Letters to the editor (Oct. 6, 2018)

Past comes back

While watching the Democrats blather on and on about how terrible it was that our Senate was in such a sad situation, I couldn’t help but think back to the days of Harry Reid. Remember him? He was the senator who pushed through the ruling allowing a slim majority of senators to pass nominations in the Senate. I smiled wryly, as I thought about the words of Jack Ryan: “Remember; you wanted this.” Democrats think only about the here and now, and about how to stop those dastardly Republicans. They don’t think about the future, when what they have wrought will come back to bite them.

I feel no pity for them, but I have great sadness for our country. Henceforth, any qualified candidate who wants to serve his country may decide the stakes are just too high to be put through what Brett Kavanaugh has been put through. And anyone who has a real grievance against a candidate may not want to go through what Christine Blasey Ford has gone through. Dianne Feinstein and the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee should be very ashamed of what they have done to two of their fellow Americans.

A new low

Just two years ago I would never have believed it possible that a person who carries the baggage that Kavanagh has (as made public by his friends, various law professors, women who claim they were abused by him, the public display of his temperament, his prejudiced view of the entire Democratic party and his lying under oath) could ever continue to be considered, let alone put up, for a vote of confirmation to the highest court in our land.

Politics has reached a new low. Surely the Republicans can find honorable individuals to put up for consideration that the majority of citizens could be proud to support. Confirmation of this man will exacerbate the deep division that exists in our country and be a mockery of our judicial branch of government. No matter the outcome, voting in November is crucial to the future of our nation.

Solar discrimination

“New Westar Energy rates will benefit many customers, but not solar users” is the heading of an article in the Sept. 28 Eagle. It includes a photo of a workman installing solar panels with the caption, “He and other solar supporters say new Westar Energy rates approved Thursday discriminate against solar-power users.” Not so. Westar customers consist broadly of two groups. The first group is made up of regular customers who depend entirely on Westar for their electricity needs with a steady and predictable demand. The second group is made up of unreliable Westar customers who use solar energy whenever it is available, but fall back on Westar when the sun fails them, sometimes on very short notice.

During the times that it is not convenient for the second group to avail themselves of Westar’s services, it collects no revenue from them. But, during these idle times, the expenses to maintain the standby facilities and generators continues uninterruptedly, expenses that are borne by the first group, for which we receive no benefit in return.

Under the present billing system, one might even, indelicately, think of the second group as being freeloaders. The proposed revised Westar billing formula does not discriminate against solar panel users. But it does correct discrimination that now exists against Westar’s regular customers.