Letters to the Editor (July 20)

Trump backing U.S. in NATO

Hail President Trump, as he is stopping the United States’ unfair financial bleeding in international trade and overpaying its NATO fair share.

The United States is paying close to 70 percent of the entire NATO expense. Too, let’s not forget the millions in salary U.S. military personnel spend annually supporting Europe’s gross national product.

Without Trump correcting these unfair programs, the United States will not be in a financial position to be the great equalizer in future world-wide military disputes.

Sanders appearance tilts scales

As a constituent in the 4th District of Kansas, I am glad the Democratic Party is finally paying attention to the goings-on in Kansas. However, I am deeply displeased that Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are coming to endorse candidate James Thompson on Friday over a primary opponent.

This makes zero sense. The whole point of a primary is to let people make a decision for themselves about who they want in office. For Democrats in the 4th District, the choice is between Thompson and Laura Lombard. With Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s intervention, the fair, democratic process is disrupted by star power rather than policy.

By endorsing primary candidates over others, they are basically picking and choosing who they want to be in office. Doing so in the primary divides the party and betrays the open democratic values of our party.

It is truly hypocritical of Sanders to do exactly what he has accused the Democratic National Committee of doing in 2016. He is just a Washington insider throwing his weight around so his guy gets the vote. How despicable, especially since the progressive endorsements that Thompson won were decided before Lombard even entered the race.

Penalties for people of color

It seems like every day, another incident is reported of someone being verbally or physically accosted for committing the crime of being born a person of color.

In each of the reported cases, the person being assailed was a U.S. citizen who had the audacity to sit quietly in a coffee shop, sell bottled water, speak Spanish in public or, God forbid, wear a T-shirt paying homage to their place of birth. One can only imagine how many such incidents occur each day that aren’t reported.

As a person whose home has been broken into once and had three other attempts at break-ins, I understand the need for vigilance when seeing some suspicious or illegal activity. However, there is a huge difference between vigilance and bigotry.

I believe we should focus on the former and do everything possible to eradicate the latter.

Standing up to the president

Where are this state’s Republican senators and representatives? How can they stand by in silence and allow President Trump to defy his own government (“Trump questions U.S. intel findings on election,” Tuesday’s Eagle)?

Remember the checks and balances of our democratic government? These are the times and the situation when our legislative branch needs to employ that system.

We cannot continue to turn away from the incompetence and the treasonous behavior of this president.

Honorable Sens. Roberts and Moran, now is your time to stand up for us and the trust we placed in you. Don’t let Sen. John McCain stand alone.

I implore you to begin impeachment proceedings.