Readers sound off on liberals, Kansas, big oil
Liberals’ viewpoint
This could be the progressives’ doctrine:
Terrorist good, Israel bad. Cans of green beans good, guns bad. The Rev. Al Sharpton good, cops bad.
Muslims good, Christians bad. Lois Lerner good, Congress bad. Solyndra good, oil companies bad. Al Gore good, coal bad.
First lady Michelle Obama’s vacations good, Las Vegas bad. Michael Moore good, Chris Kyle bad. Michael Brown good, Ferguson, Mo., police bad.
Bowe Bergdahl good, U.S. military bad. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder good, prosecuting blacks bad. Trayvon Martin good, George Zimmerman bad.
Ninety-nine percentiles good, capitalism bad. George Soros good, Koch brothers bad.
Steve Prosser
Overland Park
Winners in Kansas
Two or three times a month, my two brothers, my sister and I get together with our spouses for dinner, sometimes with old friends. The latest dinner subject was Kansas. The discussion got so excited we had to pass around a spoon that gave a person the floor because everyone was talking at once.
I brought up the subject of who loses and who benefits from the Kansas government. The spoon went around the table like a tornado.
After about two hours of discussion and naming all the losers, we came to the conclusion that the only winners were rich Republican who drank the tea party tea.
Joseph T. Purcell
Kansas City
Big oil going bust
It seemed kind of funny that the day after the Kansas City Power & Light Co. announced plans to install more than 1,000 charging stations, the people who took the news most seriously were with the big oil companies. The price of gas jumped 10 cents overnight.
And it has always bugged me that when the price of gas goes down, it moves only a penny or two at a time, but when the big oil companies raise it, it jumps 10 or 12 cents overnight.
I’m sure big oil companies are worried about the success of electric cars, and they should be.
I think it’s just a matter of time before the oil companies will be the fossils, and we will no longer be their victims.
Ray Mantooth
Shawnee
Streetcar expansion
I would like to applaud the City Council members who dug in their heels and said no to any streetcar expansion and yes to other much-needed improvements. Councilman Russ Johnson’s behavior is an embarrassment to his position and to his constituents.
Three council members and Mayor Sly James continue to try to shove a failed streetcar plan down the throats of midtown and southtown homeowners and property owners.
Obviously, 60 percent means something to most council members, who are acting on the will of the people. Perhaps it’s time for James and Johnson to stop acting like spoiled children determined to do as they please.
Maybe someone should sing them a lullaby, like from the Disney classic “Frozen,” “Let it go, let it go, let it go.”
David Zagalik
Kansas City
Combating obesity
Jeneé Osterheldt, in her March 7 column, “Time to liberate school lunches,” cites alarming statistics — 13 percent of high schoolers in Kansas are obese and 15 percent in Missouri, but she then concludes that school lunches are too healthy.
As a retired general, I come to the opposite conclusion, because obesity is the leading medical reason 71 percent of young adults in Kansas and 72 percent in Missouri cannot join the military.
We must turn the tide on the obesity epidemic by instilling good eating and exercise habits from an early age both at home and at school, where children consume up to half their daily calories.
Contrary to claims that students are throwing away more of the healthy school meals, a study just published in the journal Childhood Obesity shows that when the new guidelines went into effect, students ate nearly 20 percent more of the entrees and 40 percent more of the vegetables they took, effectively decreasing the amount thrown away.
Instead of weakening science-based school nutrition guidelines under the guise of flexibility, we must strengthen our commitment to children’s health and future national security.
John Schmader
Brigadier General
U.S. Army (Retired)
Easton, Kan.
Keystone debate
The debate on the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is purely political. It is President Barack Obama and billionaire Warren Buffett on one side, and the conservatives and Koch brothers on the other.
To me the decision on whether to build the pipeline should be based on the best technology, not politics. I strongly believe pipeline technology is much superior to railroad technology.
I think the recent derailment in West Virginia and two derailments in Canada in the last 10 years prove that. Not to mention the addition of pollution from the diesel engines.
Dennis Tabel
Overland Park
Respecting all life
In this Lenten journey, the greatest threat to the dignity of Mother Teresa is a war against the child. Abortion is a direct killing of the innocent child.
People are not concerned with the millions who are are being killed by the deliberate decisions of some mothers.
To respect the dignity of all, we must respect it in the most vulnerable and defenseless among us. That includes the poor, the sick and the dying, but especially the unborn child.
Every person carries the image of God. As Dr. Seuss put it, “A person is a person, no matter how small.”
We have killed millions of babies in America and still counting. God will not forget us.
Florentino Camacho Jr.
Kansas City
Crusades, Part II?
President Barack Obama has compared modern terrorists with the Crusaders of the Middle Ages. There is a connection, but not the one the president suggested.
The Crusades took place at a time when Muslim rulers were using military force to spread their beliefs, just as terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram are doing today. The Crusades were attempts to defeat this military expansion.
The modern equivalent to the Crusaders are the military forces opposing the terrorists. The fact that President Obama has authorized the use of military force against the Islamic State actually makes him a Crusader.
I hope and pray that the modern Crusades will be more successful than the first ones.
Clyde Herrin
Bonner Springs
Kraske column
Steve Kraske, in his March 21 column, “Mandates from both parties,” wrote about a proposal “backed by (Missouri) Republicans” requiring high school students to pass a citizenship test before they receive diplomas.
Kraske said the reasoning behind the bill is that because immigrants are required to pass a citizenship test to become full citizens so should native-born Americans.
What is a “full citizen” vs. just a “citizen”? Another high school test? A required high school citizenship course is good; testing for a diploma is bad. This testing likely would increase the number of Missouri youths who do not have diplomas.
For the 2010-2011 school year, 20 percent of Missouri youths did not receive diplomas. This proposal could only add to the 600,000 Missouri citizens age 25 and over who do not have high school diplomas.
Missouri legislators would do more good focusing on why 75 percent of Missourians ages 14 to 24 cannot qualify for service in the U.S. military (“Mission: Readiness,” Appendix, at www.missionreadiness.org).
Father John Wandless
Kansas City
It’s spring again
I see baby bunnies;
Patches of green grass;
Magnolia trees in blossom ...
Jonquils in a glass;
Robins seeking wiggling worms;
Squirrels in budding trees;
Forsythia bushes blooming;
Precious, little, honey bees ...
Pussy willow branches;
Hyacinth plants galore.
It’s spring again
I must confess ...
I couldn’t love it, more!
Dee Ann Foley Doxsee
Kansas City
This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers sound off on liberals, Kansas, big oil."