Letters: Readers discuss Trump’s State of the Union victory, tax cut benefits and policing policies

Look out there

Did you happen to notice the sea of sore losers at Tuesday night’s State of the Union address?

Larry Dickstein

Lone Jack

Keep them reliant

Joining a number of her fellow Democrats in Congress who have mocked the four-figure bonuses and pay increases for rank and file employees at nearly 300 companies as a direct result of President Donald Trump and the Republicans’ corporate tax cut, Sen. Claire McCaskill has called those bonuses and pay increases “scraps.”

Democratics claim to be the party of the little guy, yet they ridicule everyday employees getting substantial bonuses ($1,000 is major amount to most) and companies such as Walmart raising their entry wage, expanding maternity leave and adding other benefits.

What McCaskill and the rest of the Democrats actually care about is the perception that they are benefiting the general populace, which is why they support such actual scraps as the minimum wage and unemployment benefits.

Democrats favor the little guys as long as they can trap them in their government-assistance programs and thus make them reliable voters for Democrats. When Americans greatly benefit from the burden of government being lifted by tax cuts and regulation reduction, Democrats see it as a major threat to to their political fortunes.

Mark S. Robertson

Independence

Ideas to help police

I am concerned with the number of police shootings in the area and, judging by the murder rate, the lack of police influence in the community. As a retired attorney, I have some suggestions.

First, a special investigative unit and special prosecutor should be appointed in every officer-involved shooting. There is a very obvious conflict of interest in the police investigating themselves and the prosecutor’s office deciding whether to present a case against friends on the police force.

Second, police should be better trained in recognizing their own “fear of black people,” a recognized problem even for black cops, and the use of non-deadly force first.

Third, more officers must be trained in how to handle the mentally ill. At a time when it is extremely rare for police officers to be killed in the line of duty, many departments still seem to be instilling irrational fear in their officers.

Finally, efforts must be redoubled to “serve and protect” citizens in poorer, high-crime areas of the city.

Only by developing trust within these communities will the few hard-core criminals be removed from our midst.

Jay MowBray

Kansas City

A sad contrast

Upon reading the story Monday about the 509 children killed or grievously injured since 1981 because of strangulation by window-shade cords (6A, “Fight to stop child strangulation by window blinds goes on”), I realized I couldn’t possibly relate to the feelings of hopelessness and sorrow that the parents must feel knowing their precious children would be alive and well if only the ban on cords was in place sooner.

But then I went to the Gun Violence Archive website at gunviolencearchive.org and read that in the four years from 2014 to 2017, 2,710 children under the age of 11 were killed or injured by guns in America.

The facts are this: 509 children were killed or seriously injured in 37 years by window-shade cords, and the cords are banned; 2,710 children are killed or injured by guns in four years, and the answer is “We need more guns.”

Please tell me what I am missing.

Dallas Garr

Emporia

A culinary cure

I’ve been saying for years that the Hunt family should be proactive and rename the Chiefs the Chefs to avoid offending Native Americans. (Jan. 31, 14A, “Chief Wahoo sent a message to Chiefs fans”) The Chefs is what many of us call them when they play poorly anyway.

Replace the arrowhead with a butcher knife, or just a stylized “KC.” The cheerleaders could wear chef’s caps, or those little old-fashioned waitress caps and skirts with the faux aprons. How cute.

Then, as free promotions, the team could distribute meat cleavers made of foam rubber to replace the tomahawk chop. Or maybe something in the shape of a pork chop — chop, chop, chop.

The team could put a big, steaming cauldron at one end of the field, and our mascot, “Casey Chef,” could stir it with our opponents’ mascot being boiled inside. Can you see a Raider trying to crawl out of it, only to be knocked back into the stew by Casey’s big spoon?

Let’s go, Chefs!

Herman Kirkpatrick

Leawood

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Trump’s State of the Union victory, tax cut benefits and policing policies."