Readers share views on spring, voting, Republicans
Joys of KC spring
Spring is a wonderful time of year. The birds are singing.
The tulips and daffodils are blooming.
The crack of the bat sounds in baseball, and the University of Kansas is choking in the NCAA Tournament.
Some things never change.
James Burkhart
Kansas City
Voting change
How about we go through whatever procedures are necessary to have an extra option on the general election ballot? Make it so that one can vote for a candidate or, in the case of those who say they cannot vote for anyone, be allowed to vote against a candidate.
That option would take a vote away from that candidate. Things are shaping up for this to be a popular option.
Tom Hoskins
Lenexa
Republican roots
Western farmers, abolitionists and Northeast industry leaders formed the Republican Party, which ran its first presidential election in 1856 on the slogan “free soil, free men, free speech and (John) Fremont.” The Republicans promptly lost to Democrat James Buchanan.
Most of us know what happened next. Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 and lost the South. But in a remarkable five years, the Civil War was won, slavery was abolished and legislation (such as the Homestead Act and National Banking Act) was enacted that was bold, innovative and still relevant today.
One could say Republicans have strayed from their roots with their love affair with conservatism. Both parties have failed to eliminate our social-economic ills.
James R. Atkinson
Kansas City, Kan.
Wheeler’s new run
Enough already about Republican presidential contender Donald Trump and all the other nuts running for president and about the disaster that is Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
Let’s get the straight scoop from former Kansas City Mayor and state Sen. Charles Wheeler. He’s now a candidate for Missouri governor.
At least he has some sane ideas.
Keith W.
Ashcraft, M.D.
Leawood
Economic stain
Hold on folks. Let’s put the Kansas economic washing machine back in the wash cycle and see whether the “stain” comes out from the spin cycle this time.
I just don’t get how many loads Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has to go through to acknowledge economic truths.
The “Brownstain” simply refuses to come out in the wash.
Greg Hall
Shawnee
Excluding voters
The April 10 story, “Errors found in Kansas’ Spanish voting guide,” comes as no surprise. The only possible surprise would have been an “error” that resulted in greater inclusion of Spanish-language voters.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Kansas’ version of Sen. Joe McCarthy, has proven adept at fostering fear of an illusory scourge of representative democracy, voter fraud. Having spent countless Kansas taxpayer dollars and state resources tracking down the miscreants undermining the legitimacy of our elections — by last count, charges have been dropped against one alleged scoundrel, leaving a few other Kansans to face “justice” — Kobach has likely succeeded in achieving his real goal, intimidation of potential voters who hold a different view of economic, social and political opportunity.
Thanks to the Department of State in the Republic of Brownbackistan, Kansas is on the verge of achieving a trifecta — an unhealthy populace denied the benefits of Medicaid expansion, uneducated children from an underfunded public education system and disenfranchised citizens kept in the shadows by a created campaign of fear based on politics and prejudice.
Martin Zehr
Kansas City
Rockfest blues
After meetings with the Kansas City Parks and Recreation and Liberty Memorial officials, we have yet to make a difference.
It looks as if the Kansas City parks department intends to allow Rockfest to destroy our park again on May 14.
It’s still not back to its original form after the 2015 Rockfest.
We recently spoke with Allen Dillingham, a park commissioner who lives in the Northland, and he says he has received only three complaints, although we have more than 200 at moverockfest.org.
The parks department gets $60,000 for the Rockfest. The Liberty Memorial gets $60,000 and closes for the weekend.
Can you believe the National World War I Museum and Memorial closes for a rock festival? Our only midtown dog park is closed for an extended period during the event.
Everyone who gets paid and who does not live close to the event loves it. The folks who don’t get paid, who have to put up with drunks, drugs and vulgar music, get no respect or consideration.
Rockfest needs to be moved to a better location for all involved.
John David DiCapo
Kansas City
This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers share views on spring, voting, Republicans."