Readers sound off on Islamic State, Hillary Clinton, postal profits
Aiding Islamic State
In preparing to militarily deal with the Islamic State terrorism in Iraq and Syria, we exposed and broadcast all plans, informing the enemy what to expect. Congress hasn’t helped.
By the time the tortoise decides to lift one leg, the Islamic State militants will be fully prepared to evade, improvise and overcome anything that comes against them. And the news media are helping them.
Had President Franklin Roosevelt let out all of our plans during World War II in fighting the Nazis, all would have been lost.
Foresight now is lacking.
William A. Ingram
Kansas City
Clueless governor
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he didn’t know the projected massive budget existed until after the election (11-26, A9, “Kansas mulls budget deficit”).
Really?
I guess he doesn’t read newspapers such as The Kansas City Star, which reported on the budget deficit repeatedly before the election.
Patricia Turner
Overland Park
Letter of thanks?
I am very disappointed in The Star’s decision to publish one particular letter on Thanksgiving Day.
Amid the many letters of heartfelt and sincere gratitude, The Star chose to include one from an apparently disgruntled reader who expressed his thanks by bitterly maligning Kansas.
Why include such a negative letter (from an individual who acknowledged he was “mad”) on a national day of thankfulness?
That decision both puzzles and disappoints me, as I suspect it does a great many others.
As for the letter writer, I suppose I should at least thank him for continuing to be a Kansas taxpayer. Although our outlooks on the state may differ, we are both invested in helping our fine state continue to prosper in the years ahead.
Thank you, sir.
Terry Smith
Olathe
Kudos to The Star
I love the new Drive section.
I saw it recently and read it immediately.
The layout and value-added articles are so much more attractive and interesting than the previous classified section.
Thanks for the improvement.
Keith Doel
Lenexa
Obama, Ebola virus
With every passing day, I get more and more disillusioned with the so-called leaders of our country.
My solution would be to fire everyone in our government and start over.
But the problem is that I see no viable replacements.
We need a government whose priority is to protect our country and the citizens within.
Instead, we have a president who sent millions of dollars and about 4,000 of our soldiers to Africa to fight the Ebola virus, a deadly epidemic that exposes them to the disease and increases the risk of widespread exposure in our homeland upon the soldiers’ return.
There was plenty of warning about this disease, and it should never have reached our shores.
Strict precautions should have been made way before now.
With Obama’s leadership, or lack thereof, it is just one disaster after another.
Peggy Cobb
Kansas City, Kan.
Religious freedom
The Supreme Court has decided that corporations are people and can donate huge sums of money politically and that closely held corporations can dictate to their employees what health care they are entitled to.
I am a born-again Christian and have my personal thoughts and beliefs about my religion.
I would never try to push my thoughts or beliefs onto someone else as a condition of their right to pursue a livelihood, even if I was paying that person’s salary.
I think it’s time to start a “freedom from religion” movement to counteract the current push to stick a person’s religion in the faces of others as a condition of their employment, under the guise of “freedom of religion” guaranteed in the Constitution.
There needs to be contact with our political representatives to free us from this flagrant violation of personal freedoms foisted on us by the Supreme Court.
Ask your representative to sponsor a constitutional amendment to overturn this injustice, like the one to overturn the Citizens United ruling.
Don Rinck Sr.
Mission
Postal Service profit
The Star’s Nov. 24 editorial, “New postal chief faces lots of turmoil,” accurately stated that the red ink at the U.S. Postal Service results from the 2006 congressional mandate to prefund future retiree health benefits — something required of no other public or private entity.
Unfortunately, it then suggested that it may be necessary to end Saturday delivery and take other steps that would slow the mail and reduce service.
But degrading postal services isn’t necessary because the agency has returned to operating profitability.
An improving economy has boosted letter revenue, and online shopping has resulted in skyrocketing package revenue.
In recently completed fiscal year 2014, Postal Service operations were profitable by $1.4 billion, and in the first month of fiscal 2015 (October) made $633 million.
So there’s no reason to prevent small businesses in Kansas City from receiving checks on Saturday or to end door-to-door delivery and force residents to traipse around their neighborhoods to find cluster boxes. In fact, doing so would only drive mail and revenue away, forcing more cuts in service.
The Postal Service, which doesn’t get a dime of taxpayer money, funds itself by selling stamps and related services.
Instead, lawmakers should address the prefunding fiasco they created.
Fredric Rolando
President
National Association
of Letter Carriers
Washington, D.C.
Illegal immigration
I recently heard on the morning news that more than 40,000 of the illegal immigrants who were allowed to walk into the country unhindered failed to show up for their court hearings.
Who would have thought?
Oh well, given the millions of illegal immigrants here already, this is just a drop in the bucket.
Someone had better wake up soon.
Bob Berry
Oak Grove
This story was originally published December 1, 2014 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Readers sound off on Islamic State, Hillary Clinton, postal profits."