Readers sound off on Charleston, S.C., shootings, T-Bones, subsidizing wealthy

Preying in church

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said. Except, perhaps, for this country’s interpretation of the Second Amendment (6-19, A1, “Murders in house of God”).

Tom Davis

Merriam

Craving T-Bones

Am I the only one in the city who would like to enjoy T-Bones coverage? I could not even find mention of them in the Preview section.

Donna McClure

Kansas City, Kan.

Subsidizing the rich

Kansas is a financial mess, and the Kansas GOP is to blame.

It has created two classes of taxpayers: the “privileged” Kansas taxpayer (LLCs, business owners, farmers, etc.) pays no personal income tax. If you write your own paycheck, you pay zero in Kansas income tax. The other class consists of “non-privileged” taxpayers. Because they do not own a business, they have to pay the Kansas income tax. If you receive a paycheck, you pay.

The privileged Kansas taxpayers account for 330,000 people. The Kansas GOP is fighting to keep them from paying their fair share in taxes. Instead, they want to raise the non-privileged taxpayers’ taxes even further through higher sales taxes, liquor taxes, etc.

This is hurting the image of our state. We are again the butt of late-night jokes. The Republicans created a deficit of more than $400 million, and they can’t figure a way to balance the budget. These are not courageous GOP politicians. The GOP wants to publicly subsidize the rich, and the other Kansans are too stupid to figure that out.

Joe Hodnik

Olathe

Unmotivated voters

Someone recently bemoaned that 500,000 eligible Kansans are not registered to vote and implied the state Legislature should do something about it.

We don’t need anyone voting who is so unmotivated and uninformed. They’ll make their choices based on whose yard signs they saw, who The Star endorsed or, God forbid, who gives them a pamphlet outside the polling place.

Oh, never mind on the Star endorsements. I’m sure none of them read the newspaper or even watch the TV news.

Victoria Welsh

Kansas City

Dissipating outrage

The rage is out there again (6-19, A1, “Murders in house of God”). The outcry demanding that something needs to be done is once more echoing from legislators and the media.

We are once again reassured that our society will rise out of our sick culture of violence that breeds mass murderers using guns. We will weep and pontificate and then within days forget about it, just as we have forgotten about all the past mass gun murders.

We are slowly accepting mass murders by guns as one of the risks of living in this country. Our legislators are locked in fear of the National Rifle Association.

We are all angry. But all we do is talk about it, and we do nothing.

We deny that we have lax and inconsistent gun laws. We deny racism.

We ignore and defame science. We do not put a premium on education.

But the Confederate flag will continue to fly over the Statehouse in South Carolina, and the public outrage will melt away once again after the funerals.

Big talk. No action.

Robert Stuber, M.D.

St. Joseph

Tears in Kansas

I can relate to Gov. Sam Brownback’s tears when it comes to addressing our Kansas financial and budget problems. Hoping for a miracle does not seem enough to get the job done.

The governor and I relate in a small way. I submitted my Kansas tax return in early April and have been expecting to receive my tax refund. I paid all my quarterly estimated taxes on time. So each day for the last few months, I go to the mailbox with expectations of receiving my Kansas tax refund. Again no check, and tears start to flow as I walk home empty-handed.

How can we fix the problem?

The governor thought a tax cut would create a miracle. Maybe a responsible financial plan would be good for the people of Kansas and help get my tax refund back to me in a more timely manner.

Cal Wrege

Overland Park

Power of prayer

To the power of prayer and of Bible study, add my seeking, expecting protection from an unseen, all-powerful but benevolent being I believe in. What could possibly be wrong with this picture?

Robert L. Hooper

Raymore

Guns, churchgoers

I wonder how the National Rifle Association will frame Charleston (6-19, A1, “Murders in house of God”). “Guns really don’t kill. It’s those damn bullets?”

So the pastor doesn’t matter? The pastor’s wife and two children don’t matter? The 87-year-old woman who sang in the church choir doesn’t matter? So guns really do matter more than life?

Arlin Buyert

Leawood

EPA fuel standards

The Environmental Protection Agency was in Kansas City listening to concerns over the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates the amount of ethanol that must be blended into gasoline each year.

We’re concerned because damage caused by higher ethanol mandates is so significant and widespread that environmental groups, restaurant and grocer associations, automobile manufacturers, and producers of poultry, pork and beef are just a few of the groups that have joined the oil and natural gas industry in speaking out.

Research has shown that increasing ethanol content from the current 10 percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15) can damage engines and fuel systems. AAA has stated that 95 percent of cars on the road today are not manufacturer-approved to use fuel blends above E10, and numerous automakers warn that engine damage caused by E15 will not be covered by warranty.

Policies to force more ethanol into fuel regardless of market demand are obsolete and potentially damaging to the economy and to vehicles. If the EPA won’t do more to mitigate the damage, Congress needs to step in.

J. Kent Eckles

Executive Director

Kansas

Petroleum Council

Topeka

Fans deserve better

With regard to the Fox sportscasters, I'll take our local ones any day. Even Rex Hudler is growing on me. Fox spent too much time showing other games and talking about the All-Star Game. Have they looked at our games being shown in other cities?

We have fans everywhere we go. And I sure didn't want to hear from Pete Rose.

Virginia McLaury