Is Ron DeSantis’ cruel Martha’s Vineyard stunt Derek Schmidt’s vision for Kansas?

DeSantis’ example

Folks, take a second to reflect on what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did to 50 or so immigrants. DeSantis comes to Olathe on Sunday to campaign for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s gubernatorial campaign, and Schmidt is enthusiastic about the stunt: “I’m all for it,” he said.

We all know immigration needs serious bipartisan reform. To send these people to Martha’s Vineyard with a map showing where they can get jobs and housing, only to find out it was an empty parking lot, is just so cruel and unbecoming of any American leader.

That isn’t the America we should strive and hope for. This is not the type of political leader I want my children and grandchildren to be subjected to. Please, let’s find a better way to address these issues and treat others with dignity, compassion and humility while we find solutions.

DeSantis made these people the butt of his joke. Please — let’s collectively quit laughing. It’s just not funny.

- Marc Williamson, Parkville

Work for justice

I am very thankful for Melinda Henneberger and her relentless fight for justice while working for The Kansas City Star. She talked to the victims of the former Kansas City, Kansas, detective Roger Golubski. (Sept. 16, 1A, “Thank former KCK cop’s victims for his arrest”) She worked months and years to uncover their stories of rape, kidnapping, stalking and threats he allegedly perpetrated upon defenseless victims. Many were terrified that nothing would be done because of his friends on the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

Without her hard work, I doubt the FBI would have started its investigation resulting in Golubski’s arrest. Thank you, Ms. Henneberger.

- Judy Beyer, Lee’s Summit

Game the system

Pretend you’re a millionaire. Imagine that you’re donating money to a candidate — Candidate A — in a tight race. You’ve maxed out your donations to her. You can’t violate Federal Election Commission restrictions. Enforcement of campaign finance law may be a joke, but the FEC does sometimes check that stuff.

How can you get more cash to Candidate A?

You find another candidate — Candidate B — in a safe district, and you max out your donations to him, too. Candidate B then funnels that donation to Candidate A. Problem solved.

Ideally, you want Candidate B to be someone who regularly wins by a wide margin, like 75%, and who doesn’t need the money. He’d have to be either stupid enough or corrupt enough to go along with the scheme. You’d also want someone totally forgettable, who doesn’t draw attention from the press — someone who looks like an accountant.

If you get Candidates C, D and E to go along, too, you can throw thousands and thousands of dollars at your candidate. It’s like money laundering, but it also destroys democracy.

Unrelated note: According to figures on the website OpenSecrets.org, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri has donated more than $1 million in campaign funds to candidates across the country since 2016.

- James L. Hartley, Salem, Missouri

Why the party?

President Joe Biden is celebrating the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which may not actually reduce inflation and some say might actually increase it? This is getting old.

- Frank Green, Kansas City

Ugly roadways

My wife and I had out-of-state family visitors last weekend. We toured the National World War I Museum and Memorial and attended the Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR race, along with visiting several restaurants. All of those events were great. However, we were embarrassed during our trips around the area by the unkempt landscaped areas along our highways.

In recent years, we have witnessed tremendous improvements to U.S. 69, Interstates 35 and 435 and other highways, but where are the landscaping maintenance crews? Money spent on initial landscaping was wasted, because weeds and unwanted tree growth have taken over the sides of our highways.

Who’s responsible for this lack of management?

- Dennis G. Smith, Leawood

Priorities off

The U.S. is sending billions in aid to Ukraine, and the U.S. Army is suggesting that soldiers apply for food stamps.

There is something seriously wrong with this.

- Dan Muldrew, Overland Park

Spell it out

I consider myself a Republican, a Reagan Republican. A RINO is an animal to be hunted by MAGA Republicans. Acronyms and abbreviations have been so perverted by current Republican leadership that they are destroying the Republican Party we once knew.

I am a retired soldier who fought in Vietnam twice and served in South Korea and Germany. I draw a direct line between the 1932 Brownshirts under Adolf Hitler and Blackshirts under Benito Mussolini with the so-called Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

That brings me to another abbreviation: antifa.

Not knowing anything about antifa, I researched it. I found that it’s an abbreviation whose lineage dates back to Antifaschistische Aktion, an organization formed in Germany and Italy in 1932 to resist fascist forms of government.

The definition of fascism is a way of organizing a society in which government is ruled by a dictator who controls the lives of the people using a very harsh form of authority.

Think about that. Why is Donald Trump so against antifa? What form of government does he envision for the American people, and what role does he envision himself playing in that government?

- James P. Gann, Lanagan, Missouri