Bicyclists, Koch brothers, KCI

It’s that time of year when bicyclists are beginning to ride again, putting in miles, getting back into shape and enjoying the warmer weather. Many of us in the Kansas City area ride in larger, supported events throughout the year to raise money for local agencies and nonprofits, last year generating several million dollars through multiple events on both sides of the state line.

It’s also time for drivers to be more aware of cyclists and review the laws regarding their treatment. In both Kansas and Missouri cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles, and must follow the same rules.

Missouri law specifically states motorists may not do anything that endangers a bicyclist, pedestrian or other vehicle. Motorists must use caution when passing, giving cyclists plenty of room.

In Kansas it’s stated as a minimum of three feet. And please, think about how wide your vehicle is and how far the mirrors protrude. Safety, not speed, is the highest consideration while on the road.

Please give bicyclists the respect and safety consideration you would give if it were your child on the road. Help us bicyclists help others.

The poor “misunderstood” Kochs and their apologists seem unable or unwilling to accept that they, through their network of front organizations, are thigh deep in the tacky business of American politics. And as such they are subject to the same kind of negative attention they seem to have no qualms about dishing out in efforts to defeat officeholders or candidates with whom they have issues.

Hard to believe Missouri representatives could be so backward and self-serving as to override the tax-cut veto.

I look forward to the next election. It is a shame elections are not next week. All statehouse elected officials would be flushed down the drain, as they well deserve.

It makes moral and economic sense for Missouri to take advantage of the federal government’s Medicaid expansion offer.

Every day that the legislature refuses to pass expansion, our state loses more federal funding. Worse, thousands of vulnerable Missourians are suffering from lack of health care. Our current system, where we all pay for the costs of the poor’s inefficient emergency-room care, is not maintainable.

Let’s work to ensure that health care is a right instead of a privilege in Missouri by continuing to push for Medicaid expansion.

If we need a new airport, we ought to come up with a better excuse than shaking down travelers for overpriced food and drink and made-anywhere-but-here snow globes.

It looks as if the citizens of Kansas City, who will vote on what to do with Kansas City International Airport, are looking at the near future.

We have seen the city repair Kemper Arena and then build Sprint Center. Now we owe on both.

We spent money on Kauffman Stadium when we should have built a new stadium downtown, which would have put us with most of baseball stadiums that are located in new and developing downtowns.

Now there is the airport, which is more than 40 years old and very convenient but antiquated. Let’s put a Band-Aid on it and be very proud of our convenience.

I was so pleased to read the May 12 story on Sonia Warshawski, “Survivor faces another loss,” but sad to know she will no longer be in her shop with her interesting conversation and, as was mentioned in the article, life lessons.

I met Sonia shortly after moving to Kansas City almost 20 years ago. I thought I was just bringing clothes to be tailored, but it has been much more than that. She is always glad to see her customers, is interested in their lives and loves to talk about movies, books and history.

She is also willing to talk about her life, which has been amazing. One would think there would be at least some bitterness after all she suffered, but this is not the case.

I wish her the best and hope she continues to share with a world much in need of Sonias.

It appears gun control is not going to happen considering how many people oppose it regardless of how many innocents are killed. So, how about taking bullets off the market?

I’m confused. We killed the murderous beast Osama bin Laden.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lied to Congress. Edward Snowden is a whistleblower who broke the law. And yet we let Sen. Ted Cruz, the tea party terrorist, get off with closing down the government and hurting thousands of people.

What must a confused citizen do?

I love God and this country, but that doesn’t seem to lessen the confusion.

I don’t follow sports, but my husband does. I’ve heard grumbling from him about Rex Hudler and have read letters to the editor about him, mostly negative.

I was not watching a recent Kansas City Royals game but was in the room where my husband was watching, and “it should have went” made it through to my indifferent ears immediately.

Hudler may have some qualifications in baseball, but as a commentator he’s strictly amateur. That may be neither here nor there to some people, but I think of it as rather an embarrassment.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently told Yale University students it was insulting to label illegal immigrants as criminals. Doing so, she said, was to paint them as something less than worthy human beings.

Worthiness aside, when they crossed from their country into this, at a time or place other than that allowed by U.S. immigration law, they broke that law and committed a crime.

Criminal cases regard actions considered harmful to us all. Illegal immigration is such an offense, regardless of how we describe it.

As immigration reform is such a dividing issue, we should expect advocates from either side to frame their arguments using their best wording.

But once we peel away the emotion-laden language, we are left with the simple fact that sneaking into this country without proper papers and then hiding in the shadows to avoid detection is not worthy.

It’s a crime.

So, if it comes to paying big bucks for college athletes to compete and entertain people who can afford to watch, why not bring war games to this country so our soldiers can compete and entertain for big bucks?

I’m sure our soldiers aren’t paid as well as our athletes would be, and I’ll bet more tickets would be sold to watch real life-or-death action.

Our military should be our first priority — guaranteed mental health care and jobs after service, as athletes are all but guaranteed jobs as coaches, TV announcers, managers or executive staff positions (and don’t get me started about pro salaries).

This country should provide more pay for our soldiers.

A bewildered older couple, lost on their way to the vehicle-inspection site, were helped by a woman who not only gave them directions but followed them there.

She drove behind the couple and guided them with her turn signal.

We are grateful for her kindness.

Contrary to “breaking news,” there are good people out there.

This story was originally published May 14, 2014 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Bicyclists, Koch brothers, KCI."