Readers sound off on Ferguson, gay marriage, Gov. Sam Brownback
Limit reach of law
I do not support gay marriage or abortion. But is it my place to push my ideas on other people? I can try to persuade people, but do I need a law?
Acts that do not harm the general society are not items for new laws. When an act affects the well-being of society, it is time for a law.
Engineering social behavior with rules and laws normally ferments rebellion in the long run. Most dictatorships try to control the people with rules and restrictions.
Let’s limit laws to the very essential.
Richard Blaisdell
Kansas City
Brownback’s folly
We can all use a good laugh during these trying times (11-26, A9, “Kansas mulls budget deficit”). The news that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback “didn’t know” that the massive budget deficit existed “until after the election” made us laugh.
Heck, at least half the nation and a good part of the rest of the world knew about the Kansas deficit before the election.
Where has King Sam been? Perhaps hiding, since he has no clothes.
Jack E. Smith
Parkville
Kinder inappropriate
Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s political opportunism during the aftermath of the Ferguson, Mo., unrest after the shooting death of Michael Brown is just downright inappropriate.
Is it appropriate to bring up Kinder’s past sketchy personal life for political purposes? Kinder has seen fit to exploit all things connected to Ferguson for political gain.
Shameful.
Paul Comerford
Blue Springs
Governor wakes up
How convenient of Gov. Sam Brownback to notice the shortfall in the budget so soon after his re-election (11-26, A9, “Kansas mulls budget deficit”). Unfortunately, many voters chose to ignore Brownback’s ploy on Election Day.
Four years is a long time for them to think about it, but President Barack Obama won’t be running next time so that should help them understand the true gravity of this situation.
Jesse Hall
Lenexa
Light rail dead end
I live in Kansas City and can’t think that I would use the light rail more than twice a year. I won’t be using it to go to Union Station or the River Market or if it were extended to the airport.
It doesn’t go where I frequent and perhaps not at the times I would need it. I think most of the population doesn’t want to foot the bill for another type of transportation that cannot support itself.
Kelly Scott
Kansas City
Flawed health care
Our health-care system was created not to care for the sick but to reap profits for shareholders.
Administrators understaff facilities and shift nurses from hospital to hospital. Health-care professionals work long hours serving far too many patients. Many hospitals lack protective gear, and training is limited.
Real training isn’t sending out another unread memo. Real training costs money, money insurance companies and hospitals would rather direct to profit-hungry shareholders.
Additionally, most of us avoid seeking care we might need because our insurance, if we have insurance, carries hefty co-pay fees that we can’t afford.
It’s morally wrong to wring profits from caring for the sick, but we continue to do just that. If we continue to practice medicine for profit, we’ll see more deaths from the Ebola virus, and then the next epidemic.
Let’s get sensible and create a system that offers the same level of care to every American, at little or no cost, like many other nations. Call it Medicare for all, a single-payer plan or whatever you like, but let’s do it now before it’s too late.
Ralph Tomlinson
Baldwin City, Kan.
Grievous hypocrisy
The sins of the world are many, but the most grievous is hypocrisy. The reluctance of our institutions and legal authorities to confront this loathsome behavior is alarming.
Islamic extremists justify jihad as ordained by God, but World Trade Center bombers visited strip clubs and porn sites before killing innocents. Politicians campaign on family values yet are caught kissing staffers and employing hookers.
Wealthy professional athletes professing to be role models abuse their wives, partners and children while the league’s leadership and owners publicly condemn the behavior but task their lawyers to work damage control. Our high schools, universities and military academies attempt to cover up cheating and rampant sexual abuse.
Religious organizations preach the Golden Rule while hiding crimes of pedophile clergymen. Car companies hide design flaws that result in fatal accidents and determine it’s cheaper to pay the compensation to victims than to fix the problem.
Last, but not least, radio and TV pundits broadcast rumors and innuendo without fact-checking to millions of obsequious, boot-licking sycophant listeners.
“For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit,” Noam Chomsky once wrote, in “Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World.”
Rod Yeager
Kansas City
KC Chiefs’ bad run
Let me try to understand. First the Chiefs whip up on the defending Super Bowl champs, then they let an 0-10 team make them look like a sandlot team, and then they let arch-rival Denver quarterback Peyton Manning come into our house and whip our backsides. What’s up with that?
Some lousy play-calling plus some horrible execution on defense and no offense certainly lead to deep thoughts on what is going on and who is to blame. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our quarterback cannot complete a pass beyond 6 or 8 yards, and Dwayne Bowe cannot catch them if the quarterback does not throw his way every once in a while.
Good luck with what’s left of the season.
Wayne Miller
Lone Jack
Rams, Ferguson
On Nov. 30, several St. Louis Rams football players during pregame introductions performed a self-serving display of raising their arms in a hands-up, don’t-shoot pose to support ongoing and at times violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., after the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer. This is an insulting gesture to police.
If the players truly want to help Ferguson, they should make appearances in that St. Louis suburb. This could assist retailers in selling merchandise and let people know it is available.
Joe Lavender
Lenexa
Eliminate bullying
Many students I know, not just in my school district, believe our schools don’t have set bullying programs or don’t follow up.
There are many victims when it comes to bullying. In fact, I’m one. Situations that are reported by students are never solved.
We feel the administrators aren’t here for us when they’re needed. Schools should have constant awareness of bullying and come together to learn the importance of why bullying isn’t OK.
I do believe every school should have a visitor every year to share stories that we imperfect people can learn from and take to heart.
Bullying hasn’t stopped, and it won’t if there isn’t a set program for follow up. It’s an area schools need to work on.
Sudents are going through depression, pain, sadness and other negative emotions every day. We need strength as a school to make each and every person feel that his or her life is worth living.
I hope administrators realize we need their commitment to make us feel safe and not have to worry.
Take a stand, be there for others and stop the bullying.
Carlee Bracale
Kansas City
This story was originally published December 3, 2014 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Readers sound off on Ferguson, gay marriage, Gov. Sam Brownback."