Bishop Sullivan Center struggles to fill food bags after government cutbacks | Opinion

Bags soon empty?

I am one of many who volunteer at Bishop Sullivan Center at 39th Street and Troost Avenue. Bishop Sullivan provides meals to many who otherwise would go hungry. For the last few years, I could fill a grocery bag with 20 or more food items to distribute. However, because of government cutbacks, we recently had enough to put only six items in a bag. I fear with further proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other food programs, the bags will shrink even further.

How can our government look to increase military spending by billions yet ignore the most vulnerable in our communities? Our president likes to use the word “groceries“ in his speeches. Perhaps he would like to see the empty shelves at Harvesters, Bishop Sullivan Center and other food pantries for a better understanding of what that word means to people.

Let’s not fill the Oval Office with gold. Instead, let us fill a bag with food.

- Brian Fowler, Kansas City

Gun sense

While reading Tyler Kirby’s excellent story about the stagnant state of gun law reform in Kansas (May 16, Edition, “With gun deaths rising, lawmakers and activists want change”), I was struck by how you can substitute “Missouri” for “Kansas” and describe nearly every aspect of this shocking failure to pass effective gun legislation.

Nearly all reputable research shows that states with strict gun laws experience lower gun death and injury rates than states without them. For instance, Massachusetts, with numerous gun regulations, has a firearm death rate 75% lower than the national average. Mississippi, with few gun laws, has the highest rate, almost twice the national average. Kansas and Missouri consistently rank near the bottom of states with effective gun laws, according to the Giffords Law Center.

Probably the most egregious example of legislative inaction is the failure of either state to enact safe storage laws. Studies show those laws wield the single greatest impact on preventing firearms deaths and injury, especially among children 17 and younger.

What to do? Thank and support Kansas and Missouri legislators who know these facts. In the next election, vote for candidates who acknowledge the irrefutable evidence showing strict gun laws save lives.

- Dave Webster, Member, Grandparents for Gun Safety, Independence

Kansas power

Even though we come from different companies, we recently traveled to Capitol Hill to speak with one voice about the urgent need to power Kansas’ future.

Together, we engaged with key lawmakers, including Reps. Ron Estes and Tracey Mann and members of Sen. Jerry Moran’s team. As proud Kansans joined by a dedicated community partner, we witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of clean energy projects across Kansas. For all of us, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

We shared what we see every day: Electricity demand is rising sharply. Meeting this demand and keeping Kansas economically competitive requires all forms of energy — wind, solar, battery storage, nuclear and natural gas.

It also means more money flowing to rural areas, well-paying jobs and tax revenue for our schools and services.

Our day in D.C. allowed us to show we’re united in our belief that Kansas is on the brink of becoming an energy powerhouse, and we need steady policies and certainty to succeed.

We’re grateful for the lawmakers’ time and for their commitment to listening to those working to power Kansas’ energy future. We look forward to continued conversations.

- Matthew Peters, ENGIE; Marty Sneath, Pattern Energy; Shanelle Wilson, NextEra Energy; Douglas County, Kansas

Real world

President Donald Trump’s recent Oval Office rant about the brutal killing of white people and the seizure of their farms, buildings and property is correct, but he got the country wrong. That’s actually what Russia’s Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine.

- Robert Settich, Gladstone

All that glitters

Kudos to David Mastio on his piercingly witty and insightful comparisons between the emirate of Qatar and our own king of American carnage, Donald Trump. (May 15, 11A, “Air Shady: If Donald Trump were a country, he’d be just like Qatar”)

However, I must strongly disagree with Mr. Mastio for dinging the décor of Trump Tower. The place is, after all, King Donald’s home, and as such is private property. Therefore, his majesty has every right to turn his castle into King Midas’ dream if he so chooses. The White House, sad to say, is a nightmare of a different delirium, given that it is the nation’s meeting place for royalty and heads of state. (I might also add celebrities — albeit with much better taste.)

As y’all know, the joint was recently gussied up by Monsieur Donald le Decorator himself, and it now looks like a house of ill repute that might’ve been executed by a madam with addled peek-a-boo taste. I mean, “gold” for days! Or should I say, “gold” for weeks?

But anyone with such an obsession for gaudy “gold” toilets, sinks and shower heads should not complain about water pressure so much. For someone who prefers form over function (see photos under “Trump’s cabinet”), the words “fool’s gold” fit him to a T(rump).

- Bob Canning, Petaluma, California