Letters on WSU football, lost tax deductions, Clinton e-mails

WSU football a waste of money

A recent tweet by Wichita State University president John Bardo raised the hopes of tens of Wichitans that football may return to WSU (Feb. 4 Sports). There are a number of reasons why this is a bad idea, but two shall suffice.

First, this comes at the moment when medical science is becoming more cognizant of the increased health risks that accompany football. If WSU wishes to be a party to such risks, why not simply bash a random selection of students over the head with a two-by-four? It would have the same effect in injuries, cost the same amount in inevitable lawsuits, and be a lot cheaper in the long run given Title IX.

Second, WSU has no tradition of football greatness, nor even football competence, to provide a rationale for resurrecting football. The history of WSU football consists of decades of mediocrity and NCAA sanctions, punctuated by a catastrophic plane crash. That’s a questionable legacy to base a program upon.

WSU football has always been a waste of money and resources. It’s time for Bardo to temper expectations, end this nonsense once and for all, and move on from the chimera of a WSU football program.

Taxes already higher

No need to beware of my tax increase in Kansas; I already got it (Feb. 5 Eagle Editorial).

I just had our taxes done, and despite the fact my husband is retired and on a fixed pension and Social Security, and I made within pennies of the same income I did in 2014 and we claimed the same charities, we wrote a check to Kansas that was twice the size of last year’s. All because Topeka messed with our tax deductions to fill a revenue gap it created.

Gov. Sam Brownback and his buddies knew if they got their gullible base all riled up about gay marriage, abortion or Muslim terrorists, those voters would pay little attention to the passage of laws that really affect their daily lives – the money they have in their pockets. And for every Kansan who does not own a “pass-through” business, that’s a whole lot less than it used to be.

I’d love to be a fly on the office walls of tax preparers when they tell some of their conservative-leaning clients that they can’t write off their large medical expenses and half their property taxes and mortgage interest. I have the feeling that when their shock turns to anger, the last thing they’ll have on their minds is the gay couple next door who just got married. They’ll be too busy kicking themselves for voting for a guy who promised the sun was shining.

Not just Clinton

The timing for publishing a letter by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, couldn’t have been worse (“Clinton mishandled classified data,” Feb. 5 Letters to the Editor).

A day earlier, the State Department had released information that former Secretary of State Colin Powell and senior aides to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while employed by President George W. Bush, had classified information sent to their private e-mails.

Pompeo might want to broaden his comments in the future to include any federal employee or official, regardless of party affiliation, who used a private server and who may have received classified information.

Of course, he has already proved time and time again that he is nothing more than a Beltway politician who will put his own political priorities and those of his party ahead of the interests of the United States.

As for Benghazi, we all know it is political and was first aimed at defeating President Obama in his bid for a second term, and now it is being aimed at Hillary Clinton to stop her from winning in November. If you still have doubts, ask Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and he will gladly tell you the truth.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Letters on WSU football, lost tax deductions, Clinton e-mails."