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  Letters to the Editor  

SMOKING COMPROMISE, MORE RULES, COAL PLANTS, TIAHRT'S BATTLES, LIMBAUGH'S 'CHAOS,' 'EXPELLED' MOVIE

Middle ground

on smoking

The Wichita City Council this week passed a smoking ordinance, not a ban (May 7 Eagle). I commend council members in their efforts to do what so many other local governments have failed to do in addressing this issue -- prove that compromise can work.

As for those who think "this is a start": I would suggest it is properly the end of this challenging issue for the city. With such an ordinance in place, people will have more options for a healthy environment, if that is what they choose. At the same time, those private business owners who wish to provide a business that caters to smokers can continue to do so as well, if that is what they choose. As a customer, I can and should decide which businesses I want to support with my patronage. It is good that the city of Wichita still affords me such choices.

In advance, I commend those business owners who now face the burden of making decisions about clientele and possible construction costs in order to keep their smoking businesses available. As more and more places go smoke-free, I'm sure they will see continued support for their sacrifices.

Kudos to the city in voting compromise and not comprehensive. May other government leaders learn from Wichita's example.

Father H SETTER

Wichita

Yet more rules

Since the Wichita City Council is now in the business of protecting its constituents from the negative effects of legal substances, I believe the council should see that Breathalyzers to test blood alcohol levels are required in all businesses serving alcohol. This would include all restaurants and bars, and any business providing alcoholic beverages. I imagine that the cost of hiring and staffing qualified personnel at each establishment to do the testing would require additional police employees, but the council can plan that as well.

Once council members have solved the problem of sober drivers being hurt by drunken drivers, I would like them to go back to the issue of air quality in public places. I prefer floral scents to the often heady citrus scents in many perfumes and body and hair care products. I should not have to smell scents I find offensive.

And it might not be a bad idea to review menus for any foods that may lead to flatulence of any kind.

I am sure I will come up with other problems, and it is comforting to know where to take them.

LYNN A. WEEKS

Wichita

Coal tax base

It seems to me that the legislative delays in getting approval for the new coal-fired power plant near Holcomb make construction just south of the Kansas-Oklahoma border a financially viable alternative.

Carbon dioxide is a valuable product. There is a coal-fired power plant in my hometown of Springfield, Ill., that emits steam, but the streets are clean and the air smells fine. It is being expanded.

If Kansas doesn't want the income or tax base from coal and is willing to pay retail to buy power, Oklahoma probably will be willing to have the business.

I'm sure Kansas can make a law to keep emissions from crossing into Kansas, whether they are from China or just Oklahoma.

JAMES H. MACKLIN

Wichita

Voice for jobs

As a Spirit AeroSystems employee, I appreciate the active role Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, has taken in being a voice for aviation jobs in our state. Tiahrt has endured a lot of push-back from some of his congressional colleagues over his opposition to the Federal Aviation Administration trying to impose user fees for aircraft, and his uphill battle against the Air Force tanker contract decision.

But Tiahrt is a fighter even when the odds are against him. He knows how to work on behalf of his district to accomplish good things. The recent congressional agreement to reject airport user fees is a prime example of how Tiahrt uses his muscle to represent Kansas interests. And our region of the state has benefited from his efforts.

While the Air Force tanker contract will be virtually impossible to overturn, I know Tiahrt is doing everything within his power to oppose the decision. And that's what I like about him. Tiahrt does not pick a battle just because it is an easy win. He goes all out for doing what he judges to be in our best interests, even when the odds are against him.

CHUCK MULLEN

Derby

Ballot mockery

Radio host Rush Limbaugh urged his Republican audience to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Indiana Democratic primary election Tuesday to thwart Indiana Democrats' legitimate choice. Indiana does not require party registration to vote in a primary, so that state is ripe for this sort of cheating.

Limbaugh is a traitor to American democracy. He can never again call himself a patriot with any credibility. He can never again legitimately claim he supports the troops he believes are fighting for democracy and freedom.

Are the Indiana citizens who heeded Limbaugh's call patriots? Did they wear their flag lapel pins while voting for a candidate they hoped would never be president?

People died facedown in the snow for our right to hold free and democratic elections. Limbaugh has made a mockery of the sacrifices of those true patriots.

E.E. JONES

Lawrence

Stein balanced

I disagreed with reviewer Chris Hewitt's assessment of the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" (May 6 WichiTalk), because Hewitt's entire review was based on an ignorance of the purpose of the movie.

He claimed that narrator-star Ben Stein doesn't spend enough time exploring a way that science and faith might be reconciled, while Stein spends too much time pulling down certain organizations and building up the theory of intelligent design. However, the point of Stein's work is not to tell people the answer to the debate, but to show people that there is a conflict and to "define the terms" of the debate. He's not trying to pull down the theory of evolution. He tries to show some of its lesser-known flaws. Like any good critic, he tries to show the good points of intelligent design that not everyone hears about, and not just say that intelligent design is the only viable solution.

Stein's point is not to give us an answer, but to encourage us to look at both sides of the debate and find that answer for ourselves.

NOAH R. TRAMMELL

Valley Center