Letters: Readers discuss JoCo highway traffic, Blunt’s responsiveness and vaping risk
Traffic woes
Just when you thought it was safe to drive the highways in Johnson County, a new pain in the rearview mirror arises. County officials decided to widen Interstate 35 at 75th Street.
Why did they not do this years ago when they had I-35 from 87th Street to Shawnee Mission Parkway torn up for what seemed like forever? Be patient, they said.
I commute from Lee’s Summit to Kansas City, Kansas. This is ridiculous. I’m proud of the forward-thinking folks running the show.
- Tom Voll, Lee’s Summit
Busy signals
After the president was elected, I called Sen. Roy Blunt’s office several times a week until this past fall. Blunt’s office uses a phone system that does not allow his constituents to leave voicemail messages sharing their opinions.
Blunt has polite interns in his Washington, D.C., office who used to take your message and say thanks for calling. But they no longer work the phones. I have taken to calling his Missouri offices, where you get befuddlement or angry arguing — but clearly, the people you speak with are not writing down your comments.
Now that Blunt has jumped on the “let’s get this over” impeachment trial bandwagon, his constituents cannot tell him that we want a fair trial, that we don’t want a war and most of all that we want to be heard. Voter suppression, phone suppression and soon, I predict, email suppression will be the play of Blunt and his pals.
Doesn’t Blunt represent all Missourians, just as the president is supposed to represent all Americans?
Before I submitted this letter, I called Blunt’s office right at opening time and voilà — someone answered. The trick now is that you can catch them between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. Central time.
- Anne Worth, Kansas City
Let’s do both
The author of a Wednesday letter to the editor made a good point. (12A) He said that although we are all upset about climate change, there is also a need for constant electricity production. And he’s right that shutting down our coal-burning electricity plants with no replacements capable of meeting our needs would be a serious problem.
I think we can all agree with that. Can we also agree that climate change is a serious problem?
The good news is that reliable replacements exist and are getting better every day. We can avoid some of the problems caused by climate change by eliminating the use of coal and still have the supply of electricity we need.
- Mack Tilton, Kansas City
Not the ’60s
Judging from the first two weeks of the year, 2020 isn’t 1968. This is both good and bad.
By the time the Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign ended in 1968, tens of thousands of Vietnamese had been killed by it, and hundreds of Americans had been killed carrying it out. By contrast, the number of deaths from U.S. drone strikes in Iraq has been minuscule. The strike on Baghdad International Airport last week killed five Iranians and five Iraqis.
The trouble is, they included a prominent Iranian and a prominent Iraqi, so many Iraqis want to throw our troops out of their country and many Iranians want to wage war against us.
On the other hand, our politics were healthier in the 1960s. President Lyndon Johnson had to deal with a real live Democratic Party that might not nominate him for another term, even though he had been elected with huge popular and electoral majorities, unlike you know who. He chose to not seek the nomination.
In October 1962, the world had come to the brink of thermonuclear war. Fortunately, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev were able to avoid one. Both paid a price for doing so, it appears.
- Robert O’Rourke, Leavenworth
Cut the chop
Rhonda Levaldo’s thoughtful guest commentary in the Jan. 2 Star provided an excellent explanation of why the “Arrowhead Chop” and chant performed by many Kansas City Chiefs fans is disrespectful and racist. (11A, “’Arrowhead Chop’ a dishonor to Native people’s heritage”)
It is time to cease this activity. Stereotyping and attributing specific behaviors to any group is just wrong. Using people as mascots for sports teams is thoughtless and inappropriate.
- Carol Cowles, Kansas City
Tables turned
You almost have to admire the hubris of the Democrats, attacking the very same arguments they employed to try to defend President Bill Clinton 20 years ago. If it weren’t so sad, it would be laughable.
- Bob Berry, Oak Grove
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.