Trump in Helsinki, court fines and a lousy Royals season

Learned something

Monday was a very constructive day. I listened to the news conference with President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (July 17, 1A, “Trump doubts US intel findings, sides with Putin)

I now know what “high crimes and misdemeanors” are.

John D. Perkins

Parkville

When is it time?

When is someone we elected to tend to our business as U.S. citizens and voters going to file treason charges against the person who calls himself president and the greatest American for what he is doing to our country? And when are we as voters and citizens going to hold elected officials responsible for malfeasance and dereliction of duty?

C.D. Rinck Sr.

Mission

Courts’ duties

The Star’s July 8 editorial “How municipal court defendants get off easy after Ferguson” mistakenly claimed that recent reforms have left municipal courts without tools to enforce payment of fines and fees or court appearances. (16A)

The reality is that the 2015 reforms curbed efforts statewide to tax the poor through fines and fees and eliminate unconstitutional debtors’ prisons. Adding more fines to people who were unable to pay for fines in the first place will not suddenly make them wealthy enough to foot their bills.

Imposing fines isn’t about public safety — it’s about generating revenue. The courts have become reliant on fines and fees to fund court operations. The public courts should not be funded on the backs of poor people charged for low-level infractions that arguably have no place in the criminal justice system.

If municipalities are truly concerned with people not showing up to court, they should make it easier to meet those obligations by providing robust court-date notifications and allowing people to make partial payments online.

We must hold lawmakers accountable for properly funding the courts, not allow Missouri’s municipalities to continue to fund their courts by taxing the poor.

Sara Baker

Legislative and

policy director

ACLU of Missouri

Kansas City

New rule needed

After watching the 2018 Wimbledon tennis tournament, I think it is time to have fifth-set tiebreakers in all matches except the final championship. Let them play that one out.

I believe the finals would be more exciting and players not so worn out.

Gary Mulsow

Lenexa

Teachers first

As a retired teacher and current substitute teacher, I have a few thoughts on The Star’s Missouri Influencer series about teacher retention. (July 16, 1A, “Can Missouri schools keep teachers by raising pay? It’s more complicated than that”)

When panelist Crosby Kemper III, who comes from a well-known wealthy family, states that teacher salaries are “already competitive,” it shows total ignorance of the profession.

Teachers absolutely leave the profession for more money. Part-time work is necessary to keep teachers’ families afloat. Graduate degrees offer minuscule raises.

When I left full-time teaching, I was making a whopping $60,000, with two master’s degrees.

Asking overpaid legislators to increase funding to school districts translates into tax increases that the majority doesn’t want.

Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said supporting teachers in their first few years would help with retention. How about supporting teachers throughout their entire careers? I believe many teachers, even with low pay, would stay for job satisfaction if they were championed by administrators and parents.

The bottom line: Teachers work for and deserve more money. Ignorance is truly more expensive than education.

Faith Hall Williams

Excelsior Springs

Terrible team

If you look hard at the Royals’ performance this year, it is actually much worse than it appears. They are on pace to lose 116 games, which would shatter their own worst season record. They are by far the worst in baseball after 95 games.

Some may point out that Baltimore is just as bad record-wise, but looking closer, it is not. The Orioles have played roughly 40 percent of their games against the tough American East, which, not counting Baltimore, stands 60 games over .500.

The Royals, on the other hand, have played roughly 40 percent of their games against the lowly American Central, which stands 42 games under .500, not counting Kansas City.

I don’t care if team officials say they are “building for the future.” This team is a laughingstock if there ever was one and doesn’t deserve fan support. The Royals’ organization should be ashamed for taking taxpayer money for its facility and then putting this team on the field in 2018.

Dan Anderson

Lee’s Summit

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 8:34 AM.