Readers share thoughts on property rights, Kris Kobach and KCI
Protecting Kansans
There is a distinctly American idea that makes our structure of government unique among nations and history: Power lies with the people, and government exists only to secure their inalienable rights. Senate Bill 338 threatened that basic constitutional premise, and that’s why I vetoed the misguided legislation.
Known as the Blight Bill, SB 338 allowed local governments to take land and homes from Kansans and give them to private organizations. The bill gave local officials unrestricted power to choose which properties could stay and which they could take. It grew the power of local governments to seize property while limiting the protections of citizens. Eminent domain without restraint is wrong.
Kansans from across party lines expressed their concerns about how this bill would disparately affect low income and minority communities. Such loose limits on self-written definitions by municipalities of blighted or abandoned property make it far too easy to unjustly rob citizens of their property. Putting the seized property under the ownership of private organizations only begs for cronyism and systematic abuse.
Those supporting this bill want to empower government; I want to empower the people. I vetoed SB 338 because government should defend and protect the property rights of all citizens, ensuring that the less advantaged are not denied the liberty to which every citizen is entitled.
Gov. Sam Brownback
Topeka
Kobach, fraud
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is desperate to find a tiny scrap of evidence to back up his claims of rampant voter fraud. But before the first case he filed was set for court, he dismissed it (4-9, A13, “Kobach dismisses voter fraud case against woman formerly of Olathe”). Has he gone soft on crime? Nope.
He realized that the case was bogus. It was better to dismiss it and have egg on his face rather than lose still another court case and add to his record of legal incompetence.
In all the years he has been yelling about voter fraud, he still hasn’t found one, where voter fraud would have been prevented by a voter identification card. How many millions of dollars has Kansas spent defending such useless voter ID laws?
Voter ID is a red-flag issue for simpleton right-wingers, so cynical Kobach intends to keep waving it until he’s governor.
Talis Bergmanis
Fairway
Remake KCI
Beware what you wish for in seeking improvements to Kansas City International Airport. The followers of Kansas City Councilwoman Teresa Loar and Crawford Architects’ suggestion to upgrade KCI would be really disappointed if their plan were chosen.
The complaints would be loud and long for several reasons:
▪ The drop-off and pickup driving areas would be compressed. Auto, bus and pedestrian areas would be congested.
▪ Passengers would have to walk farther to their gates.
▪ Southwest Airlines will not approve this design. Its seating area inside the gates would be smaller than it currently has in Terminal B.
The Crawford plan is doomed to fail.
The logical and practical answer — one new, bright, cheerful and welcoming terminal.
Richard Demarest
St. Joseph
Hurting retirees
Union retirees should decry cuts in their pensions. Those benefits were negotiated and accepted by both parties.
Large companies, the courts and politicians that approve underfunding pensions open the door for this to happen, and it is not the first time they have cleaned the working man’s clock while the upper management goes merrily along.
If we don’t start protecting union rights, even union haters and non-members will feel the squeeze. The more protections we lose to retire with dignity — not rich but comfortable — the more the middle class goes down the tube.
Those in top management take care of themselves, but it is not in their vocabulary to take care of the working class that makes their companies successful.
Anyone who votes for these things is not thinking past his nose.
Thomas Taylor
Independence
Royals perks
It is my opinion that because the ownership and players of the Kansas City Royals mentioned that the fans of Kansas City are the greatest and were big contributors to their winning the 2015 World Series, they should award any season ticket holder since 1985 with free parking or a dinner with the ownership and players.
William Service
Shawnee
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 10:00 AM.