I was the victim of an ATM robbery. The perpetrators were the machine and my own bank

Sky-high fees

We have all heard of bank robbers, but that term has a double meaning. There are people who rob banks, and then there are banks that rob people.

I was at Ward Parkway Shopping Center this past week and found myself needing $20 cash. I walked to an ATM, went through the procedure and got my $20. The machine charged $6.50 for the withdrawal. I had never paid more than $3.50 before. Ouch.

The next day, I was going over my bank statement and saw that my bank charged me an additional $10 to get the $20 as a cash advance from my credit card. All in all, I paid $16.50 for a cash withdrawal on my credit card, which I still have to pay back. Then interest rates of 14% to 24% begin immediately. I feel like I got pounded by a loan shark.

Things are not easy in these times. It seems absurd to me that my bank — which made a record $32 billion net profit last year — and the company that owns the ATM would charge a combined 82% on a cash advance. But I have no right to complain. It is not my business.

Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware.

- Duke Tufty, Kansas City

Still it flows

Water kept pouring out of a leak at 66th Terrace and Pennsylvania Avenue. The water department had been notified more than a dozen times. Tuesday, it took action: an orange cone. Thursday, a crew finally showed up and fixed it.

More than 300,000 gallons were wasted by my estimate.

- Allen J. Parmet, Kansas City

Selfish women

Some women in our world today are very selfish, such as the author of an Oct. 26 letter to the editor who equated abortion rights with freedom, (12A) as well as those in many other pieces I have read.

Women are free to use contraceptives and abstinence (such trite ideas). They could also carry babies to term and let someone adopt them — such a novel idea to help someone who can’t have a baby.

So women do have choices. What choice do babies have? None. The most dangerous place today for a baby is in the mother’s womb — I read that on a bumper sticker and thought how true it is.

The way people talk about abortion, you would think it’s been banned completely throughout the United States. But guess what? Missouri women can still get an abortion by traveling to another state. But, oh, I forgot: We want everything fast and very convenient.

Now, selfish women: Go on and complain about how abused you are.

- Claudia Vaughn, Raymore

Belief, fact

Fact: Democratic candidates have lost twice in the past six presidential elections despite winning the popular vote. The number of Republican candidates who have suffered that fate? Zero.

Fact: Gerrymandering is perpetrated by both major parties, but Republicans have been far more successful at it.

Fact: Although Democrats have greater numbers overall, their voting strength has been significantly eroded by geographic sorting.

Fact: The overwhelming majority of Republicans claim to believe elections are being stolen from them.

Oh, the irony.

- Paul L. Schenk, Parkville

By the numbers

I am increasingly worried about our democracy. The political vitriol and violence in our nation is out of control. I asked reasonable leaders like Sen. Jerry Moran to speak out that the 2020 election was not rigged or fraudulent. There’s a big difference between saying Joe Biden is president and saying Donald Trump lost fair and square. Moran has not responded.

If Democrats rigged the 2020 election, they did a damn poor job of it. Republicans won 23 seats in the Senate, 214 in the House and and eight governorships. I haven’t heard or read a word about their elections being fraudulent. Under what circumstances would you rig only one candidate’s election in our whole country? Common sense tells us no Republicans would have won if the 2020 election had been rigged or fraudulent.

A number of candidates across this country support the false notion of a rigged 2020 presidential election. Let’s return to the days when people of honor accepted defeat with grace and dignity. Return to the days when elected people worked together to lift everyone in our country. Return to the days when they could disagree about policies without being disagreeable.

Please vote carefully. Our democracy depends on it.

- Sue Thompson, Mission