Letters: Readers discuss honest Claire McCaskill, good work at JoCo polls and Trump
McCaskill’s honor
After reading Bev Ehlen’s guest commentary “Kavanaugh is the choice of Trump voters” (Aug. 8, 15A), I decided to Google her organization, Concerned Women for America. Its members don’t seem to be concerned with religious liberty or the whole population of Missouri. According to their website, we define marriage as one man and one woman, as the Bible tells us. How is that liberty?
They also are against abortion rights, which puts them in the minority of the population on that particular issue, last I heard.
It seems she is pushing a far-right agenda. And although she says Judge Brett Kavanaugh would not legislate from the bench, that is exactly what Ehlen wants him to do by reversing previous decisions to conform with her religious outlook.
I do not live in Missouri. But I believe Sen. Claire McCaskill to be a fair and honorable person who wants the best for the people of Missouri and who will not make a decision based on what anyone in Washington dictates. She will take her time and make an educated decision on Kavanaugh’s experience as a jurist. And if she finds him to be the man for the job, she will vote that way.
Mark Rasmussen
Leawood
Good management
The Star’s Aug. 9 editorial called for Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker to resign after problems in last week’s primary election. (Aug. 9, 12A, “Kobach should butt out of recount, and election official must go”) It said, “It’s clear Metsker, who was appointed by Kobach, lacks the expertise to run an efficient election.”
From my perspective as a volunteer election worker, I strongly disagree with that assessment. We received excellent training — including hands-on experience — on the new machines. Voters liked the new technology, and they liked knowing that our county’s votes have an auditable paper backup. Metsker and his staff ran all that.
As a retired general manager, I have the highest admiration for how the election office is run.
Problems occur in any enterprise. The mark of a good manager is not whether problems occur, but how well he or she handles them.
Officials for the vendor acknowledged responsibility for the error, and Metsker pressed them until they finalized the count. They are already working on a solution so this doesn’t recur.
Metsker gave frequent updates and made himself available to the media, with honest assessments of what happened. Such transparency is rare these days.
All of those are marks of an excellent manager.
Richard A. Hathaway
Olathe
Tech advance
Missourians should be thrilled by T-Mobile and Sprint’s proposed merger. Innovation is what we live by in the Show-Me State. Whether on the plentiful farmlands of northwest Missouri or the major population hub of St. Louis, we believe in pursuing new opportunities for our families, our communities and our businesses. This time, it’s Sprint and T-Mobile’s new 5G technology that brings us together.
Together, Sprint and T-Mobile will deliver one of the most innovative concepts of the 21st century: 5G technology. With it, we can develop technologies that will help all Missourians: innovative farming equipment, telemedicine opportunities and start-up brands.
Face it. In many rural areas of Missouri, broadband options are limited. From farms to factories, we need updated technology that can move with us. New technology will allow for more competition, which means more options, updated technology and lower prices for families like mine.
5G technology can continue to push Missouri ahead. Let’s get this done.
Nathan White
Norborne, Mo.
Echoes from past
As an aging black American who vividly remembers the painful period of divisiveness that was the civil rights era, I’m afraid that President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are leading us down that same ugly road.
As Trump whips his raucous crowds into a frenzy with tweets and campaign rallies seemingly designed to encourage his followers to resist the integration of darker-skinned immigrants into the country — while welcoming lighter-skinned immigrants such as those from Norway — his message seems painfully clear.
With each angry rant from Trump, his followers appear on the verge of a mob mentality eerily familiar to that of the angry mobs encountered by Martin Luther King Jr. as he toured the nation fighting against the same hatred and divisiveness that Trump’s immigration policies have createdtoday.
Eddie L. Clay
Grandview