Two sides
Television is truly remarkable. By the simple act of clicking a remote control, you can go from the beauty, camaraderie and promise of the Winter Olympics in South Korea to the horrific genocide of Bashar Assad in Syria. One channel shows the world at its best. The other channel shows the world at its indisputable worst — evil incarnate.
What a dichotomy between the smiling, happy children who participated in the closing ceremony on NBC and the sightless eyes of the children killed by Assad’s gas attacks on his own people on CBS — both in the same night.
Assad is a monster every bit the equal of Hitler. Russia be damned, his malignant regime must be decapitated. More innocents will die every day the world turns a blind eye toward the atrocities perpetuated by Assad and his henchmen.
For the sake of humanity, inaction is not an option. Every day the good people of the world remain on the sidelines increases our shared culpability. We owe action to every child who can no longer see the world’s beauty.
Terry Goodman
Overland Park
Law, order
We are a country that obeys the rule of law. So:
1. Did Syed Ahmed Jamal break the law? Yes. (Feb. 26, 4A, “Family gets jail visit with chemist arrested by ICE”)
2. Was Jamal aware he broke the law? Yes.
Breaking the law results in consequences, in spite of the publicity circus.
B. Parks Peterson
Lee’s Summit
Change the TV
Lots of people say there would not be so many mass shootings in schools, such as the one recently in Florida, if television programs would stop featuring so much violence.
If you agree, pick up the telephone right now, call a local television broadcaster and give it a piece of your mind.
William T. Davitt
Wichita
Situational concern
Only when there’s a mass shooting does this issue of guns really make headlines.
So what’s being done in between times? It’s the same old story, just a different day. It’s so sad.
Janet Thomas
Grandview
Man up
What an asinine commentary by Thomas Friedman on Feb. 20. (11A, “Whatever Trump is hiding is hurting all Americans now”) All he can do is guess. There were no facts, and it certainly was not worthy of a place in your newspaper.
By the way, why are so many of your commentaries coming from The New York Times or The Washington Post? Can you not be more tolerant of more conservative writing? Can you not find something positive about President Donald Trump?
My wife and I can give you a number of good things he’s done, but you folks are not man enough to print such.
Darryl Taylor
Overland Park
Nursing homes
The Star’s reporting on the use of opioids in nursing facilities was a good start addressing problems. Incidents arise when nursing home staffs are poorly trained or ignore directions by hospital doctors in discharge summaries.
My wife suffered a brain injury that a neurosurgeon corrected. While regaining speech and limb motion, she demonstrated somnolence because of hydrocodone, which masked a massive infection. A change to another facility started badly with use of hydrocodone and Keppra — contrary to the hospital discharge summary.
My wife died, not directly because of drugs, but because staff members wanted her “comfortable,” with the head of the bed elevated only slightly, also against instructions from the hospital. Twice, with the bed at a low angle, she aspirated liquid into her lungs. Although she survived the first, the second resulted in a certain near-term death. The nursing facility doctor audaciously stated her death was because of cardiac arrest.
My wife’s travails illustrate issues other than drugs that must be addressed for optimal care in nursing facilities.
Dan Carr
Leavenworth
Study in contrasts
To the millions of young Americans who fear they have a bull’s-eye on their chests and it is only a matter of time before they or someone they know becomes a target, please understand: Millions of older Americans, like myself, are just as frustrated and outraged at the senseless slaughter that is allowed to continue by appallingly indifferent politicians.
The National Rifle Association has spent tens of millions of dollars to ensure that weapons of mass annihilation stay easily available to anyone with evil intent and a clean background check. Convincing your parents’ generation and millennials that banning the sale of deadly assault weapons such as the AR-15 is not an infringement of the Second Amendment is your best weapon against cynical incumbents who side with the gun lobby.
To those who argue that our schools should be turned into prisons with armed guards and that our personal liberty depends on easy access to weapons unimaginable 250 years ago, respond by pointing out that the United States is not Damascus and that children in the United Kingdom and Australia don’t have to participate in active-shooter drills to prevent mass murder in their schools.
Jeffrey Bushman
Kansas City