Sam Graves: Your Missouri constituents will suffer if you let the government shut down | Opinion

Constituent needs

This is an open letter to Missouri 6th District U.S. Rep. Sam Graves:

Your constituents in Clay County do not want a shutdown of the federal government. Do not cause us harm on purpose. Grow a backbone and work across the aisle to get a bill passed for this fundamental obligation for our retired folks and others.

- Georgia VanWagner, Smithville

Moving backward

1692: They accuse me of something called “witchcraft.” What that means, I couldn’t tell you. But when I’m stripped from my home and told I’m possessed by the devil because of my weakness as a woman, I’m lost in confusion. Are men truly superior to me?

1835: He aggressively leaves the room. Is this what marriage is, a lifelong tie to someone who takes advantage of my every flaw? There’s no escaping. Divorce is intangible for all women. Are men truly superior to me?

1920: I gasp as I hear the news: I can vote now. Yet, the excitement of the moment vanishes when I step back into reality. I’m at home while my husband is earning our income. In this moment, I don’t feel victorious. Are men truly superior to me?

1945: As I greet my husband home from war, I’m simultaneously saying goodbye to the short-lived freedoms I gained while he was gone. Are men truly superior to me?

2023: My heart sinks when I hear my right to make my own decisions about my health care, including abortion, has been taken away. Men have assumed the power to make decisions over my body. In this moment, I know men are truly superior to me.

- Maddie Kochman, Lee’s Summit

Just dress up

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently abandoned the dress code in the Senate chambers to accommodate Sen. John Fetterman’s comfort level. If Fetterman does not have the discipline, respect and ability to dress properly according to the decorum of his congressional office, then maybe he is not Senate material. It is shameful that laziness, feeling entitled and being spoiled is the new normal.

Fetterman defended Schumer’s decision by saying: “I feel it’s a little more freedom, which should be bipartisanship. … I don’t know why the right side seems to be losing their minds over it. I think it’s a good thing, but I’m going to use it sparingly.”

In contrast, the Pope is an extremely religious man, revered by many as a deity, who covers his head out of holiness. Can you picture the Pope in the cathedral wearing a hoodie that covers his head but also wearing gym shorts and athletic shoes? I don’t think so.

- Steve Shaw, Kansas City

What matters

The voters of Pennsylvania put John Fetterman in the U.S. Senate despite his looking like a “slob” in the words of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board. (Sept. 26. 7A, “Scuttling the Senate dress code lessens much-needed decorum”) I believe he commands far more dignity than tightly laced Sens. Josh Hawley, Eric Schmidt or Roger Marshall.

Fetterman’s a guy with an asymmetric body — large on top, slender below. Interestingly, it was the MAGA “freedom above all” crowd who maintained their intentions to continue dressing up.

I really don’t care what members of Congress wear. I evaluate them by their character and the words they choose.

- Katie Linder, Prairie Village

Not foregone

I find it really galling how often I hear or read local TV news or non-media people make statements implying a new stadium for the Royals is a foregone conclusion. This is quite simply wrong. The Royals’ proposals rely upon obtaining taxpayer money.

A recent letter to the editor in The Kansas City Star erroneously said, “We can’t stop the future move of the Royals.” (Sept. 22, 6A) That’s an ignorant statement. Local voters and politicians have the power to prevent this attempted money grab.

- John A. Christiansen, Kansas City