Letters to the editor (Aug. 30, 2018)

Slap on the wrist

It was disheartening to see Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter slap former deputy Justin Price’s wrist, “Charged with official misconduct, ex-deputy is granted diversion” (Aug. 29 Eagle), for something as serious as evidence tampering, which is mysteriously only a misdemeanor. The officer can now follow in the steps of another former sheriff’s officer, Thomas Delgado, and work in one of the area’s bedroom communities. Officer Delgado was convicted of sex crimes against teenage girls after working for the sheriff’s department. We let police officers off the hook at our own peril.

This sort of behavior needs to be punished so that the citizens can have trust and respect for the officers we pay to serve and protect us. The message Sheriff Jeff Easter is sending to his officers is not to worry, you can get off with a slap on the wrist and continue violating rights, the laws and the respect police officers need to perform their duties.

This is absolute unconscionable and I would remind Sheriff Jeff Easter he is elected to the office he holds, and can be voted out also.

Impeachment

In the run up to the 2016 general election a friend of mine told me she hated Hillary Clinton so much she was going to vote for Donald Trump. She said she knew Trump was “crazy,” and that they would just have to impeach him. I said that was much easier said than done.

Impeachment proceedings are initiated by the U.S. House of Representatives. It takes a simple majority to pass the resolution out of the Judiciary Committee, and a simple majority of the full House to impeach a president. The Senate then conducts a trial in which the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority to convict the accused.

Only two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached by the House, but none have been convicted in the Senate.

The Constitution, through the judicial and legislative branches of government, provides checks and balances on excesses of the executive branch. The vast majority of Republicans in control of Congress have abrogated their responsibility to protect the foundations of our Republic under this president. In my opinion, the only way to rectify the egregious results of the 2016 election is at the ballot box this November.

Honoring McCain

Warrior, Statesman, Patriot. These are the words emblazoned on a billboard to John McCain that greeted me at Broadway and Kellogg as I traveled west across the city the other day.

What a fitting tribute to a man who embodied all those attributes. He was flawed and sometimes quick to temper, sure, as we all can be sometimes. But no one can argue he lived his life putting country first and taking his defeats with a graciousness few of us could have mustered in the dog-eat-dog world of politics. It is telling that he would ask the two men who defeated him for the presidency, Presidents Bush and Obama, that they speak at his wake. That is the embodiment of graciousness and generosity of spirit in the face of death. With few exceptions, friend and foe alike are heaping praise on him as well.

In an interview just a few years ago Sen. McCain said of himself, “You’ve had a pretty good life old man.” Yes you have senator, and I thank the person who bought that billboard to remind us all just how good a life it was.