Print edition: 
Credit Sumner voters for casino
I am irked at references in Eagle articles to the “Mulvane casino” and the “early and steadfast supporters of bringing gambling to Sedgwick County” (“Casino set to prove it’s ready to open,” Dec. 16 Local & State).
Hello? Does anybody remember how this casino got its start? The voters of Sumner County voted “yes.” It’s time to give us some credit and support — some charity money perhaps, or some references such as “the Sumner County casino” and “the Sumner County voters who made this casino a reality.”
I know Sedgwick County residents are salivating at the possibilities of lining their own pockets and basking in the glory of it all. But it boils down to little people like me, a Sumner County voter, who made this casino possible.
CONNIE TYSON
Belle Plaine
Wrong county
Why is all the money from the Kansas Star Casino’s controlled demonstration going to Sedgwick County charities? The money should go to Sumner County charities.
Sedgwick County voters did not want the casino, but now they want the money. Casino officials say they thought hard about which charities to support. Not hard enough. They did not think who wanted and voted for the casino. I think people in Sumner County should be asking this question to their representatives.
GENE DAVIES
Caldwell
Fearless, funny
I was saddened to learn that writer-commentator Christopher Hitchens lost his battle with cancer last week and rejoined the earthy fate that awaits us all. I disagreed with Hitchens on a number of issues, particularly his support of the obscenity that was the Iraq War. But his fearless attacks on Islam, Judaism and Christianity were powerful, logical and often hilarious. He certainly stands with Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins as one of the great contemporary atheist thinkers.
Hitchens once said, “Faith is the surrender of the mind; it’s the surrender of reason; it’s the surrender of the only thing that makes us different from other mammals.” If his words resonate with you, I refer you to his fascinating and funny book, “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.”
JEB BECK
Wichita
Chicken hawks
The chicken hawks are screaming again. The ones who would not serve or let their children serve are complaining because we are not going to fight in Iraq forever. This includes former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz, the loudest of the chicken hawks. Of course, they do not intend to be dirtied by putting their blood on the line.
I say we pay attention to these people when Liz Cheney enlists in the military. Cheney senior feels safe because he is too old. Of course, he wasn’t too old during Vietnam. He was a chicken hawk during that fight, too.
MARSHA HEPHNER
Arkansas City
