Readers react to religion, the federal budget and child safety
Muslims, Christians
Let me state the obvious.
The vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, just as the vast majority of Christians are not Timothy McVeigh.
Scores more people are killed in this country by our own Christian citizens than are killed by Muslims — citizens or otherwise. What are we doing to solve that problem?
Shirley Lewis
Overland Park
Balancing budget
Here are some things members of Congress should consider in balancing the budget:
▪ Give yourself a pay cut instead of taking from those who can least afford it, like Social Security recipients.
▪ Tax contributions to political campaigns. Revenue from national elections should go to the national treasury; from states, to state treasuries; from local elections, to city and county treasuries.
▪ Republicans should stop disagreeing with everything President Barack Obama says and does. You are embarrassing the country and making fools of yourselves. Where were you when President George W. Bush was getting us into this mess? Now you want to balance the budget and disgrace Obama.
▪ Tax the rich. Just because you are in this tax bracket doesn’t mean the rich can’t pay their fair share of the taxes.
▪ Stop the negative campaigning. I don’t want to know what your opponent says or does. I want to know what you are planning to do.
▪ Stop blaming Obama for everything. Most of this mess (98 percent) was caused by the Bush administration. Obama is trying to fix things, but the Republicans block everything he tries and then blame him for not doing anything.
Give him a chance.
Linda McGee
Kansas City, Kan.
Keeping kids safe
Safe Schools Week is especially poignant this year, falling as it does in the wake of more classroom mass killings.
This week’s observance and the recent Oregon shooting are urgent reminders that parents and guardians must do all they can to keep young people safe.
One way to do that is a National PTA-endorsed safety program developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence that is available to parent-teacher groups and others in the Kansas City area.
Asking Saves Kids (askingsaveskids.org) helps protect children from being accidental shooting victims. It encourages parents to ask the following critical question whenever arranging a child’s play date: “Is there an unlocked gun in the house?”
At ASK presentations, which usually are conducted by prominent area pediatricians, parents learn why the question is so important and how to pose it diplomatically and respectfully. Consider that one in three homes with children has guns, many of which are unsecured and loaded.
Safe storage also is critical because most guns used in school shootings are taken from the home. If you or your PTA are interested in an ASK presentation, send an email to neksbrady@gmail.com.
Loren Stanton
President
N.E. Kansas chapter
Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun
Violence
Prairie Village
Wrong on hotel
The city attorney is nice, but when did he become infallible (10-19, Editorial, “City Council has good reasons to reject election on downtown hotel”)?
Several attorneys think he is wrong on the hotel. Any judge will take a serious look at the timeline.
The city says, “It’s too far down the road.” That’s City Hall’s reasoning? That’s an opinion, and city officials jumped on the wagon.
We all understand the close business relationship among the city, The Star and the developer, but the newspaper should try to remain objective. If it is a bad deal, it’s a bad deal, no matter how far down the road it is.
The new council has the opportunity to correct a major mistake. If this is such a good deal, then why is the city the No. 1 financier?
Where are all the investors. Where’s the financing? Who are the owners? How does the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority fit in the ownership, and what will it bind the voters to with its leasing agreement with the developers?
Someone needs to bring councilman Scott Taylor up to speed.
Supporters say 4,000 people signed two petitions. That’s far more than were needed to get this done.
If the vote would go their way, let’s vote.
Dan Coffey
Kansas City
This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to religion, the federal budget and child safety."