Readers react to election fairness, KCI and the Iran nuclear deal
Election Day fairness
The coming presidential election is shaping up as one of the most important in history.
Since the President Lyndon Johnson era, government officials seem more interested in getting elected and re-elected rather than in solving our problems. The national debt proves this.
I do not understand what goes on in the mind of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She promises benefits for those of the liberal view but has no concept of who will pay the bill.
Totally opening the borders won’t work. Selective immigration may be an answer.
We can’t save the world. It is too big and complicated.
Reducing our country to a Third World wannabe where government passes out Wal-Mart gift cards is not my idea of a plan, although it seems to be for some liberals.
Further dividing the nation is not the answer.
Giving Americans a nation they can take pride in could be something a more conservative candidate might do. The Republican candidates present good ideas and plans for the most part.
GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump comes from the business side of life, not the benefit side. I like his ideas.
Life does not owe you anything. Life is not fair.
Think about it on Election Day.
Tom Spath
Lenexa
Keep KCI as it is
Some think the cheapest way is the best way.
A hamburger can cost $1 at a fast-food joint and $15 at a classy restaurant. That doesn’t mean you should always eat $1 burgers. Better always costs more.
So, because some study says one terminal for Kansas City International Airport is the least expensive way to go doesn’t mean we should embrace the idea. Quite the contrary.
Our current design makes KCI the most convenient airport in the country. If it costs more to run, so be it. Better always costs more.
The solution is simple: assess every traveler a $5 fee to cover the cost of upgrading, maintaining and operating KCI the way it is. Combine any new revenue with the hundreds of millions the city seems so eager to spend on a new facility, and we’ll have all the money we need to improve the status quo.
So what if subsidies are required to keep some food operations open at odd hours or to pay for more security personnel?
The city spends multimillions every year subsidizing other things. KCI is a better candidate for a subsidy.
Better always costs more. Kansas City airline passengers deserve nothing less.
George Costello
Kansas City
Iran nuclear debate
I have to applaud Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Eliot Engel for their decisions to oppose the seriously flawed Iran nuclear deal. Instead of being treated like pariahs in their own party, they should be celebrated as true patriots who put country before party.
Too many Democratic Congress members are, as usual, falling victim to backroom threats and loss of positions in leadership roles, prime seats on committees and loss of future support for legislation they might propose or support because they might vote no on this deal, contrary to what their leaders (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz) tell them to do.
President Barack Obama is also applying his unfettered abuse of power with whatever off-the-record offers of support or false promises he has to make to buy their support.
This is not the time or issue to act like lemmings and charge off another cliff to save Obama’s hide (or what he deems to be his legacy).
Nearly half of Americans oppose this deal according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center because they are smart enough to recognize that this deal is life threatening to America.
Democratic Congress members are tasked with the job of keeping America safe, and it is time for each of them to get a backbone and vote no on this deal.
Gary Larison
Overland Park
The International Atomic Energy Agency did a thorough inspection of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program in 2001, and the information this inspection produced was accurate.
However, misleading information from the U.S. government led to the invasion of Iraq, which in fact was not producing nuclear weapons.
Whether the invasion was economically or politically motivated is up for debate.
Now, with the Iran nuclear deal finally making its way through Congress, the United States has a chance to cooperate with the Middle East via diplomacy rather than military force.
In the past, imposing our military authority upon countries has only led to disaster.
Hopefully, this diplomatic approach will prove effective.
Daniel Simon
Kansas City
Genetically modified
Labeling foods so people know what they are eating should be basic to our food system. Let’s start with all the restaurants, including fast-food establishments and those at sporting events.
Anyone who doesn’t want informed labeling is not a friend to consumers. Not only genetically modified organisms but country of origin should be on all food sold in the United States.
It’s time to wake up to the food we eat and know more about it.
Are genetically modified organisms bad? I don’t think as such, but if it is good, why hide it?
Country-of-origin labeling is important because I don’t want to buy food from countries such as China, which has major flaws in its food-control and inspection process.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture should be out of the inspection and labeling business because it is motivated by the agricultural lobby.
Tax incentives should go to farmers and ranchers who raise the best food. Organic is the answer to our long-term good food ideas. Let’s support those efforts.
If more information about the food we eat is good, tell me how not knowing about the food we put in our mouths is good.
Doug Carolan
Leawood
Women’s health
The Internal Revenue Service should rescind the tax-exempt status of the Center for Medical Progress. Its sole mission appears to be to circulate ambiguous anti-choice information to the public while accepting tax-deductible donations under the false claim of being a bio-medicine charity.
Planned Parenthood’s dedication to providing quality reproductive health care appears to be a thorn in the side of Live Action, or CMP, as well as to the anti-choice politicians demanding the defunding of women’s health care and family planning.
Anti-choice reminder: Personal moral and religious beliefs are best limited to home use or in a chosen house of worship. This is our community, not a private empire to be dictated by self-indulgent pseudo-experts.
Aryn Roth
Kansas City
Tips appreciated
I am a cash tipper at restaurants. And I tip large.
When I eat out, I have a philosophy that workers are worth more than mere politeness.
Serving food is a hard, labor-intensive and physically draining vocation. If you don’t believe it, try it sometime.
In many places, servers must share their tips. It is allocated to other staff at the restaurant. Policies are determined by owners and managers.
In some restaurants, tips on credit-card receipts are withheld, sometimes for several days. Convenience for consumers is often very inconvenient for servers.
Servers survive by charity. How charitable are you? Is your charity tainted by judgment?
By the way, tipping low percentages is an insult.
Serving food is an exhausting way to make a living. Shifting hours, shifting days, uncertain income and no benefits add to the enormous burden of trying to get by.
Ask yourself, “What would you want to receive if you were the server?”
I tip large because the labor necessary to provide for my comfort and satisfaction is well worth my consideration. I am glad to do it.
It’s also very nice to see a real smile from my server.
Politeness is fine. But I cherish true appreciation. And so do they.
Reggie Marselus
Lenexa
This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to election fairness, KCI and the Iran nuclear deal."