Letters: Readers discuss Steve Bannon, respect for the national anthem and faith
Fighting words
Each time Steve Bannon opens his mouth, someone should put a Corker in it.
Teresa Huslig
Overland Park
Out of balance
What is the rationale in telling 30 million of our poorest citizens that we can’t afford to provide them needed entitlements or health care, and in the same policy tell the 6,000 wealthiest families that we can afford to pay them more money by eliminating the “death tax”?
Frank Fernholz
Overland Park
Tax avoidance
I just received a slick flier from the organization I call the Americans for (the Koch Brothers’) Prosperity Foundation, asking me to sign a petition to tell Kansas state Rep. Larry Campbell to support repealing the tax increase the Kansas Legislature recently passed to restore some fiscal sanity to the state’s budget.
I am 80 years old and retired, and I pay a fair amount of taxes. I could pay more if needed to educate our children or provide a needy person with health insurance. So I thank Rep. Campbell for doing the right thing.
Some time ago I saw an estimate that placed Charles and David Koch’s combined net worth at $90 billion. You don’t accumulate that kind of wealth by paying too much in taxes.
This great country gave the rich the means to acquire great wealth, yet many of them prefer to spend their wealth manipulating our political system so they can avoid paying taxes. If they would simply pitch in and pay their taxes to help support our government, this country would be much better off.
Greed does a lot more harm than taking a knee.
Donald Moore
Olathe
Hats off
Men are being informed of the new trend in proper behavior: When the national anthem is played, they are supposed to stand with their hands over their hearts.
Apparently, continuing to wear their baseball caps (backward) is fine.
In the olden days, when men had class and good manners, their hats always came off when they saluted the flag, just as it came off as an act of courtesy when they entered someone’s home or sat to have dinner in a restaurant.
To me, a man holding his hand over his heart while wearing his baseball cap backward shows he grew up in a barn.
Helen Roser
Manhattan, Kan.
Meaningful symbol
Just more than two years ago, our son, a Vietnam veteran, died of lung cancer. At his military funeral, my wife was presented with the folded flag.
Those who show disrespect to our flag have never been handed a folded one.
Thomas A. Janes
Lee’s Summit
Not a waste
A letter to the editor Tuesday said that Air Force flyovers at Chiefs games are a waste of taxpayer money and wear on equipment. That is not true.
For pilots to remain proficient, they must fly. Training for new procedures and upgrades in a classroom is not enough.
Each aircraft is assigned a crew that certifies its airworthiness after each flight. This is essential to be sure the plane is at optimum operating capacity for its next assignment.
A flyover is not a capricious event. It is a scheduled exercise contributing to maintaining our armed forces at peak capability and readiness for when their service is required.
Ronald D. Burri
Pleasant Hill
Spending choices
The people who are clamoring for multimillion-dollar expenditures to upgrade the current terminals at Kansas City International Airport will be yelling the loudest about wasteful spending when we need to tear the down those terminals to make way for a state-of-the-industry single terminal at KCI.
Jan Marcason
Kansas City
After faith
As a result of faith, humanity is on the brink of extinction.
Faith encourages believing without examination and is the permissive door to contradiction of truth and reality. It makes not knowing acceptable and questioning rude, thus encouraging ignorance and complacency.
Unfortunately, acceptance of faith as the basis of belief is supported by a significant portion of the population, particularly those having a vested interest in its continuation.
One major concern in challenging faith and destroying the comforting beliefs realized by it: What is going to replace it?
The best solution is surely knowledge and morality through education.
Hugh Taylor
Overland Park
This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Steve Bannon, respect for the national anthem and faith."