Letters on Brownback, nuclear war, Trump, labor costs, long-haired athletes

Don’t forget; the sun is shining

Kansas, the great state we call home, is on the path toward bankruptcy. Our secretary of state may be the target of a grand jury investigation.

Yet in 2014, our illustrious governor, Sam Brownback, said in a campaign commercial that “the sun is shining in Kansas.”

Have a good night’s sleep tonight and awake in the morning with the hope that we, Kansas, can survive for two more years.

Lest we forget, the sun is shining in Kansas. Brownback told us so.

Trump dangerous

When I was just out of high school in 1967, I joined the Air Force and ended up in Wichita. My task was maintaining the electronic systems on the Titan II missiles that were stationed in south-central Kansas. The experience made me frighteningly aware of nuclear weapons and their ability to end life on Earth as we know it.

I mentioned this because one of the presidential candidates is talking fast and loose about using nuclear weapons – maybe in the Middle East, maybe in Europe, maybe defending the wall he talks about. The gentleman is not clear as to how, when or where, but he certainly seems to savor the option.

A nuclear war kills children, adults, criminals and the saints. And there are still submarine-, air- and land-based nuclear weapons, expertly maintained and ready to go. We are still loaded to the gills with nuclear bombs.

I think we forget that, because, up to now, there has never been a president or a candidate for that office who did not understand the annihilation that a nuclear exchange will bring. But this year we do have such a person.

Donald Trump is a reckless, unaware and careless man who must not be allowed the power to use these weapons. We had better be looking at the possible price tag for putting such a person in the White House.

Trump only hope

The writer of “Politicians won’t disavow Trump” (Aug. 15 Letters to the Editor) provided some good humor in her chastisement of Republicans. It seems we have a choice of a corrupt establishment or an “incompetent” Donald Trump.

Take comfort that Trump will not steal or damage the nation as much as the progressive establishment.

The progressives have control of the Democrats, and they thought they had the Republicans. Then Trump proved the people still believed in “we the people” of the Constitution.

Trump is the only hope America has with the destructive progressives, and the people realize that situation.

I do agree with the letter writer’s call for term limits. That should include Supreme Court justices. I would also support testing on the knowledge of our founding documents before a person can hold office.

The real problem

After Donald Trump’s fight with the Khan family, Hillary Clinton’s e-mail problem and other controversies, we still have two terribly flawed candidates, with two separate economic plans. But we still have only one real economic problem.

American labor is not competitive in a global economy. If you make minimum wage in America, you struggle and need public assistance. In Mexico, you are doing OK, and in China fairly well. In Bangladesh, you’re like a millionaire.

This is a real problem in a global economy, because we have to compete with these labor forces. It is like a disease, and high federal budget deficits and underemployment are just symptoms of that disease.

So now we have to choose between two candidates with many flaws, some of them pretty grievous. How their economic policies address this crippling problem in our economy should be a factor.

Get a haircut

Now that the football season is here, I wonder why they are not paying the players enough money to get a haircut. That long hair is not becoming to the players. I will keep watching and hoping for the best.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Letters on Brownback, nuclear war, Trump, labor costs, long-haired athletes."