Letters to the editor (July 13): Junior golf, healthcare, voter fraud

Junior Amateur arrives at Flint Hills

With a focus on maintaining the integrity of the land and the ability to retain the people who make Flint Hills National a site for personalized world-class golf, Tom Devlin’s dream of bringing a championship course to Wichita became a reality.

Twenty years later, as we prepare to host our third USGA championship, we’re eager to contribute both economically and with a great sense of pride to the Wichita-area community. We’re committed to excellence in golf and are honored to host the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship through July 22.

156 of the best junior golfers in the world will converge upon the Wichita area through the championship’s conclusion on July 22. Each will travel with parents, coaches, caddies, extended family and friends. Also expected to visit Wichita will be more than 100 college golf coaches. The economic impact on our community will be significant as these visitors enjoy the many amenities of our city.

We thank the USGA for choosing our course and community to host. We thank the many businesses who have donated products and services to help put on this championship. We thank the 350-plus volunteers who will donate their time to help us run this championship. We thank the Flint Hills National members for their support, both financially and through the sacrifice of their club for two weeks. We thank the community for welcoming players and families next week, and invite you to come see the future of golf at Flint Hills National, a championship free to attend.

Blame to go around

When James Hodgkinson fired on Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C., seriously injuring Rep. Steve Scalise, many blamed the inflammatory rhetoric which dominates political conversation. When it is realized Hodgkinson went to D.C. to “work with people to change the tax brackets,” it is obvious it was not rhetoric which motivated him. Instead, it was the actions of elected Republican senators, representatives and the President.

The Republican-controlled House had just passed a healthcare bill giving billions of dollars of tax breaks to the wealthy and taking healthcare away from 23 million Americans. They exempted themselves from that health plan.

President Trump then outlined the Republican tax plan, which again gives billion dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy and reduces or eliminates several programs upon which many working Americans rely. This proposed tax plan apparently motivated Hodgkinson.

Our nation was founded by an armed revolt over “taxation without representation.” The Republican Party is recreating this circumstance again by causing most working Americans to sacrifice so the taxes of the wealthiest can be reduced.

Let’s hope the goal of serving only the wealthy is abandoned by the Republican Party. If not, hopefully the correction will come at the ballot box during the 2018 elections. Should either or both of these things not happen, no one should be surprised by another American rebellion.

Voter fraud worth a responsible look

Voter fraud is such a contentious subject that I did what the actor did on the commercial about reverse mortgages — some research.

I found most of the “evidence,” pro and con, for fraud happening in the United States as not convincing. But one thing stood out. When individuals or groups tried committing fraud as a test of the system, they were successful about 90 percent of the time.

I think that result alone calls for a practical, thorough and scientific project to determine if voter fraud is a meaningful problem.

A divided America

During Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” the moderator asked a Republican and a Democrat how this country got to the point where people with differing ideologies refused to listen to each other. The Republican said Obamacare had failed, and the Democrat said that the Republican healthcare plan was worse.

Both represented their party ideology. Neither would be happy until their party ruled (not governed) America. This is not the way to make America great again. If they, and 90 percent of Congress, had been at the Constitutional Convention, the greatest compromise in history would never have happened, and there would be no United States of America.

There is nothing patriotic about Meine Partie Uber Alle.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Letters to the editor (July 13): Junior golf, healthcare, voter fraud."