Readers sound off on Donald Trump, solar power, driver’s licenses

President Trump

Listening to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, I am reminded of another guy in a different country running for office who had many of the same offerings to the people.

Blame all the foreigners and minorities for the mess in the country. All Trump has to do now is write a book titled “My Struggles.”

People in that country did not take him seriously, just as people today are not taking Trump seriously. They were wrong and regretted it, and we can be wrong and regret it.

Gene Zwolinski

Leawood

Sanchez column

Mary Sanchez’s March 17 column, “Ugly politics ensnarls a stellar nominee,” was one of the most depressing articles I have read in a long time. With her usual clarity and brevity she identified and defined the sad state of affairs in what was once called our government.

Although most of the remaining presidential candidates have enough warts to go around, the real source of our current woes resides in that hollow shell sometimes mistakenly called our Congress.

It appears many of the empty suits in Washington, D.C., are not only content with doing nothing but proudly pursue their shameless egocentric agendas with no regard for good governance, or for that matter, any governance.

Thank you, Mary Sanchez, for your laser focus on the depths to which we have sunk. It’s embarrassing locally, nationally and internationally.

Perhaps someday we will start paying attention and elect representatives who understand the meaning of the word “representative” and who look out for our best interests instead of their own.

Larry Kauffman

Kansas City

Sun-powered roads

Solar roadways should be installed in Kansas City. What are solar roadways? They are roads, specially engineered with solar panels, that can be driven on and walked on.

These roads have LED lights that provide lines and signs. The solar panels collect sunlight and transform that into an energy source.

Using solar roads, we can take energy from the sun and turn that into electricity.

An advantage of solar roads is they can be heated to melt snow and ice. Plus, these roads are made of recycled items. Also, jobs would be created for this new energy source.

Some people might worry about the cost and maintenance of solar roads, but it would be the same or cheaper because we wouldn’t have to paint lines on the roads, we no longer would have pot holes and the roads wouldn’t be destroyed as easily as concrete.

All in all, solar roads would help with weather conditions and provide a source of energy. Kansas City would benefit greatly from solar roadways.

Luke Talcott

Lee’s Summit

Licensing insight

I recently renewed my driver’s license for Kansas. I used the phone check-in, and it was supposed to be a 15-minute wait.

After sitting there two-plus hours, I heard a number called and observed an elderly lady head to the counter. She was assisted by a companion. Was she renewing, I feared? I meant her no disrespect. We all age.

The fear increased when she failed an eye test — twice. I waited, expecting an apology and a denial.

Instead, she was asked to step to another machine, and the companion obviously was praying she would pass. After two more tries, prayers were answered.

Renewed. I was stunned.

My turn arrived. All went well. I paid for my new license.

I noticed the receipt had a 2.5 percent “convenience fee.” Two-plus hours with phone check-in. Hmm? Were there any other “conveniences”?

I remembered. Two-plus hours allowed me the time to realize that perhaps the majority of drivers have failed the eye test, because I clearly see speed-limit signs, do-not-text-and-drive signs, driving laws ignored daily and no common sense in renewing a driver’s license with questionable capabilities.

Money well spent.

Stephanie Metcalf

Lenexa

Great play panned

I’ve been telling all my friends how much we enjoyed “Roof of the World.” Others who shared the elevator to the parking garage were similarly enthused after the performance, but after reading the March 11 negative review, I guess we were all wrong (3-11, C5, “‘Roof of the World’ needs a compass”).

Carol Rothwell

Lee’s Summit

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers sound off on Donald Trump, solar power, driver’s licenses."