Letters to the Editor (Aug. 17)

Football’s dangers

A recent report about Derby High football helmet “caps” deserves comment. Studies conclusively show these will not protect players from concussions.

Armed services tests on a variety of all sorts of “improved helmet configurations” show concussions occur when the brain goes forward, striking the front of the skull, which then strikes the helmet or whatever hard surface is present. This damages the frontal cortex — the memory section of the brain.

This is why continuing football is so dangerous, especially since our skulls don’t fully develop until ages 20 to 23. There is no way to fill in and cushion the space between the frontal cortex and the front of the skull.

Professional sports teams and organizations are spending huge sums in settlement of brain-damage claims due to this problem. Liability issues seem huge for any entity, including colleges and schools, that continue to ignore this threat to players’ well-being.

Parents, school districts, sports teams and organizations must protect our kids from brain damage now. Medical, emotional and personal costs are and will continue to be too big a price to pay for games that cause concussions to amateurs and professionals alike.

Life’s choices

President Trump is wrong. You do not have to stand for the flag. The only thing you have to do in life is die. Everything else is a choice.

We go through life deciding what to do or not do. You make a choice and deal with the costs. So standing for the flag is a choice. That's the beauty of this country — no one makes you do something you do not want to do. That is called freedom.

Trump does not understand this.

Navigating the barrel of journalism

The only way to get an opinion published in The Wichita Eagle is to whine about Donald Trump. That really appeals to the 1 percent of Kansans who support open borders and free everything for everybody.

In 1959, Time Magazine called Wichita “the bottom of journalism’s barrel” as the Eagle and Beacon newspapers tried to “outdo each other in sensationalism.” Apparently, the McClatchy acquisition has led this newspaper full circle, as you now follow Hollywood’s lead to ignore moderate subscribers and hoist the socialism banner.

Best of luck in the years to come.

James Thompson for U.S. House

James Thompson is an attorney and veteran who served in his country’s time of need. He has spent the past two years reaching out to all residents of the 4th District, listening to their thoughts, no matter their ideological inclinations. If elected, we will be assured of dynamic representation.

Rep. Ron Estes is a career politician. From all accounts, he tends to avoid taking stands to further a position. He won’t debate his opponent, he did not stand up to former Gov. Sam Brownback during the great tax-cut experiment, and he will not stand up for farmers against the crippling tariffs.

If you supported Estes before you read this, I did not change your mind. But please, if you are of the few that are granted access to him during the campaign, tell him to come out of the shadows and start advocating for us. The 4th District does not have a history of choosing shrinking violets to represent us in Congress. Don’t let Estes change that.