Letters: KC readers discuss Trumpian Roger Marshall, Royals’ TV price, vaccine winner
True colors
Sen. Roger Marshall is again showing himself to be a staunch Trumpian with his Monday Star guest commentary, “Misinformation and flip-flopping from federal bureaucrats causing vaccine hesitancy.” (7A) Many Americans hesitate to get the COVID-19 vaccine, keeping the pandemic going. For this he blames the current administration and “bureaucrats” such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who “have changed directions, with no meaningful explanation, no endgame in sight.”
What a joke. Donald Trump’s administration silenced Fauci for his recommendations to wear masks and observe social distancing.
Marshall admits the science on any emerging infectious disease is constantly changing, yet he criticizes Fauci and other officials for “flip-flopping.”
The Biden administration has faced the pandemic head-on, with recommendations that will help end it, instead of recommending that “we should take back our freedoms and lose the masks.” Remember when Trump said criticism of his lax reaction to the pandemic was a hoax? He carried that line throughout 2020, contributing to the deaths of more than 572,000 Americans.
Sen. Marshall, you may be a physician, but you are no expert on public health. You are a small-town politician who continues to pander to the extreme right-wing Trump base.
- James Meyer, Lenexa
Think bolder
With Earth Day this month, I am calling on my members of Congress to join forces by including a bold, pro-justice Civilian Climate Corps in the infrastructure package. This program, as President Joe Biden has proposed, would be funded with around $10 billion to create 10,000 to 20,000 jobs.
That’s nice, but we need something more ambitious. We need legislation to provide hundreds of thousands of jobs with livable wages starting at $15 an hour and include health care, specified recruitment in communities hardest hit by the climate crisis and a direct pathway to secure jobs.
What this would mean to me, a high school student in the Kansas City metropolitan area, are a brighter future and trust in my legislators. Because of the pandemic, many people are unemployed and need stable jobs with a livable wage. The more ambitious plan I propose would boost the economy, get people back on their feet and help protect our future and our one and only home.
Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and Rep. Sharice Davids, I call on you to demand action.
- Sydney Jackson, Merriam
Wrong focus
The Sunday letter to the editor about The Star’s coverage of the George Floyd case was right on. (18A) Your reporting on the verdict in David Chauvin’s trial bordered on the sensational, provocative pictures included.
The media and the left rage against racism yet perversely and continually keep the narrative alive. You run headlines that praisethe hiring of a “Black” police chief, not a police chief, a “Black” school administrator and so on.
Nothing will change if it doesn’t begin with you and me. If you’re serious, be the change rather than the problem. And, I agree with the Chauvin verdict, by the way.
- Nancy Ash, Prairie Village
A Royals pain
I was amazed that the Royals’ viewership is up this season, according to Tuesday’s story, “As Royals pile up wins, fans are tuning in to watch on TV” in the sports section. (4B) I can’t watch any games with my TV provider unless I pay $180 for its MLB channel or buy one of the MLB.TV packages starting at $110. That isn’t going to happen.
I have visited with numerous friends who say they are in the same situation. So imagine what viewership would be if the games were more available. I just don’t get it. No one seems to care about retirees like me who have no opportunity to watch the Royals.
- Cindy L. Dial, Paola, Kansas
Raise stakes
To combat COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, especially after the disastrous Johnson & Johnson disruption, I think we the taxpayers, through the federal government, should sponsor a vaccine lottery. After receiving your vaccine, you would be given a number. Once a month for the next four months, a winner would be drawn from those numbers and win $25 million.
The chance to win millions of dollars would provide a lot of motivation to get vaccinated. And it would be a very reasonable price to pay to get this virus behind us and our country back in business.
- Greg Nelson, Kansas City
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss Trumpian Roger Marshall, Royals’ TV price, vaccine winner."