Letters: Readers discuss football players kneeling, the beneficiaries of tax reform and Russian meddling in U.S. elections

Respect the flag

I am writing to voice my opinion about football players kneeling for the national anthem.

Here’s what I find disrespectful to the flag: racism and obstruction of free expression. I think people who talk about disrespecting veterans and honoring the flag are avoiding the real issue. They want to talk about disrespecting a piece of fabric because they don’t want to talk about racism and police brutality.

Did veterans fight for that flag because they think it’s pretty, or was that sacrifice made because they believed in what the flag symbolized? That piece of fabric means nothing as a symbol if the spirit of freedom and equality is not fulfilled for everyone.

Let’s respect the true fabric of our country — its beautifully diverse people — and stop pretending that entertainers expressing themselves are a threat to our country when the real threats are prejudice, selfishness and bigotry.

Adam Finkelston

Prairie Village

Honduras election

The Star has had little coverage of the post-election chaos in Honduras. Hundreds of thousands are protesting fraud, and troops and police were ordered to shoot them.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez illegally ran for re-election. His party controls the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. On election night, it announced that opponent Salvador Nasralla was ahead by 5 percent, but then went mute, refusing to announce the winner. Citizens protested what looked like stalling while Hernandez fixed the election.

Despite this, the U.S. State Department recertified that Honduras respects human rights and fights corruption, releasing millions in aid.

Hernandez declared a state of emergency, imposing a curfew. On Monday, after three suspicious computer meltdowns, the election tribunal announced Hernandez won by 1.6 percent. Defying orders, the police withdrew from protests.

It’s clear the Honduran people want transparent elections, an end to the corruption of Hernandez’s narco state and the U.S. out. Where’s the outrage in Congress? Where’s the media?

Honduras is our pet country in Central America. We have a strong military presence there. Congress needs to call on President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stop patronizing dictators like Hernandez.

Judy Ancel

The Cross

Border Network

Kansas City

This is democracy?

In the recent presidential election, the candidate with fewer popular votes was the winner. In every political election except for president, the winner is the person who receives the most votes.

So who did we get as the president — a Twitter nut. Is this the democratic way to choose a president?

Next, we are about to implement a broad tax-reform bill without a single Democrat voting in favor of it, not a one. This implies that half the country (through representatives) had no input into the final bill. Does this mean that only Republicans have the expertise to implement tax changes?

Democrats are smart people and probably could have provided some excellent input to the bill. Billionaires will receive millions in tax savings while the middle class will receive perhaps $100 a month. Is this equitable?

And this tax-reform bill will add $1 trillion to our current $20 trillion debt. Shouldn’t we be trying to reduce our debt instead of adding to it?

I think the millions would help on debt reduction. Billionaires don’t need more money.

Kent Mitchell

Lenexa

Russian meddling

Regardless of your political party or whom you voted for in 2016, every American should be seriously concerned about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and director of national intelligence have all determined that Russia engaged in an elaborate effort to meddle in our election.

Special counsel Robert Mueller and multiple congressional investigations are under way to look at potential collusion between Team Trump and Moscow.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, President Donald Trump called Mueller’s investigation a “hoax,” a “ruse” and a politically motivated “hit job.” He even called former heads of U.S. intelligence agencies “political hacks.”

He attacked these intelligence communities to delegitimize their assessments.

As president, Trump should fully support the investigation into Russian election meddling, but he has discredited it from the beginning. So, what is he hiding?

Congress and government agencies should take measures to ensure the integrity of our elections in the future.

Jane Toliver

Leawood

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss football players kneeling, the beneficiaries of tax reform and Russian meddling in U.S. elections."