John Brennan, Brett Kavanaugh and Star sports coverage

Words fail me

I was raised Catholic and educated for 12 years in Catholic schools. Thank God, literally, that I was not exposed to sexual abuse by priests or other church officials, nor was I aware that it was going on. I’ve been stunned for the last few years about the repulsive behavior of those whom we were taught to trust.

Now we hear about more than 300 sexual predator priests in eight Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses. Were these dioceses church dumping grounds for sexual predators? If not, and they are representative of the church I was raised in, the image of the American Catholic Church is frightening.

I am without hope for the Catholic Church, and I’m without further words.

Joe McMillain

Olathe

Yank it

President Donald Trump issued a statement that former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance was revoked because of “risks posed by his erratic conduct and behavior.” (Aug. 16, 1A, “Trump revokes security clearance for ex-CIA chief”)

Based on this criterion, shouldn’t Trump’s security clearance also be revoked?

Tom Barnard

Raytown

No on Kavanaugh

In her recent guest commentary on KansasCity.com, former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan urges confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. (Aug. 15, “There’s no reason not to support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination”) I vehemently disagree.

President Donald Trump’s pick has repeatedly put corporate profits over people. In 2014’s White Stallion Energy v. EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency tried to limit dangerous exposure to mercury, which has proven negative health impacts. Mercury can affect the immune, digestive and nervous systems. It can be deadly. Kavanaugh sided with Big Coal, stating the EPA’s protections would be too costly.

Mercury is so prevalent in Missouri waters that the Department of Health and Senior Services has advised pregnant women and children 12 and younger not to eat largemouth bass over 12 inches caught anywhere in the state.

I am the mother of a wild, adventurous 18-month-old. It horrifies me that Kavanaugh would put the profits of polluting industries before her health and well-being.

I cannot protect her from everything, so I rely on life-saving environmental protections to keep her safe. Based on his history, I cannot count on Kavanaugh to make decisions that protect my family or other Missourians.

Missouri Sens. Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill should vote no on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. That’s not partisan extremism. It is protecting our children.

Gretchen

Waddell Barwick

St. Louis

Now you object

Missouri Republican Party members don’t get to have it both ways.

A bigot, Steve West, sprouts in their backyard and is the primary winner for Missouri’s 15th District. Immediately, party leaders denounce his “disgusting comments,” saying his “shocking and vile comments do not reflect the position of the Missouri Republican Party or indeed of any decent individual” and that they “wholeheartedly condemn his comments.” (Aug. 10, 1A, “GOP primary winner for Clay seat in Missouri House leaves trail of bigotry”)

Yet, did they say anything any of the times their president made similar statements? All we heard from them was crickets, afraid to confront their dear leader. Funny how hypocrisy can rise to the surface when politically convenient.

I wonder whether they’d have lent their support to West during the general election had this revelation not come to light. I suspect they’d have been behind him the whole way … because he’s a Republican and must defeat his Democratic opponent at all costs.

Lane Sekavec

De Soto

Nip the protests

The NFL preseason has started, and the protests during the national anthem continue. I propose a solution:

Every player kneeling, holding up a fist or making any gesture considered disrespectful would be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the team would be given a 15-yard penalty. And the opposing team would be allowed to choose when that penalty would be enforced.

William C. Strutz

Shawnee

Branch out

There are other sports in the Kansas City area besides baseball and football, and The Star should cover them more.

For example, the PDGA Pro Masters Disc Golf World Championships in the city last week showcased the city’s best courses from Liberty to Olathe.

How about a little coverage for other sports?

Al Hiller

Liberty

Man of his word

President Donald Trump is fulfilling another one of his campaign promises. Little by little, bit by bit, he’s cleaning up the swamp in Washington.

Roberta Newth

Leawood

The only fix

There is a real and likely ongoing crisis in the Catholic Church, and I believe the latest revelations of child abuse in Pennsylvania are just the tip of the iceberg. This is a global tragedy that will never stop unless the church discourages celibacy and encourages marriage and family life for priests.

The elephant in the room is celibacy — an unnatural and inhumane religious dogma that results in the antisocial behavior that has been demonstrated by some Catholic priests for centuries.

When the church relegates its leaders to a life of celibacy, it attempts to negate one of our species’ strongest instincts: sexual desire. Any human being who says otherwise is not being truthful.

That said, I cannot imagine why anyone would want to be a member of an organization that knows it harbors child molesters and covers up their abuse. There are simply no excuses for such behavior.

The only way for the church to rid itself of this evil is for committed Catholics to leave in droves. Then perhaps Pope Francis and the cardinals would finally come into the 21st century and save their church.

Ted Steinmeyer Jr.

Overland Park