Letters: Readers discuss decisive Trump, deceptive Giuliani and vaping’s many risks
Trump tough
In 1979, Iranian militants seized our embassy there and held 52 U.S. hostages for 444 days. On Dec. 31, protesters tried to seize the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. President Donald Trump, unlike President Jimmy Carter 40 years earlier, acted quickly and decisively to send a strong message to Iran and others that this will not be tolerated and that the United States will respond accordingly.
It’s a tough world we live in. Weakness under these circumstances inevitably leads to more people, including members of our military, being killed or injured. Trump did the right thing.
- Terry Isenberg, Lenexa
Slipped away
The Democrats might as well give up. President Donald Trump will be reelected. If there is no political will to force Senate Majority Leader McConnell to hold a real Senate impeachment trial, the game is over.
As Americans, our democracy has asked very little of us. Too little. We have become lazy, complacent. Only about half of eligible voters make the effort.
Chief Justice John Roberts cautioned in his 2019 year-end review of the federal judiciary that we could be losing our democracy because Americans know little about civics. The Constitution? What does it say? Democracy? What does it mean?
Trump has taken advantage of that. He is trampling the Constitution while we rummage through the refrigerator, looking for a snack. We have had it so good for so long that nothing is required of us. We can go from cradle to grave and contribute little more than taxes.
Remarkably, Trump has taken down democracy from within with the help of our own elected officials. My question is why? The Senate is under his will. Republicans there will protect him at all costs. He can get away with anything, even destroying our Constitution.
- Anita B. Malott, Kansas City
Watch Rudy
The fix is in as Congress stoops to a trench-warfare stalemate. Get over it. As citizens, we have the information needed to pass political judgment. Keep tabs on your elected officials. Vote.
The president, in a call with the newly elected president of Ukraine, asked for “a favor, though.” He said that his lawyer — not a part of the U.S. government — would call. This was clearly a way to go off the official record: the set-up for a shakedown. The goal, leverage, timeline and methodology are well-documented.
His bag man, Rudy Giuliani, is an ethical mess. He isn’t on the people’s payroll, nor is he paid by President Donald Trump. So who is paying for his lunches and his travel? Is he a pro bono lawyer for a rich man, or an off-the-books foreign lobbyist?
Follow the money. Giuliani might not go on the stand as a witness, but he could find himself a defendant.
- John Dunn, Westwood
Yet another foot
A letter Friday criticized the Democrats’ current position on impeachment for “hubris” and for being contradictory to the stance they took in defense of President Bill Clinton in 1998. The writer’s position comes off as incredibly tone-deaf given that Republicans are guilty of the exact same thing today.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters and someone who participated in Clinton’s impeachment trial, is a walking case study in such hypocrisy.
I therefore admire the hubris of the Republicans for being the pot that called the kettle black.
- Tommy Watson, Jefferson City
Sweet temptation
Vaping: It’s the hottest new trend. But are you aware it’s not just adults putting their lives on the line with electronic cigarettes? As a physician, I know our toddlers’ lives are at risk as well.
Vaping cartridges are small and colorful bottles containing a tasty liquid that smells sweet. Does that sound like something your toddler would go after?
These bottles are required to contain safety caps. Yet the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports 1,700 children were dangerously exposed to electronic cigarette liquids containing nicotine in 2017. Tragically, three of these kids died.
Nicotine was originally used as a pesticide. It works as a nerve toxin in concentrated forms. As little as one teaspoon can be fatal to a child.
What to look out for: Nicotine poisoning causes dizziness, nausea, vomiting, seizures and a dangerously low heart rate.
As we kick off a new decade, let us remember that as parents it is our obligation to know what could be waltzing through our front doors in a neighbor’s pocket or an aunt’s purse. We must protect our children from drinking the deceiving bottle of pesticides hiding in plain sight.
- Tanner Isaacson, Overland Park
This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.