Letters: Readers discuss killing Walter Barton, snorting Lysol and Jerry Moran’s help
Much less than
I am shocked to read in The Star that William Barton has been executed. (May 21, 1A, “Missouri executes man despite calls to reconsider”) Beyond shocked, I am appalled.
My feeling is that, unfortunately, those who enabled and allowed this to happen, including Gov. Mike Parson, are not particularly reprehensible people, as some might argue. Rather, they are simply regular people, acting as regular people do. And that is the problem.
Particularly at this time, as we face challenges that many have never before encountered — though some of us might recall similar times or tragedies — we are called upon to rise. And each of us, whether we work in an “essential” capacity or not, is also called to strive toward our own brand of heroism.
I am not a particularly religious person, but I recall a Bible verse that says we humans were created only a little less than angels. I see friends, neighbors, coworkers, relatives and complete strangers behaving that way every day now.
Not to be too demanding and knowing that I am far from perfect as a human being, I ask: What on earth is wrong with our elected officials?
- Catherine M. Dobson, Lexington, Missouri
Lay off Marshall
Your Wednesday editorial, “If President Trump jumped off a cliff, would Kansas Rep. Roger ‘Doc’ Marshall copy that, too?” (14A) said that Rep. Roger Marshall was “wearing his mask uselessly around his neck while getting a haircut.”
How is his barber to give him a haircut with his mask strapped to the back of his head?
I wish the media would leave the practice of medicine to the health care providers.
As for Marshall recommending that people 65 and older or with underlying conditions take hydroxychloroquine, other medications have been prescribed off label in the past when new uses for the drugs are found.
- Mary Pat Sullivan, Overland Park
We’re left out
Why is it that all these corporations and financial institutions are “too big to fail,” but most people in the private sector — the public — are left fighting for their lives?
These giant businesses and banks seem to have no idea that members of the public are what supports them. They run to the U.S. government for bailouts, but are they so stupid that they think the public doesn’t know where this government money comes from?
Regular people are not dumb, but they don’t have the same access to these greedy federal officials that corporations and financial institutions do.
It’s a broken system that works against the public. God save the USA.
- David Shook, Smithville
Need to clean up
It’s time to go for this ignorant, non-presidential president.
The latest is his public statement that he is now taking hydroxychloroquine, against the cautions of many of his top medical professionals and the warnings of the Food and Drug Administration.
This drug can cause significant side effects in some patients and has not been shown in numerous clinical trials to combat the new coronavirus. Let’s hope he won’t follow up the hydroxychloroquine with a couple of strong snorts of Lysol or a jigger chaser of Clorox.
The president has railed at and demeaned his advisers, former presidents, members of Congress and numerous governors, among many others. President Donald Trump is an embarrassment to this country and to himself.
Even the supreme leader of North Korea, a certifiable nutcake himself, says Trump is a “dotard.”
We need to be rid of Trump — the sooner, the better.
- William Mason, Lansing
Call for help
Suicide remains among the leading causes of death. In my experience, I’ve seen that the more we can increase access to lifesaving resources, the more lives we save.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it was encouraging to see the U.S. Senate pass a bill to designate 988 as the three-digit national suicide prevention hotline. The current crisis line is a 10-digit number, and when someone is in crisis, trying to remember that number is next to impossible.
In Johnson County, we see more than 100 suicides each year. From my work, I know having quick, easy access to someone who will listen is a must.
Thank you to Sen. Jerry Moran for his leadership on this legislation to designate the hotline based on Federal Communications Commission recommendations.
Everyone knows 911 is for an emergency, and hopefully soon 988 will be a household number for a mental health emergency.
- Rennie Shuler-McKinney, Director of behavioral health clinical services, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, Mission