Letters: Wichita readers discuss North High mascot, legalized marijuana, cold and ice
History, not racism
I am an older Caucasian woman who has American Indian heritage in my background, and I still have my wits about me.
I read Suzanne Perez’s ridiculous column about changing the mascot at North High School (“Excuses, excuses: Wichita district should stop stalling and ditch racist mascots,” Jan. 28). You don’t have a clue what you are talking about!
The pep rallies at North High were so creative — with the drums beating as we entered the big gym and the pep girls in their Indian costumes. They did just what they were supposed to do. Before a game, they got us students all revved up for the support for the team and nothing else.
We all loved the rallies, and they had nothing to do with racism. We were proud to be North High Redskins. How can you possibly make something racist out of that? You could make a bigger contribution to our culture if you would stop trying to stir up racial problems by writing such editorials.
Liberal bias and “yellow journalism” does more harm to cause racial problems than to solve them. My family and I are not racists. You need to retract what you wrote — but you won’t, of course, and you wouldn’t print this because you are what you are and The Wichita Eagle is what it is.
We need to not recognize people like you who want to tear down the beautiful statues of our history. It’s not racism — it’s history.
Marshall voted correctly
Sen. Roger Marshall’s vote to acquit former President Donald J. Trump was exactly what those who sent him to Washington wanted him to do. If Kansans had wanted a Democrat, they would have voted for Barbara Bollier.
Marijuana’s dangers
Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal to legalize marijuana in order to balance the state budget is purely political and presents a long-term danger to our children, grandchildren and communities.
The marijuana lobby is powerful, well-funded and greedy. They will be the only beneficiaries of legalization. Health care, law enforcement, schools, churches, and most importantly, children and families, will be negatively impacted as a result of legalization.
The marijuana lobby calls for legalization of medical marijuana. There is no scientific evidence that marijuana alleviates pain. Doctors cannot prescribe marijuana as a remedy for pain because the FDA has never approved marijuana to treat a medical condition. It seems ironic to have a governor who is so concerned about the spread of a virus and has enacted draconian measures to “protect” our health not seem to have any concern about the health consequences of legalized drugs.
Some would say Gov. Kelly is an astute politician since she paired the legalization of marijuana to Medicaid expansion. So if a conservative legislator votes against the proposal, they will be labeled as “not caring for the poor,” and it gives her and other Democratic legislators political leverage. It would be interesting to find out how much the marijuana lobby has donated to Gov. Kelly and Democrat legislators who support her agenda.
Prepare for cold
Perhaps if I’d paid attention in school, I could understand why a few days of high demand for natural gas — a naturally occurring resource — could cause heating bills to rise hundreds of times higher than normal.
Does Mother Earth charge the gas utilities a per-cubic-foot fee for extracting the gas? What formula did they use to come up with this increase? Any schoolteacher would ask to see their work. We should, too.
And wind generators freezing up? Did no one think of this eventuality when they designed the turbine blades?
Most propeller-driven airplanes have electrically heated propeller blades. This is 70-year old technology. Haven’t Kansas wind turbine managers heard of the patented Wicetec ice protection system consisting of blade-heating carbon-based electrical heaters? This system, designed for wind turbines, automatically detects ice before it becomes a problem and heats the blade quickly to a controlled temperature. This system is in use by several wind turbine utilities.
Obviously, global warming is not keeping up with Al Gore’s predictions. With any luck, the recent cold snap has reminded us that it is possible to have an occasional very cold and icy week. Let’s prepare.