Readers write in about Route 66 car show, reducing gun violence and defending America

What a car show that was!

As an eleven-year "newbie" in Springfield, Missouri, I may ride a bicycle in order to save money but I have my taste and appreciation for various automobiles.

Half of the cars I have owned were American. On the afternoon of Aug. 10 as I bicycled home with groceries from Grand Street onto South Avenue, I saw that battery-powered sign which warned us about a temporary traffic blockage due to a Route 66 event. That was all the information I needed.

Saturday, Aug. 12 was certainly a very delightful and interesting day. Oh yes, I was interested in talking to the rock 'n' roll band lead singer about his Fender Stratocaster guitar (an American make) being played over a British-sounding, full-stack Marshall amplifier. I liked the way his American guitar sounded over that British amplifier, but what thrilled me even more, was the American cars which were so nicely displayed all over the place.

I have seen many antique old cars, of many old makes, from several nations, and they have old, nice styles ... but there is something about old American cars which stands alone, for certain. As I looked around and gave it a wee bit of thought, yes, no one, simply no one, has had the touch, the feeling, the emphasis, the exquisite expression and the striking appearance that our American car makers and our older American cars have.

As frustrating and as heartbreaking as it can be to see that these cars are not manufactured anymore, it is so good to have these skilled, honorable, dedicated folks who put all that effort and money and time into restoring and sustaining these truly incredible and uniquely impressive automobiles. I had the luck of speaking to one person there who is a member of my church, and it certainly was an honor to see him and to shake hands with him right while walking back to my pew after communion at Sunday church the week after the car show.

My compliments of appreciation to those guys who restore and keep those wonderful cars and to all those who set up the nicest car show that I have been to in all my life.

Philip Boepple, Springfield

How to dramatically reduce gun violence

Step Number One: The President of the United States will create, via an executive order, a national gun ownership organization, requiring all owners of firearms in America to obtain a license/permit to own a gun of any kind.

Step Number Two: Since it is common knowledge that 99% of all criminals who engage in mass shootings are coming from dysfunctional home environments, and are showing up in middle schools and high schools as bullies on school buses, loners and disruptive in class room activities, these students will be required to participate in on-site self-esteem building student support groups, and their names will be submitted to a national register (a master list) listing them as future potential high-risk shooters.

Step Number Three: It will be required that this master list will be kept by all individuals or companies in America who sell guns, either retail or wholesale. And if a person approaches them to purchase a gun, and their name is on the list, they must refuse the sale and direct the individual to the local police authorities who will process them for a license/permit. If the retailer/wholesaler does not follow this procedure and sells a gun to the individual, and the individual creates a crime, the retailer/wholesaler will be guilty of a crime, punishable by a jail sentence.

Marvin Fremerman, Springfield

Defending American means opposing Trump

I am a 65-year-old U.S. Army veteran who spent ten years serving my country. I am also a rare breed here in America because I do not identify myself as a Republican or a Democrat. I identify as an American!

My ten years in the Army taught me one very important lesson, never blindly follow what those in charge tell you. This lesson should be practiced nowadays by every freedom-loving, patriotic American! It just blows my mind that there are so many lazy Republicans who blindly follow all the lies and Nazi propaganda that Fox News and the Republican leadership is force-feeding America every day. These Republicans are too lazy to fact check what they are hearing from these sources.

This being said, let me help you to keep your life more simple. If you are hearing anything at all from these two sources it is most certainly an out-and-out lie to further enrage us and turn us against one another. Here is a history lesson for you all. Back in Germany in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler, who happens to be Donald Trump's idol, used these exact same techniques to overthrow Germany’s government and started World War II. It worked so well that Donald and his Nazi party leadership are using this strategy today. They are turning us against one another. They are claiming that Donald is innocent of all 91 charges that he is being charged with and that the Democrats are weaponizing the DOJ to falsely accuse poor old Donald.

The truth is that the DOJ are actually doing their jobs, which is to prosecute criminals. And right now in America there is no bigger criminal than Donald Trump. The only thing that the DOJ should be criticized about is taking way too long to prosecute Donald. Everybody who saw the attempted coup on Jan. 6 knows without a doubt that Donald Trump orchestrated, planned and hoped that his followers would succeed in overthrowing our government just so he could stay in power. Donald doesn’t care about America or it’s people. The only thing Donald cares about is staying in power for HIS own personal benefit. Donald should be prosecuted for treason and the sooner the better. This country will never heal from the damage that Donald is causing until he is silenced from continuing to spread his lies.

It is time for every American veteran to honor the vows you took when you signed up to join the military. That vow stated that you would defend this country from all enemies foreign and domestic!! Donald Trump is a very real threat to our freedoms and our democracy and must be stopped.

One final plea from the old Republican Party, please dump all the present candidates who are running for president and replace them with at least one good America-loving individual who will put America’s needs first. Give us all somebody good to vote for and this will stop us from trying to choose the lesser of all the evil ones we are presently looking at!

Wayne Doyle, Rolla

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Readers share thoughts on car show, Trump candidacy, gun violence