights out of anyone else that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is willing to give up Missouri voters’ personal information (name, address, phone, birth date and partial Social Security number) to Kris Kobach and the Trump administration? (June 30, 1A, “Kobach wants personal info on every U.S. voter”)
The supposed purpose is to fix the problem of voter fraud, which doesn’t exist. The right to control elections has always been local, and the Republicans supposedly supported this and fought a national registry.
Other states are fighting this. Why aren’t we?
Lynne Clock
Kansas City
Truck safety facts
In advocating against the widespread adoption of Twin 33s (a truck configuration with two 33-foot trailers), Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald Ash fails to mention that they are substantially smaller than many trucks allowed in 20 other states. (June 27, 11A, “Longer, heavier trucks pose a highway hazard”) This missing context is important in light of his assertions.
Although five feet longer than the 28-foot trailers currently in use on interstates across the country, Twin 33s must still abide by existing weight limits. They are not heavier trucks. Gains in safety and efficiency make this a common-sense solution to the 40 percent increase in freight levels projected by the U.S. Department of Transporation.
If this policy were in place in 2014, trucks would have used 255 million fewer gallons of fuel and policymakers would have averted 4,500 crashes. Analysis has also shown that Twin 33s perform better at highway speeds with less off-tracking, rollover and spinout risk than Twin 28s.
We urge elected officials to focus on facts rather than hyperbole and work to update decades-old policy to allow Twin 33s to operate on all interstate highways. This zero-cost solution would improve safety, efficiency and sustainability in Kansas and across the country.
Randy Mullett
Executive Director
Americans for Modern
Transportation
Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss gerrymandering, truck safety, Trump’s speech to veterans."