Letters: Readers discuss mounted police, flooded Venice and spendthrift Democrats
Fond farewell
I took joy in hearing Kansas City’s mounted police unit is being disbanded. (Nov. 20, KansasCity.com, “‘No one takes joy,’ in decision to disband KCPD mounted patrol unit, chief says”) I’ve had no positive interactions with them. Instead, I’ve found they abuse their power.
One instance I witnessed happened at a demonstration for black lives. As a peaceful group, we marched down the street, surrounded by Kansas City mounted police. An officer continually guided his horse to trample on the feet of marchers, seemingly intentionally attempting to knock them down (I have video evidence). When we asked for his badge number, he covered it. Neither he nor any of the other officers would give us their identifying information.
So I have no sadness for this disbanding. It should have happened long ago. I’m thankful to finally be rid of this unit that in my experience did not bring safety and security, but rather incited violence and fear.
- Elizabeth Behrens, Kansas City
We’ll make it
We survived President Richard Nixon. We survived President Bill Clinton. We’ll survive President Donald Trump.
Thank God this is America, where we have honest, honorable men and women with the courage to display our national dirty linen and help winnow out some rotten apples in our publicly elected barrel.
- Jay W. Wright, Kansas City, Kansas
Not my GOP
Why do the Republicans act so nasty when asking questions of witnesses at the impeachment hearings? Usually, they just give speeches, because they have no defense. Democrats talk civilly and ask pertinent questions.
President Donald Trump is morally corrupt. Where are the Howard Bakers and the Bob Doles? I have been a lifelong Republican, and I just changed to Democrat. House Republicans are an embarrassment.
After Trump is impeached, I pray the senators will stand up and be counted. Remember, it was the Republicans who got Richard Nixon to resign. If Trump is reelected, we all will regret the day.
- Robert E. Krizman, Overland Park
Save us; conserve
Thanks for the editorial advising us to avoid a vacation in Venice, which is almost under water. (Nov. 16, 9A, “Kansas lawmakers can deny climate change, but that won’t stop the extreme flooding”) Thanks also for mention of Kansas state Rep. Annie Kuether, who appears to realize which end is up.
Fact is, through all the political smoke and fire, one scientific truth should not be ignored: The planet Earth is finite, and so is everything on it. When something goes, it’s gone for good.
The best answer to all our ills is conservation.
- Harry Rockey, Olathe
Not about care
The Kansas City Star’s editorial board is absolutely right to call out the Kansas Catholic Conference’s hypocrisy in blocking low-income Kansans’ access to affordable health care in the name of their anti-abortion obsession. (Nov. 22, 10A, “There is nothing pro-life about withholding health care coverage for poor Kansans”)
The conference, speaking on behalf of the state’s eight bishops, demanded that Medicaid expansion be held hostage until passage of anti-abortion legislation and a constitutional amendment. Yet, neither Chuck Weber nor the conference speaks for the majority of the nearly 400,000 Kansas Catholics, including Gov. Laura Kelly, whose beliefs differ from our church’s hierarchy on abortion.
We are taken aback by the bishops’ blatant disregard for the welfare of 150,000 residents of the Sunflower State seeking access to the affordable health care enjoyed by 36 other states. Our question for the Kansas Catholic Conference: Where is the social justice in that?
By insisting on passing an amendment to the state constitution — a long and arduous process — the bishops clearly care little about leaving the most marginalized Kansans indefinitely without access to critical health care. It is long past time that the church hierarchy return its focus to caring for people rather than political posturing.
- Sara Hutchinson Ratcliffe, acting president, Catholics for Choice, Washington, D.C.
Doom ahead
I feel certain that the framers of our Constitution must be turning over in their graves when they hear today’s candidates for president wanting to give away all kinds of free stuff: free health care, free college, college forgiveness and on and on. One candidate even wants to give all of us $1,000 per month.
No one even hints at our obscene national debt, which would grow by trillions. The interest could soon be more than the national defense budget.
I am 91, so I should not be concerned, but I love my country.
- Bob Blackman, Raymore