Readers react to Gov. Sam Brownback, guns and Donald Trump
Seeking volunteers
It seems that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is at it again (1-7, A7, “Brownback unveils welfare mentoring”).
In an effort to stretch his shrinking revenue dollars, he’s asking Kansans to “volunteer” to hold down welfare costs.
He claims that if Kansans mentor those in poverty the problem will take care of itself. That not only shifts his responsibility but saves money so he can give it to his contributors in the form of tax breaks.
Face it, Sam, your plan is a failure.
Nothing you’ve done has brought jobs or prosperity to the state.
It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Jesse Hall
Lenexa
Arming citizens
President Barack Obama’s perceived weakness on addressing terrorism has led to the unintended consequence of fueling insane calls for the right to carry weapons in public venues.
Consider this: In the San Bernardino, Calif., police assault on the mass-shooting suspects, it was reported that the police shot hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The assailants returned about 80 rounds of ammunition.
Net result, two fatalities. I wonder where the other rounds of ammunition went?
In a crowded venue with many gun-carrying citizens, the resulting carnage would dwarf anything ever seen.
A coordinated response to terrorist fire would be impossible, and well-meaning citizens would very likely misidentify targets, resulting in many deaths.
Putting weapons in the hands of well-meaning citizens is not quite like putting weapons in the hands of Seal Team 6.
David Starke
Lexington, Mo.
Loving Trump
Say what you want about Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, and I am sure the media will.
But there are three things you can say about him that are absolutely true:
▪ First, he is not a Muslim terrorist.
▪ Second, he has no fear.
▪ Third, he has the guts to tell it like it is.
You’ve got to love the guy for those qualities.
Richard Dahms
Country Club, Mo.
Kansas’ sure bet
Are Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the Republican Party purchasing Powerball tickets in hopes of bailing out Kansas (1-11, A2, “Powerball poised to make someone a billionaire”)?
The 292 million-to-one odds of winning $1.5 billion are probably better than that of the bet Brownback has made with the futures of Kansas’ kids and families with his faith-based trickle-down policies.
The $1.5 billion might just be enough to adequately fund our schools for a year and restore the stolen highway money.
Win or not, one can only hope that Kansas voters do not double down on a risky vote for Republican candidates in November.
John Patrick Segale
Shawnee
Protect civil rights
In my opinion, all civil rights policies are in place. Everything we need is there. The problem lies in the lack of enforcement of the existing policies.
Teachers, employers, law enforcement, the courts and all those with power over the lives and well-being of our people, our children, families and friends should be held accountable once they violate our rights as human beings. Not with a slap on the wrist but jail time.
Let’s end the abuse now. What crime is worse than the imprisonment of an entire people?
A murderer is given life in prison for killing one man. What punishment should be given to the person who makes someone kill himself?
The teacher whose responsibility is to teach all her students should be fired and prosecuted if she abuses the children or treats them as if they are hopeless because of ethnicity or color.
School districts that count Hispanic children for English as a second language and fail to provide ESL teachers and services should be prosecuted because they are stealing an education from the children.
The police officer who points his gun at kids to intimidate them should be in jail. The judge who gives different sentences for the same crime should be in jail.
The only way to improve the well-being of Latinos is to enforce all civil rights policies with jail time and fines to all employers, states, counties and anyone else who violates them.
Florentino
Camacho Jr.
Former LULAC
State director
Kansas City
This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to Gov. Sam Brownback, guns and Donald Trump."