Letters on judging police, Brownback, criticizing presidents

Do not rush to judge police

The recent media accounts concerning officer-involved shootings and the disbelief that something like that has to happen, along with the slayings of law enforcement officers in the line of duty, compelled me to offer two of my personal experiences.

I have twice been in situations that involved members of the Wichita Police Department pointing their firearms at me. The most recent was when my wife and I ran into officers checking out a burglar alarm inside the church where she works. The first time involved three youths and a police chase. A number of police officers were involved in stopping our vehicle. Had I been one of those officers, I would have been grabbing the biggest gun I could find once that vehicle was stopped. One of those involved deserved to, and did, go to jail that night. After everything was sorted out, the other passenger and I were released and allowed to call a cab.

In both situations I complied with the commands from the police officers, and I treated them with respect.

Given the life-and-death possibilities involved in every encounter with the public and the fact that we are responsible for our own behavior, it’s ridiculous to pass judgment on police officers until they have been given their day in court.

Brownback cares

Having come to know Gov. Sam Brownback over the past few years, I would like to share some thoughts and observations. I truly believe our governor is a stand-up guy with a great heart. He cares about people in our state and greatly desires to improve the quality of life for all Kansans. He also understands that to improve life quality you have to be willing to tackle tough issues.

Brownback has confronted tough issues facing Kansas – from the underfunded state pension plan to lack of private-sector job growth to losing population to exploding Medicaid costs to water-supply uncertainties. While others have just kicked the can down the road, Brownback has stepped up to the plate and dealt with these issues. As a result, the pension plan is in a much better place today; Kansas private-sector jobs are at record levels; rural opportunity zones are helping stop the population drain; KanCare was created, increasing the number of those being served by 80,000; and a 50-year water plan is being developed. All of this is moving Kansas in the right direction.

It takes a strong leader, whose heart is in the right place, to accomplish what Brownback has. Please support him in the upcoming election.

All criticized

The author of “Treated unfairly” (Sept. 20 Letters to the Editor) wrote about President Obama: “Never before has an American president been treated with such disdain and criticism.” Presidents have always been disdained and criticized, since and including George Washington. The difference now is that the Internet, round-the-clock news coverage and the proliferation of partisan talk shows make the attacks more widely known.

The letter writer must have missed PBS’ recent seven-part series on the Roosevelts, which vividly described political attacks on Teddy (a Republican), Frank-lin (a Democrat) and the various presidents in between.

I’ve been voting for 40-plus years – as a Democrat for 10 years, as an independent the past 32 – and remember countless vicious columns and political cartoons about presidents on both sides of the aisle.

The letter writer asked: “Could it be that ... it has to do with the color of (Obama’s) skin?” Certainly there are people who oppose Obama because of his race, which is really stupid. But there are far more who oppose him for legitimate reasons or philosophical differences.

I didn’t vote for Obama in 2008 because he was way too liberal on domestic issues and scarily inexperienced on foreign affairs. I didn’t vote for him in 2012 because of example after example of his poor judgment, governmental expansionism and extreme partisanship.

This story was originally published September 28, 2014 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Letters on judging police, Brownback, criticizing presidents."