Letters on public schools, liquor bill, appeasement, GOP fascism

Public schools are essential

If you believe that the role of government is to do for people what we cannot do for ourselves, then public schools are an essential government role and, like other essential services, will have to be paid for with tax dollars.

If your child is a typically developing child, he or she could be educated for a reasonable cost. Many of these families could afford to educate their kids in private schools.

If your child is autistic, blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, has an emotional disturbance or a learning disability, an orthopedic disability or multiple disabilities, a traumatic brain injury or another health impairment that impedes learning, educating that child will be beyond the financial capacity of most families.

Most private schools do not provide services for those students, but public schools do. Why do public schools spend more per pupil than private schools do? Because we are doing different jobs.

Public schools are your schools. If you have questions about what goes on in your neighborhood school, call and ask to visit. You will come away feeling like you are making a good investment in Kansas kids and getting your money’s worth.

‘No’ to liquor bill

I don’t support the liquor bill in the Legislature that would allow easy access to wine and spirits in our local grocery stores.

I’m now often unable to easily locate desired groceries, cooking supplies or produce items in the local Dillons store. Cramming a poor semblance of a well-supplied liquor store into those existing shelves would only make it more difficult to find what I want when I am shopping in any grocery store.

Also, abundant liquor stores exist within only a short drive from where most of us live. The so-called convenience and adult-choice factors are greatly overblown by the bill’s proponents.

The Kansas economy is already in the cellar and sinking. The closure of many small independent liquor stores, forced out of business because they are unable to compete with large distributors’ prices, makes no sense to me.

History repeats

Why does Secretary of State John Kerry remind me of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain? History repeats itself.

Chamberlain proclaimed that the Nazis were our friends and only wanted peace – right before World War II. Now Kerry curries favor with the Iranians over Israeli warnings. Does this sound familiar?

Looks like fascism

“We are again at war with fascism” (Feb. 26 Letters to the Editor) was right on point. We can talk about terrorism without getting bogged down in religious dogma. The letter also made me think about the characteristics of fascism:

Whenever possible, stamp out dissent; demonize dissenters. Don’t allow, tolerate or acknowledge views different from your own. Intimidate educators to force them to present only your own version of reality. Devalue any hint of critical thinking or intellectual diversity. Do all of the dirty work behind closed doors so no one knows what is going on. Operate on the principle that all but you and your cronies couldn’t possibly know what is good for them. Protect the unwashed masses from the wrong kind of books, movies, etc., which is to say, anything you don’t agree with. Keep telling the Big Lie until people believe it must be true (e.g., lowering taxes on the wealthy raises everyone’s boat and generates more state revenue).

Sad to say, Gov. Sam Brownback and company seem firmly committed to these principles. When it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck.... And there are some pretty mean ducks out there.

This story was originally published March 8, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Letters on public schools, liquor bill, appeasement, GOP fascism."