You know every time a politician says we “need” a tax, 99 percent of the time it’s because “they want” it. That’s the case here.

The 1 percent sales tax was enacted to build the new jail. It’s built. We no longer need this tax. We definitely do not need a turnpike exit. Once again, the politicians “want it.”

Also, their real estate, developer and construction friends “want” it. All that exit will do is bring more congestion. It also will, more rapidly, do what they really want. Turn Leavenworth County into another Johnson County.

These people are supposed to be our servants, not vice versa. These are the same people who had the audacity to give two “elected” officials $12,000 and $7,000 raises, giving themselves a 5.2 percent raise to more than $43,000 a year.

At the same time, the salaried people, who do all the work, have received little or no raises in several years.

Right now, the average person pays taxes well into May, before the money they earn becomes theirs. Taxes are way out of bounds. Let these people, who are elected to “serve us,” know this! Vote “no” on the 1 percent sales tax.

Robert E. Dally,
Tonganoxie.

Against marriage amendment

To the editor:

On April 5, the redundant amendment on marriage should be voted down. It has been said that without this amendment, we are heading toward a “slippery slope” of legalized unseemly practices, none unfamiliar to heterosexuals. In that same vein this amendment can lead to:

• Prosecuting unmarried couples from living together.
  ¢ Prosecuting people caught having extramarital sex.
  ¢ Prosecuting parents of children born out of wedlock.
  ¢ Removal of children from single parent households.

Where in the talk of protecting marriage is the talk of discouraging divorce? In 2003, out of the 18,722 marriages in Kansas, 9,971 (53 percent) were the first for both. Is there no mention of divorce because of so many of our political leaders (red, blue or other) are themselves divorced (or lawyers)? How much time, effort and money has been twiddled away in this distraction? We should be focusing on much more important matters and people, near and far.

Please vote no on April 5.

M.H. Ramsey,
Kansas City, Kan.

Defining democracy

To the editor:

I am writing to encourage the good people of Tonganoxie to stand in defense of democratic principles on April 5, and vote against the proposed same-sex marriage amendment. Kansas law already prohibits same-sex marriage.

As a taxpayer concerned about freedom, the economy, education, healthcare, war, etc., I find it ridiculous that we would spend exorbitant time and energy debating an issue that is clearly defined and already deemed illegal as per the Kansas State Constitution.

Why then has all this time and energy been expended to defeat a proposal that is already illegal? The answer: The amendment is not about protecting marriage, but rather, it is a gimmick, born from the desire to dismantle what Thomas Jefferson called “the wall of separation between church and state.”

Voters have been duped into believing their “yes” vote will defend marriage, when truthfully, this election is simply a strategic move on the part of powerful extremists to fuel an overwhelming, advancing religious machine.

Some Americans question why the centralization of church and state should concern us as citizens. There are people who assert that the United States is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. If those who make this assertion are merely saying that most Americans are Christians, they have a point; however, to state that America is a Christian nation raises the stakes by insisting that the country is officially Christian. George Washington, in Article II of the Treaty with Tripoli, written in 1797 and approved unanimously by the Senate stated, “The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Such ardent declarations (of which there are many) made by the Founding Fathers originated from the acceptance of an indisputable truth: The mixture of church and state will inevitably result in the downfall of democracy. It’s time we Americans, many of us religious, accept the truth. It’s not marriage that needs defending. It’s our democracy.

Take the first step toward protecting the way of life we increasingly take for granted. Vote against the Marriage Amendment.

Kimberly White,
Lawrence.