Unfettered Letters

Use better light bulbs

Some Americans are creating an uproar, protesting the upcoming ban on incandescent light bulbs. Rep. Michele Bachmann announced that if elected president of the United States, she would allow all citizens to buy the old, out-dated, energy-sucking bulbs.

Rep. Bachmann, please get out of your air-conditioned houses, limos, jets and offices. This summer, numerous heat records fell nationwide.

It’s hot. Livestock and crops are withering. Our fellow citizens — from infants to the elderly — are suffering and dying.

As patriotic Americans, as fellow humans on this bruised and battered planet, changing light bulbs is the least we can do.

It is the American thing to do.

Deborah Boman
North Kansas City

Obama blameless?

From the start President Barack Obama has blamed others for problems he faced: President George W. Bush, Wall Street bankers, medical insurance companies, the tea party, Republicans, the Japanese earthquake. It goes on and on.

Now the rich people are to blame because they don’t pay enough taxes. The mantra is they don’t pay “their fair share.”

The fallacy is that the IRS shoots it down.

They reported that 83 percent of total federal income taxes are paid by the top 25 percent of taxpayers. Isn’t that a fair share?

The president claims public support for raising taxes on the rich. Since about 50 percent of wage earners pay no federal income tax, just FICA and Medicare taxes, it shouldn’t be hard to find a consensus to “tax the rich.”

The problem with higher taxes is that there is no assurance additional revenue will be used to pay down debt rather than fund new spending.

If you research federal revenues and expenditures, you will find that revenue went up steadily after both the Reagan and Bush tax cuts but that spending went up even faster causing deficits.

We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Denny Diekroeger
Lenexa

U.S. taking power back

I was in a shelter for domestic violence. I know what it’s like to give your power away to another.

And I know that’s what we’re doing with the Dow. The Dow has no power over us. None. It is simply reflecting how powerful or powerless we feel.

Feeling more or less stressed because of an upturn or downturn in the market is like turning to your lover each morning and asking, “How am I feeling today, dearest?”

The day we stop trying to change the movie on the screen, and realize we are the projector of the film, will be a great day in America.

The day we stop blaming politicians for being irresponsible, and realize blame is the most irresponsible act there is, will be a great day in America.

The day we step into our power, and realize the person who can grow the economy is staring back at us in the mirror, will be a great day indeed.

I took back my power. I look forward to the day that America does the same.

Mary “M.K.” Mueller
Overland Park

Corporations as people

Corporations may be viewed as “people” under the law. But if actual people did many of the things that corporations do, without the aid of lobbyists, public relations spin doctors and high-priced attorneys, we’d all be in jail.

And we don’t get corporate tax breaks or loopholes.

Craig Colbert
Prairie Village

Sensible tea partiers

Tea partiers are simply clear-thinking, Constitution-loving, conservative voters who speak and act on principle and conviction. We are not wild-eyed lunatics or extremists, as some portray us.

We leave the “image makers” to unprincipled politicians who can’t seem to speak without first taking a poll or seeking the advice of their consultants.

When we advocated against raising the debt ceiling, we were simply telling our politicians to start cutting whatever it takes to break your insidious spending habit.

There is nothing complex about that, is there? They’ve abused the freedom far too long, and we intend to take away their credit card.

For the record, there is no tea party per se. We are simply ordinary citizens with similar conservative views.

We don’t always agree. We happen to lean toward the Republican Party, which existed before it was invaded by RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) and weak-kneed compromisers.

Politicians have the freedom to heed us or ignore us. Tea partiers, on the other hand, have the freedom to exercise their right to vote at the ballot box, a cherished prerogative.

Mary Ann Brennan
Overland Park

Leaving Kansas

I’m so thankful I left Kansas years ago for a saner state.

Kansas’ problems included efforts to cut funding for arts programs, anti-abortion zealots who will stop at nothing to get their way, and two cowardly senators who would not support Steve Six’s appointment to a higher court for no obvious reasons.

Yes, Kansas is the Land of Aahs.

Steve Theno
Kansas City

GOP ‘party of no’

Here we go again. President Barack Obama announces plans to nominate someone, anyone, to a cabinet or judicial post, and the Republicans immediately threaten to block his or her confirmation.

I believe the American people are tired of hearing this broken record with the same old tired message of obstruction being played over and over by the GOP.

The “party of no” seems to be so consumed with mean-spirited vindictiveness that I question whether the Republicans would vote to confirm Jesus Christ himself simply because he was nominated by President Obama.

Eddie L. Clay
Grandview

Nuclear weaponry

Despite his pledge in the Czech Republic to rid the world of nuclear weapons, President Barack Obama in May 2010 authorized $80 billion to “modernize” our nuclear arsenal. This is complete madness.

Any use of nuclear weapons guarantees only mutually assured destruction of the world, its people, plants, animals and ocean life.

Obama’s assent to this spending was the price to be paid for Senate approval of the New Start Treaty with Russia promising reductions in both nuclear arsenals to 1,550 deployed warheads each.

Part of that money is being spent here in Kansas City at a plant currently under construction at Botts Road. It is a complicated project to construct parts for nuclear weapons, and it involves dollars from the federal government, the city and the county.

If, as Obama promised, the U.S. is serious about ridding the world of nuclear weapons, why should we spend $80 billion increasing our own capacity for nuclear war?

Michele Chollet
Kansas City

Helping people overcome poverty

Because the rules and regulations are written so poorly, once people in poverty have the courage to step up and ask for help they are only given enough assistance to keep them at a poverty level. Even worse is the fact when they try to help themselves by getting a job, they aren’t allowed to make any kind of realistic earnings. This is for fear that their cushion from the government will be taken away from them.

Many times people who need assistance have situations that don’t allow them to make these true life or death decisions easily.

Maybe the answer should be that the rules need to be rewritten and written using common sense. Allow people to get help but also work if they can.

Let them earn a living income without taking away that cushion. Then, if their earnings take them over a “cost of living” level, reduce their assistance dollar for dollar.

Don’t take it away all at once. Help people, don’t hurt them.

Mark Greene
Shawnee

Foul behavior at KCI

My wife and I recently returned to Kansas City International Airport. We witnessed a person parking his sport utility vehicle in front of the door to the AA Baggage Claim and going inside to meet someone. He parked next to a no parking sign.

There was no one else in the car. It was parked.

When the parking police began to ticket him, he became enraged at the female officer, screaming at her and saying that he had only left his car for 30 to 40 seconds, when in fact we saw him leave the car for more than five minutes.

Finally two Kansas City police officers arrived, and he yelled at them for another few minutes.

Did this guy forget about 9/11? Does he live in a cave, or under a rock?

He should have received multiple tickets for illegal parking, harassing a police officer and general stupidity.

Bill Butler
Gladstone