Readers react to medical research funding, an animal shelter and Kansas Sen. Kay Wolf
Research funding
The omnibus federal spending package approved recently included a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health. The NIH is a major source of medical research funding for the University of Kansas and other universities.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Kevin Yoder are to be commended for supporting the spending package and this much-needed increase for NIH. KU will compete at the Lawrence and Medical Center campuses for new grant dollars made possible by this increase and will work to translate that research into new human health therapies and cures.
James E. Tracy
Vice Chancellor
for Research
University of Kansas
Lawrence
Care for animals
Since 2012, the city animal shelter has been staffed by Kansas City Pet Project. The staff and volunteers have done an amazing job with few resources in an antiquated building.
When run by the city, most animals were put in cages, never to exit alive. Cages were power-hosed with terrified dogs in them. Many violations occurred.
At the recent dedication of the temporary vet clinic, the mayor and city manager said humane care of animals is needed and a new shelter is “critical” and a “priority.”
The Petco Foundation donated $250,000, private donations were added and the work was pro bono. This shelter must take in all animals in the city — 10,000 per year.
No more waiting, no more excuses. This is not a pet project. This is a city responsibility and a necessity.
Christine Gaughan
Kansas City
Sen. Wolf’s votes
In her recent statement announcing her filing for re-election, Johnson County state Sen. Kay Wolf gave lip service to moderate policy objectives. Local media have often uncritically repeated her self-described label of “moderate.”
However, her voting record is out of step with the moderate legislators in northeast Johnson County. On education funding, Wolf voted for Gov. Sam Brownback’s block funding plan, which gutted the budget for classroom funding in Kansas public schools.
Sen. Wolf has teamed with radicals on social issues as well. She voted for a poorly crafted anti-abortion bill that replaces physicians’ judgment with that of politicians. She also voted for a “welfare shaming bill,” which included punitive measures directed at families on temporary assistance.
All moderate Republican legislators in Johnson County, as well as all Democratic representatives, voted against all of these bills.
Sen. Wolf’s voting record reflects the values of the Kansas Republican Party but not her constituents. More than 60 percent of the voters in her district voted for the Democratic candidate in the most recent gubernatorial election, more than any other senate district in Johnson County.
It’s time for voters to replace Sen. Wolf.
Tucker Poling
Prairie Village
Misusing religion
We are not in a religious war. We are in various political wars perpetrated by terrorists who are willing to use the name of any handy religion to further their political goals through fear and division.
If we allow ourselves to be manipulated through fear into painting all Muslims as potential terrorists, we must accept the same label for Christians.
Given the Crusades, the Salem witch trials, the Holocaust and the words of religious leaders who believe that gay people deserve the death penalty, we have nothing to shield us except the understanding that religion is a tool that can be used for good or evil.
Kathryn Moore
Manhattan, Kan.
Bad example
Several times a week I pick up fast-food trash thrown in my driveway. One Sunday I was cutting grass when a person in a black vehicle tossed a large bag of garbage at my drive.
In the bag were a half pint of peach brandy, refuse from a barbecue restaurant and a receipt from a sports bar on Englewood Road. It was dated three days earlier. These people had three days to dispose of this trash.
There appeared to be several people in the vehicle; probably some were children. I’m left wondering, “What other deplorable things do these parents do to set a bad example for their children?”
I’m afraid they have little respect for anyone or anything. Littering is breaking the law.
Barbara Kampert
Kansas City
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 9:00 AM.