Letters: Readers discuss New Orleans’ plight, KCI contracts and Kansas election maps
Let’s move it up
Should New Orleans be rebuilt or relocated? The hurricanes will continue, and we will continue to rebuild the city.
When the Yangtze River flooded in the early 1990s, China built the largest concrete structure in the world, the Three Gorges Dam. The country created the largest hydroelectric-power-generating unit on the planet, new manufacturing plants, new shopping areas and new housing for 1.3 million people — all for less than the cost of the damage done by the flood. It relocated about the same number of people as live in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
I love New Orleans, but it is below sea level. It will continue to flood and displace more than a million people each time it floods.
It is time to consider moving New Orleans to higher ground. If China can do it, the USA can do it, too.
- Ken Landes, Blue Springs
Who’s impenetrable?
Stinson attorney Chuck Hatfield complains about lack of transparency with the bid process for bars and restaurants at Kansas City International Airport. (Aug. 30, 1A, “Secretive Kansas City airport contract comes under scrutiny”) But when asked, he refused to name which bidder he represents.
Is it just me, or is something wrong with this picture?
- Gary Mundhenke, Gladstone
Grotesque politics
Sen. Josh Hawley’s attempt to build political capital on the deaths of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan is deplorable. He is calling for President Joe Biden to resign, while he himself is complicit in the mess Donald Trump left behind. (Aug. 28, 1A, “Hawley, long in favor of Afghan withdrawal, calls on President Biden to resign”)
The disaster in Afghanistan was set in motion the moment George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld abandoned the search for Osama bin Laden in favor of controlling the rich oil fields of Iraq, under the guise of looking for weapons of mass destruction.
The Obama administration’s mistake was believing money and U.S. military support could change a country with 2,000-plus years of tribal leadership into a thriving democracy.
Trump opposed the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, often criticizing his predecessors’ actions. He bilaterally negotiated a U.S. troop withdrawal with the Taliban, excluding the Afghan government and promising to cut troop levels to 2,500 by January 2021 and total withdrawal by May.
Biden inherited Trump’s Taliban agreement and negotiated a withdrawal date of Aug. 31. Few foresaw the complete collapse of the Afghan military and government.
It took courage for Biden to step forward and make the decision his predecessors failed to make. History will show he did the right thing.
- Patrick Riha, Kansas City
Map Kansas fairly
Speak up for fair maps. As Kansas’ legislative redistricting committees work on drawing congressional, state legislative and Kansas Board of Education district maps for the 2022 elections, it’s vitally important that citizens get involved in the process.
Although the committee made a hurried effort to conduct public hearings around the state in one week last month, Kansans should have more opportunities to express their views.
We get fair maps when voting districts drawn by the Legislature reflect the shared interests of a community, not just the interests of politicians. Legislators need to hear from all people.
The following will make the process fairer:
First: Legislators must give us full disclosure throughout the process and public hearings on the plan proposed for adoption. Hearings, both in-person and virtual, should be subject to open meeting laws.
Second: Submitting proposed maps and testimony describing communities of interest should be easy, with clear timelines and instructions for submitting district maps.
Third: New districts should be adopted early in the 2022 legislative session to ensure smooth preparation for the 2022 election cycle.
Now is the time to contact the Kansas House and Senate redistricting committees at kslegislature.org. Tell them we need fair maps in Kansas.
- Kathleen Morrow, Overland Park
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss New Orleans’ plight, KCI contracts and Kansas election maps."