Letters: Readers discuss political revenge, the Mueller report and federal employees
Get ‘em back
The House of Representatives should be renamed the House of Revenge. Disgusting.
G. Curtis Boswell
Overland Park
Show it all
I am all for transparency with special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report. The American public (and I mean the individuals) are entitled to see each and every item that anyone in Congress gets to see. In other words, every page with no redactions. We should also be provided with a complete expense report for each participant.
Neither Congress nor journalists should be given anything the public is not given. This is the only way we, the people, can be assured we are getting the truth.
We obviously cannot rely on the media, Congress or the swamp to keep us informed.
Tom Turner
Lee’s Summit
In for Glynn
I’m voting for Phil Glynn for mayor of Kansas City on April 2 because I know he has his priorities right.
City Hall has focused almost exclusively on bringing new developments to downtown and giving big tax incentives to businesses that create too few jobs, while neglecting the basic services a city should provide its residents. We pay our taxes. In exchange, we expect to have snow removed when it falls, our trash picked up on time and potholes fixed.
I know Glynn, and I know he understands that providing these basic services should be of primary importance, not a secondary concern.
We need new leadership that will focus on the people of Kansas City and our needs. We need new leadership that will make our city government accountable and transparent about how it spends our tax dollars and will deliver what we pay for.
Phil Glynn is that leader.
Juan Houston
Kansas City
Recent history
During the summer of 1958, I was in the Marine Corps temporarily stationed at Little Creek, Va., instructing cadets from the military academies on the nuances of a Marine amphibious landing. There was an emergency situation in Lebanon, and we were called back to our base, Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, N.C.
En route, we stopped at a restaurant in northeastern North Carolina. Of the five Marines in the car, two had been in combat during World War II and the Korean War. One was a black staff sergeant. We were quite dismayed when we pulled up to see a big sign in the window stating, “We serve whites only.”
As a group of loyal Marines, we thought we would walk into the restaurant and demand service for all of us. The black sergeant thought otherwise.
It’s still hard for me to believe, because this incident wasn’t that long ago.
George Prendergast
Kansas City
Mea culpa
After reading mayoral candidate Clay Chastain’s policy proposals in his Monday guest commentary — most notably establishing random police checkpoints and eliminating the Kansas City Public Schools district — I want to apologize to my fellow Kansas Citians for signing Chastain’s candidate petition and thus helping him get on the ballot.
Some months ago, I encountered Chastain gathering signatures outside my neighborhood grocery store. All I knew about him was his ambitious public transit plan, and I thought, “Sure, Kansas City should keep thinking about how to improve public transit.” So I signed.
However, had I taken the time to ask Chastain his positions on two issues I care about more than public transit, crime and education, I am sure that after hearing his answers, I would not have signed.
I pledge to my fellow Kansas Citians that going forward, I will not sign candidate petitions at the grocery store or anywhere else without first making sure the person is someone I would actually consider voting for.
Lyn Elliot
Kansas City
Serving real needs
Some people are making the argument that the Democrats should end their investigations of the president and try to deal with him at the ballot box, which minimizes the danger the president poses to the American people and the country.
I am a retired federal employee, and I am aware that changes are made daily to laws that deal with topics such as earned health benefits and pensions. The well-being of federal retirees is intertwined with current federal employees.
For the last 50 years, there has been a steady drumbeat to disparage the government as well as its employees. This has accelerated under this administration and Congress.
Government and its employees are crucial to the well-being of Americans, although most people take these functions for granted. This is a moral imperative, as people who rely on the government need many programs the private sector could never provide.
Edward Acosta
Olathe