KCI, U.S. spying, Obamacare

As a commercial airline pilot, I fly between Kansas City and Dallas five or more round trips a month. I sit next to first-time fliers as well as frequent fliers and business fliers.

Most are local, and many are from other parts of the country. Not one passenger has shown an interest in changing our Kansas City International Airport.

The frequent and business fliers experience many other airports across the country and world, and all speak favorably of KCI.

I have spent time at the new Indianapolis and Sacramento airports and can tell you it takes 15 to 20 minutes to reach the gate area and to depart the airport via moving walkways and trains. Who wants to spend more time at the airport shopping?

Comments about airlines wanting to serve a new airport with more flights are patently untrue. If the airlines could fly more passengers from the airport, they would schedule more flights now.

The city will end up demolishing Terminal A for non-use and the cost of keeping it, and then claim the need for more room and thus build a new airport. Such a waste.

On two recent flights, one to San Antonio last summer, and more recently to Tampa, Fla., I departed from Kansas City International Airport. Because bottled water is not an approved item at security checkpoints, I purchased a bottle from a vendor after I was inside the secured waiting area.

The price was $4.19.

I had to change planes in Dallas and purchased another bottle of water at that airport for $2.09. I made another purchase in San Antonio on my return flight home, again for $2.09.

The process was repeated last week when I traveled to Tampa. KCI was still $4.19; Dallas, $2.09; and Tampa, $2.19.

Some might say I was comparing apples to oranges. Nope, I purchased the exact same brand and exact same size each time.

So, can anyone explain why the price at KCI is double that of the other airports? Is this the way to encourage visitors to come to Kansas City?

Is this another way to convince the public that we need a new airport?

To the Feb. 12 letter writer who pointed out God’s perfection in his argument to unconditionally accept gays and transgender 6-year-olds as the will of God, he should be reminded that the same perfect God created those who have issues with it. The solution: How about a little two-way tolerance?

But then, that would presuppose it really is about tolerance and not about the shameless advancement of a political agenda. The same sentiment could apply to a lot of issues, by the way.

All nations spy to the best of their abilities. Only the stupid ones get caught.

I don’t know who convinced the editors at The Kansas City Star that the “Wumo” strip is funny. It isn’t.

It’s awful.

“Shoe” may have been corny, but at least it was funny (or perhaps punny).

Please bring “Shoe” back. “Wumo” simply stinks.

Section 1 of the Equal Rights Amendment states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

The women of Missouri are required to pay taxes and tuition and to buy goods and services at the same rates as men, yet the only constitutionally guaranteed right we have is the right to vote. The other state and federal laws assumed to protect us do not guarantee protection.

Note the continuing efforts by some state legislatures, including Missouri’s, to rescind laws protecting women’s reproductive rights.

Almost 40 percent of women who are age 65 or older live in poverty in Missouri, according to the Missouri Women’s Report of 2011. Women of all ages and educational levels consistently earn less than men and retire with fewer benefits and less savings.

More than 60 percent of Missouri women work, and many of those are sole providers for their families.

Support the ERA in Missouri and encourage your state representatives to ratify it. Amending the U.S. Constitution is the ultimate and just goal for women across our great country.

The First Amendment states Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the freedoms of speech, the press or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

There also shouldn’t be advisory boards restricting people’s beliefs, ideas or opinions in newspapers, in magazines, on television or on radio. That would violate the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.

If the news media are using advisory boards (people of our community) to control the news printed in the paper or voiced over the air, they could be in violation of the First Amendment by suppressing other persons’ inalienable rights and freedoms as expressed in the Constitution.

Such suppression would be very unconstitutional.

I did not try to access the healthcare.gov website until Dec. 1. But once I did, it was easy to register and even sort of fun.

Shortly after completing the registration, I received an email with a link to a list of at least a dozen insurance options. Those options identified costs, deductible amounts and doctor networks.

Our previous doctors were all available. We could also see how much our prescriptions would cost before we selected a plan.

The plan will cost our family of four $749 a month — about half as much as the COBRA plan offered to us after our insurance was canceled because of a job loss. I received a notice from the insurance provider this month that our insurance registration had been confirmed.

We support the Affordable Care Act; better still would be a single-payer system. Yes, socialized medicine.

Then, if an employer wants to offer a Cadillac plan to attract workers, it would be able to do so. Such a system would remove one of the main obstacles to hiring.

Likewise, more people age 60 and over would retire, freeing up jobs for college graduates trying to pay off their loans.

My otherwise healthy 18-year-old grandson was walking up the stairs when his leg gave out for no apparent reason.

He no longer has feeling in his lower leg and can barely walk. We have been going to doctors and specialists, trying to learn what happened and how to treat it.

Fortunately, he continues to be covered by insurance. However, many young people do not have coverage to pay for multiple doctor visits and medical tests to diagnose a sudden illness or treat a traumatic injury.

One day my grandson was young and healthy, and the next day and for an unseen future he’s an invalid. This change in status can happen in an instant to anyone.

Young people need to recognize that they’re not being asked to sign up to pay for health-care coverage to ease the burdens of older Americans. They’re being asked to sign up to protect their own health and well-being.

Thank heavens there is now a vehicle for them to do so while they continue their educations or start careers.

We should be thanking those who made the Affordable Care Act possible for all of us.

I wish to express my thanks and appreciation to the Kansas City Fire Department.

I needed it to take me from the NewMark Care Center to North Kansas City Hospital and back.

The driver and the emergency medical technicians were courteous and careful. I wish all cities had the same.

This story was originally published February 16, 2014 at 5:00 PM with the headline "KCI, U.S. spying, Obamacare."