Readers share thoughts on Sen. Pat Roberts and Sarah Palin, the Israel-Gaza cease-fire and immigration

Palin’s aid to Roberts

I don’t really know what U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts has to gain by bringing former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to stump for him. They have so little in common.

She says you can see Russia from her home state of Alaska, and from Roberts’ home, he can see Maryland.

Andy Sandler

Mission

Israeli-Gaza remake

The Israeli-Gaza cease-fire has caused the media to switch to talk of rebuilding.

What countries will help the Israelis and Palestinians rebuild, provide construction equipment and supplies and more?

I suggest that financial support given to both countries should be tied to a commitment that every construction project be made up of 50 percent Israeli workers and 50 percent Palestinian workers. These people need jobs and the opportunity to learn to work together.

It might give them a chance to know one is just as human as the other and maybe make both sides less inclined to start shooting missiles again.

Judith Sturgess

Independence

Heavenly airport

My wife and I were caught in Hurricane Odile in Cabo San Lucas (9-18, A3, “Los Cabos is still reeling, three days after Odile”). After four days with no electricity, no running water and no way to communicate with our families, we were finally evacuated by the Mexican military.

During our trip, we were in five airports — Denver, Cabo, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Atlanta. All of these facilities were much newer than Kansas City International Airport and had all the bells and whistles that are being proposed for the new terminal here. Restaurants and shopping galore.

All I can say is that after having to walk what seemed like miles past all these luxuries, we were totally exhausted and confused. We landed at KCI and walked 50 feet to get our luggage.

After our experience, I wouldn’t trade KCI for any of those “modern” terminals. Sure, KCI could use some sprucing up — better Wi-Fi, more outlets to charge the cellphone and maybe another restaurant or two — but losing the convenience we have now to have more overpriced shops just doesn’t make sense.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Robert Thornhill

Independence

Rules of journalism

It is sad that a young boy was bitten by a copperhead in Swope Park (9-24, A4, “Boy recovering after snakebite”). But I didn’t find out where it happened until the fifth paragraph, after learning the name of his team, the treating physician and that she “loved” the coincidence that his team’s name was the Venom.

I also learned many other things first. But what people want to know is where it happened, how common it is and whether there is anything they can do to reduce their risk.

All I found out by the end of the article is that Children’s Mercy treats 10 snakebites a year and that of the poisonous snakes in Kansas City, copperheads are the least venomous. Who, what, where, when, how, why. Remember?

Joshua Freeman

Kansas City, Kan.

Fox’s red noise

The dictionary definition of white noise is “a constant noise such as that from a TV or radio that is turned on but is not receiving a clear signal.”

Red noise is a similar constant sound emanating from conservative media such as Fox News and from hypocritical politicians. Much of the public seems to find comfort in its soothing sameness and utter lack of real content.

It drowns out the sounds of inconvenient facts and eliminates the need to think. Listen closely to red noise and you’ll hear words that have long lost the status of denoting actual issues: scandal, Benghazi, Internal Revenue Service, Obamacare.

Yet they are repeated over and over with a mesmerizing effect on the poorly informed. GOP politicians like red noise because it makes their own babblings sound substantive.

George Orwell wrote, “Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful … and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” The Republican Party and its propaganda organ, Fox News, have been passing wind for a long time now.

Michael Zygmunt

Kansas City

Kudos to VA in KC

There has been much in the news lately about poor treatment given by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Here is a comment from a World War II Navy veteran.

I have been receiving treatment through VA facilities for several years. Admittedly, I am not seriously disabled nor am I being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder or such.

But my contacts have been pleasant, courteous and timely. My only criticism is that I see a different doctor nearly every time I go, and almost none speak good English. The one who did speak good English was a teenager. (Not really.)

A grandson was wounded in Afghanistan, and as far as I know, he has and is receiving very good treatment through the VA. I have no personal knowledge of any of the bad stuff I keep reading about.

Don Inbody

Overland Park

Lethal force

One simple question: Why do law enforcement officers shoot to kill? They could aim at the hand where a so-called weapon is held.

Maria Baldwin

Kansas City

TIFs hurt libraries

I am writing to ask readers to stop and think about a disturbing trend that is eroding one of the jewels of our city. I am talking about our libraries.

Both Mayor Sly James and Superintendent Steve Green want our children to be able to read at grade level by third grade. That’s a noble thought, but in 2001 the library lost more than a million dollars in tax revenue. In 2013, that number grew to $ 2.6 million because of tax-increment financing awards.

Tax-increment financing being given to companies denies the library crucial resources. Why is that important?

The library is the best partner we have to help educate our children, provide an environment for reading practice and provide the perfect environment to develop a love of learning.

I have a suggestion. For all the companies receiving TIF, establish a 50/50 matching charitable program for your employees and encourage donations.

Help fill the huge gap that your TIF created.

Kathie Allison

Kansas City

Illegal immigration

Many readers do not know about the chaos on our southern border. Thousands of children and adults have arrived in the last six months.

There have been so many that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been processing these illegal immigrants at military bases in Texas, Oklahoma, California and Arizona. It is being labeled a humanitarian effort because of the children, age 17 and younger.

Also, you will hear that they are coming because of gang violence and poverty, but you would be hard pressed to find a time in the last 100 years that Central America and South America did not have poverty and violence. We are not being told the whole truth.

Because of the massive influx, it’s possible they aren’t being carefully screened for diseases. This should concern all Americans.

Polly Dodson

Kansas City

Dave Helling columns

As the days pass before the November election, voters are being bombarded with ads and mailings by political candidates who misrepresent and embellish their own records and attack their opponents. Voters who read The Kansas City Star rely on Dave Helling for informed, unbiased reports and analysis of the candidates, their records and their positions on the issues.

For many years now, I’ve turned to Helling’s columns for investigative clarity and objectivity.

Don’t let us down, Dave. Give us the facts on this November’s important political races in Kansas and Missouri.

Rowena Unger Turk

Overland Park

This story was originally published September 25, 2014 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Readers share thoughts on Sen. Pat Roberts and Sarah Palin, the Israel-Gaza cease-fire and immigration."