Letters: Readers discuss Greitens’ attacks on the media, tax reform and harassment
Not desperate
In the Dec. 12 edition of The Star, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, when asked about his use of an app that keeps text messages from public scrutiny, replied: “This is another nothing story that’s come from a liberal media outlet that is just desperate for salacious headlines. … The fact is, we know that sometimes media outlets like The Kansas City Star will be desperate to attack us at every turn, and one of the reasons why they are is that we’re here fighting for the people of Missouri.” (1A, “Greitens attacks media when asked about his use of secret texting app”)
Greitens’ response is pathetic nonsense.
▪ The Star fights for the people of Missouri. It was founded as “A Paper for the People.” Its inquiry into why Greitens uses an app that violates the spirit of Missouri’s Sunshine Law is a fight for the people’s right to know what state government is doing.
▪ The Star is desperate to attack Greitens at every turn? The Star’s editorial board gave Greitens credit for improving veterans’ health care that same day. (8A, “Greitens takes overdue steps to protect aging veterans”)
▪ The Star is a liberal media outlet desperate for salacious headlines? Responding to a question by attacking the questioner is not an answer to the question. It is the logical fallacy of an ad hominem attack.
To keep the activities of government from the people government serves weakens democracy.
Chuck Dymer
Kansas City
Feeling helpless
After watching the morning news and then reading The Star, I came to the conclusion that all Americans have to go on regarding pending tax reform is what they are told by liars, misogynists and criminals.
I began calling my Republican senator, Roy Blunt, since this is a bill that only Republicans had input on. No answer, recorded message.
I found that to be the case for more than an hour trying to reach any Republican senator — even Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Finally, out of sheer desperation, I called Sen. Pat Roberts in some Kansas town I have never heard of and was answered by one of his aides, who was as incompetent as the man he works for.
I had only one question: How will this tax bill affect those making less than $40,000 a year? The aide explained that for people making $70,000 per year the tax cut would be temporary, and the tax cut on corporations is permanent.
I am not a corporation. Trickle-down economics is a lie. I have not nor has my fiancee, a teacher, received a raise in more than five years.
The billionaires just keep collecting money. The rest of us keep choosing between medicine and food.
Steven Addison
Kansas City
We have failed
For a long time, women all over the world have been treated as second-class citizens or as accessories compared with men. For some, women are sex objects, not just through words, but through deplorable acts.
Recently, we have learned that sexual harassment is still a big problem not just in Hollywood but in all corners of society. This includes Congress, the military and even in the Oval Office.
These courageous women, one after another, begin to tell their stories in which they were victims, with nowhere to turn for help.
We also have learned that we failed to establish a safe and comfortable environment for every woman from the start, and we have failed in dealing with the results when sexual offenses happen, especially when the victims are underaged.
Furthermore, we have also failed as a society to consider sexual harassment a serious crime that needs to be prosecuted.
We will have to be firm that nobody is above the law, especially people who are supposed to represent this country. Otherwise, sexual harassment is just another crime of the lay people, not the elite.
Sean Nguyen
Blue Springs
What difference?
The U.S. military is a force to be reckoned with. It has enormous funding as well as a massive population that is willing to serve.
Why is it then that some people want to question the idea of transgender people serving? Aren’t these people joining for the same reasons other soldiers do?
Do people seriously think that the costs of them serving will significantly deplete military funds?
They have beliefs. They have dreams. And the fact that they don’t identify with their birth gender doesn’t mean they are any less as human beings.
They are citizens of their country. They wish to protect it for the same reasons that most of us do.
Why not allow them to fight for their home?
Riley Brookins
Kansas City
This story was originally published December 17, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Greitens’ attacks on the media, tax reform and harassment."