Letters on state budget, suing countries, zebra mussels, redistribution, pet ransom
Burden harder for many in Kansas
It is probably true that the media does not use too many “good news” articles about the finances in Kansas (“Another view on state economy,” Aug. 13 Letters to the Editor). Perhaps it is because good news is hard to find.
What I see is budget juggling, money transfers, creation of larger debt and deferred payments in many budget items.
Our highway funds are depleted, nearly every education institution has taken a hit, and there is more. Perhaps the really sad story is a refusal to bring in federal funds to improve health care for low-income Kansans. It is a human tragedy to see how many of our state leaders are blind to the needs of citizens just to avoid telling all Kansans they have to pay the cost of good government.
We have a beautiful state Capitol building on which we spent millions of dollars as a result of deferred maintenance. Deferred expense on humans is not so easy to fix.
Scripture tells us that if we learn from it, our life is made easy and our burden is light. Right now the burden has gotten much harder for many in Kansas.
Clyde R. Vasey Jr., Winfield
Easy legal target
A very large majority of the U.S. Senate and House voted to overturn President Obama’s veto of a bill that allows individuals to sue a foreign country. Specifically, it allows the families of the 3,000 dead from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its possible role in the attacks of that day. It is sad for Obama and for international relations, but wonderful for the families of those 3,000 who were killed.
There is a bright side of unintended consequences. This legislation will make it possible for the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere who have been victims of American imperialism to sue the United States for the hundreds of thousands of deaths of their innocent citizens that our very open military operations have achieved. The drone strikes being carried out in our name right now should be particularly easy to target legally.
Dorothy K. Billings, Wichita
Protect waters
Our Kansas waters are being overrun (contaminated) with aquatic nuisance species (zebra mussels). These mussels increase the cost of water treatment, cause damage to water vessels, and even cut our children’s hands and feet when they enter Kansas waters.
As a private citizen, I’ve been working directly with the the secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism since January 2013 asking for change, but I have had no luck. So this past August, I turned to our state senators, asking for their help. I’ve asked for their support in having KDWPT stop allowing any movement of fish from one body of water to another body of water. (Zebra mussel eggs are microscopic and are moved via water, which can cause the next contamination to our precious water resource.)
Of the 40 state senators I contacted, two responded with interest in protecting our Kansas waters from further contamination. I hope that somehow these senators (Dan Kerschen and Michael O’Donnell) and others might somehow be successful with the KDWPT.
Stop allowing fish movement in water, and help save our Kansas waters from further zebra mussel contamination.
Ken Kreif, Derby
Lesson from hen
In about the second grade, I learned an important lesson from a red hen. This hen decided to grow a wheat crop so she would have a future supply of food. She asked her neighbors to help her, but they all refused and stood by and watched as she planted the seed, cultivated the field and harvested the crop. She then used some of the fruits of her labor to bake a loaf of bread, whereupon her neighbors appeared and asked her to share. Needless to say, she refused.
Obviously, she was no aficionado of the redistribution of wealth ideology. I will keep the hen in mind when I vote for the president on Nov. 8.
David J. Gudeman, Wichita
Pets for ransom
My next-door neighbor’s dog recently got out of their fenced yard. They reacted immediately and began searching for him. I helped them look for him well into the night. The dog is microchipped and had an ID tag with his name and home numbers well secured to his collar.
They posted ads on several online sites and put up fliers. In short, they did everything possible to get him home.
Finally they offered a reward, amount unspecified. The phone rang almost immediately after the reward ad went active. The caller immediately asked how much the reward was and stated that he might have seen the dog recently. When told how much was being offered, the person responded by saying that it was pretty small to get their family pet home. More was offered, although they could not really afford more.
The caller called back only a few minutes later to say that he had “found the dog.” They met publicly, paid the increased amount and got their pet home.
You can see what happened here. We live in a time when pets will be held for ransom.
Keep your pets well secured. There are too many dishonest people out there.
Douglas Simpson, Wichita
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This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Letters on state budget, suing countries, zebra mussels, redistribution, pet ransom."