Letters on county commissioners, welfare rules, fearing God, abortion, Westar cleanup

Commissioners not living up to slogan

The Sedgwick County website clearly delineates, via its “legislative platform” and “core principles,” what voters have a right to expect from our county commissioners. Absolutely nowhere does it say that one of their functions is to protect us from the federal government (“‘Regionalism’ is more D.C. snake oil,” April 14 Letters to the Editor).

The irony of the letter from Commissioners Karl Peterjohn and Jim Howell is the county’s slogan: “Working for you.” The fact is that these Quixotes are not working for me or thousands of other Sedgwick County residents. They are working exclusively from their own self-serving, ideological agendas to satisfy their own egos.

Sedgwick County is not wealthy. Without federal funds (which we, as taxpayers, contribute to and can rightfully expect to be returned), we could not possibly afford the multimillion-dollar projects that maintain our quality of life and keep us competitive. If the county’s amenities were as bare-bones as these commissioners want, life here would be very bleak.

Assuming our conservative Sedgwick County commissioners aspire to live up to the slogan that should guide their decisions, they can stop tilting at windmills.

Making life miserable

How sad that state Sen. Michael O’Donnell, R-Wichita, too young and full of male privilege to have firsthand experience of being poor or of doing the unpaid work of caring for children, is doing his best to make life even more miserable for low-income Kansans (“Senate advances bill tightening welfare limits,” April 2 Eagle). His open hostility to women is evident, since women make up 88 percent of adult welfare recipients.

Furthermore, straight from his Senate website: O’Donnell “is a voice of fiscal responsibility for all Wichitans.” Not even close. There is nothing fiscally responsible about keeping your state’s poorest citizens poor. It has been proved that the emotional and physical damage of poverty on human beings results in the state spending far more because of medical costs, malnutrition, accidents, lost productivity, homelessness and special education services than it would have cost to have a decent welfare benefit.

Trust, fear God

Like so many people trying to support their opinion with Scripture, columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. took the Scripture “out of text” to fit his column (“Shooting another ‘isolated incident’?” April 13 Opinion). He quoted Jeremiah 5:21 regarding “foolish and senseless people” not hearing and not seeing. Why not complete what the declaration by the Lord our God was saying? Verse 22 continues: “‘Should you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Should you not tremble in my presence?’”

Pitts went on by wondering about the refusal of some of “our conservative friends” to acknowledge racial bias in the justice system: “Where is conscience? Where are intellectual integrity and moral courage? Where is simple, human decency?”

I think we should all be much more concerned about Verse 22, and trust God to direct those who know Him personally.

There are no “isolated incidents” as far as God is concerned – and He is concerned. God promises blessings for obedience and destruction for disobedience. We harm ourselves when we fail to listen.

Not a holocaust

State Rep. Dick Jones, R-Topeka, said recently that abortion-rights supporters are committing “a holocaust against fetuses” (March 10 Local & State). I simply want to point out that the freshman representative’s logic is incorrect and disappointing.

When most of us think of the word “holocaust,” 8 million dead is what pops into mind. That was the result of the Holocaust. However, the beginning of the Holocaust started when the executive branch of the German government (under Adolf Hitler’s control) took illegal control of the judicial branch and began convicting innocent groups of people for crimes they did not commit.

When Jones refers to abortion in our society as a “holocaust against fetuses,” I would like to know: When did the executive branch of this great country take control of the judicial branch and force Roe v. Wade onto the people? The reason that abortion is not a holocaust is that Roe v. Wade determined that abortion was legal, whereas Germany convicting innocent people of crimes that they did not commit was illegal and an example of a government gone rogue.

Jones should quit pandering to his party and his own political career by using the word “holocaust” in his dislike of Roe v. Wade.

Thanks, Westar

Great job, Westar Energy, for the speedy and diligent work in getting the electricity back on to all homes and businesses that lost power recently due to the strong and dangerous high winds. Without the quick response of Westar, a lot of people would have been without power a lot longer than they were.

I just wanted to let Westar know that its hard work does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated.

This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Letters on county commissioners, welfare rules, fearing God, abortion, Westar cleanup."