Readers react to Donald Trump, leadership and Bernie Sanders
Trump’s worth
Donald Trump may have a lot of money, but he has little sense (11-27, A24, “Trump denies making fun of Times reporter”).
Robert Cayton
Kansas City
Clarity, leadership
The president lectures that the Republicans are afraid of 3-year-old orphans coming from Syria. He ignores that some refugees are men. The White House says we have a robust refugee vetting system. But the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security directors disagree.
The Democratic politicians preach gun control and retreat in the face of home invasions or domestic terrorism. Meanwhile, they carry on their lives under the protection of people with guns.
Republicans preach common-sense delay of refugees to better ferret out terrorists. Republicans argue for the Second Amendment and self-protection so people can avert terror attacks and avoid being victims.
The Democrats’ idea of government is to protect us from our nature but not the vile nature of others. Their idea of protection is to create the illusion that if we perfect ourselves we will have no enemy.
Were we perfect during World War II? No. But we had leaders who did not morally equivocate.
We are alive today for that clarity and leadership.
Carl Stuart
Independence
Rights under siege
Our country’s government was set up with three branches so that one branch could intervene if one of the others was walking all over the rights of U.S. citizens. It was called checks and balances when it actually existed.
Now the president goes to Alaska and changes the name of a mountain, the legislature in Missouri rejects the majority of Missourians who voted for restrictions on puppy mills, and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court) backs Obamacare, which was invented by the executive branch and not voted on by the people.
Illegal immigrants are free to stay in this country even though some have criminal records a mile long, again thanks to the Supreme Court, and same-sex marriage that was voted down in almost every state is allowed by the Supreme Court.
Is it any wonder that most people feel their votes don’t count when their votes are thrown out like bathwater?
No wonder “outsiders” such as Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson are polling well.
Lynn Pierce
Independence
Backing Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders is the only consistent, credible candidate for president in 2016. He has been the only consistent, credible candidate since 1981, working in the House and Senate for people like you and me.
He understands the problems and solutions that would help the wage earners over the hedge-fund takers.
H. Lon Swearingen
Kansas City
Woodland Path
An autumn day entices me
To the woods where I’m
Bound to search for bittersweet
Growing on a vine.
Let me sense the wonder of nature, all around
And, smell its awesome fragrances
And hear the woodland’s sound.
Russet, mushroom clusters
Uniquely shaped may be
Sprouting out of nowhere,
Then disappear, suspiciously.
The woodland path
Well-shaded, is a place
That I love so
Where crimson sumac climb and spread
And dark brown cattails grow
And patches of a sunbeam
Hit goldenrod where I
Might least expect to find it
Or, cornflower stems nearby.
Nothing’s better than a walk
Through falling leaves if gold.
The woodland path excites me still
And will
’Til I grow old.
Dee Ann
Foley Doxsee
Kansas City
Trump outrage
As we watch the lies and evasions, Walt Disney would be happy for us to once again see Donald “Duck” (11-27, A24, “Trump denies making fun of Times reporter”). Trump has already resurrected Goofy.
John Nelles
Shawnee
Nowhere streetcar
Once again, we see “followership” versus leadership from top civic folks with a streetcar solution that is to perform CPR on a pretty much dead downtown Kansas City (11-24, A10, “Main Street hotel project seeks more help”).
Once they begin operating in 2016, Kansas City’s new streetcars won’t even run to some strip mall with sushi bars and Supercuts, where some people might actually want to go.
Mike Crawford
Kansas City
This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to Donald Trump, leadership and Bernie Sanders."