Letters: Readers discuss Kansas City police, gas prices and Aikman’s Chiefs slight
It’s a step
I disagree with Mayor Quinton Lucas. The conviction of police officer Eric DeValkenaere is an indictment of the Kansas City Police Department and those who refuse to question its officers’ actions, no matter how egregious or criminal, in execution or intent. (Nov. 21, 21A, “Both Kansas City, Kenosha verdicts were based on law”)
“Better late than never,” “Too little, too late” — the cliches mount but will never restore the lives crushed or lost by the premeditated oppression and malice that stalk every Kansas Citian, but particularly residents of color, in the person of every blue-shirt graduate of the KCPD academy.
Toss a million or two more in the direction of training designed to enable (and inspire) knee-jerk, trigger-finger, brain-dead, split-second reactions to “perceived” threats provoked by officers who can not be troubled (and have not been trained) to follow the law? By all means.
The DeValkenaere decision is what it is, a simple and single first step in an untried direction toward something new and as yet to be defined. What comes next will be determined not by the deliberation of a single individual — the judge in the DeValkenaere case — but by the actions and attitudes of many who choose, perhaps now, to be part of a solution to the problem and challenge of achieving public safety in the metropolitan area.
- Catherine Dobson, Kansas City
Not a shock
To the surprise of no one, Kyle Rittenhouse, the right wing’s poster boy for white supremacy, got away with murder. From the very beginning, that trial was a sham based on the judge’s clear and obvious rulings that favored Rittenhouse and influenced the overwhelmingly white jury.
Don’t be surprised when Ahmaud Arbery’s almost-all-white jury allows the defendants accused of his murder to walk free as well. Some things never change.
- Eddie L. Clay, Grandview
Get covered
If you’re 65 or older or eligible for Medicare because of disability, developing a list of what you have spent on your health care this past year — including hospital expenses and prescriptions — and what you need to have in your health plan next year is an important step as the 1.2 million Medicare-eligible Missourians select their coverage for 2022 by Dec. 7.
I encourage anyone who is eligible to take the time now to ensure you have adequate coverage. Eligible beneficiaries should use trusted sources that can help you with this decision before the deadline. Eligible individuals can visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
- Liz Peterson, regional vice president, health services, Humana, Overland Park
Didn’t do this
Stickers with a photo of President Joe Biden and the legend, “I did this,” are popping up on gas pumps. Fuel taxes hardly ever change, but the Missouri legislature passed a new fuel tax that will increase what Missourians pay over the next three years. The executives in the government don’t create new taxes — the people in the legislature do. Individual officials have little to do with the price for gasoline.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates the largest part of the price per gallon of gas is the cost of crude oil. Refining costs, sales prices and taxes make up just under half the price, and the smaller portion goes to the gas station to purchase, transport and provide you with the finished product. Oil prices are set by oil companies and buyers for refineries based on guesses of the strength of the global economy a few months down the road.
Supply and demand is the primary driver of prices at the pump. If we collectively reduced our use of petroleum or if OPEC would allow a larger supply, prices would likely drop. So, next time you see one of those stickers on a gas pump, ask yourself: “Why did someone waste their money on that misleading sticker?”
- JD Leathers, Belton
Now that’s pain
Watching the Chiefs-Cowboys game Sunday afternoon, I don’t know what was more painful, watching Dak Prescott getting sacked so much or Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s commentary. I think Aikman, a longtime former Cowboys quarterback, should not be allowed to broadcast Dallas games. They were so pro-Dallas the whole time and said very little about how well the Chiefs played.
- Paul McGovern, Kansas City
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Kansas City police, gas prices and Aikman’s Chiefs slight."