Where's the real blame for KC auto industry threat from Canada?

Opinion Where's the real blame for KC auto industry threat from Canada? | Opinion Auto worker Denell Sadler installs parts into the bed of a F150 at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant. Reuters Only option The headline on an Aug. 29 story read, 'Kansas City auto industry faces a new threat from Canada. Here's what is at stake.' Let's be clear. The threat is not from Canada. Donald Trump's imposition of unjustifiable and cruel tariffs on our closest ally and trading partner put Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney in an impossible position with only one option: to push back. Place the blame where it belongs. - Michael Rafferty, Olathe Fix is in? Did Canada intentionally create a trade war with the U.S. because it is coordinating with the Democratic Party? Did it want to erode Republican support in rural areas by creating a problem the media could blame on Donald Trump? Did you know the Canadian prime minister is being advised by an American who previously worked for Hillary Clinton? What have Canadians been promised? Convenient timing, and I don't believe in coincidences. This is all about increasing prices on the average person to benefit Democrats. We're being played. - Frank Green, Kansas City Inconvenience Perhaps the most important event in the history of our republic is only days away. Anticipating record turnout, those in power are attempting to disrupt the midterm elections: long lines to vote, fewer polling places with fewer machines, voter ID challenges, threats of federal immigration agents' presence and surely many other restrictive tactics yet to be revealed. This is all to make voting as inconvenient as possible to restrict the number of votes cast. For comparison, here is a list of other inconvenient situations: Breed's Hill, Yorktown, Antietam, the Wilderness, San Juan Hill, Meuse-Argonne, Bastogne, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, the Chosin Reservoir, Hamburger Hill, Khe Sanh, Fallujah — all terribly inconvenient. You really had to be there. America is in trouble from 'enemies, foreign and domestic.' Nov. 3 will be our final opportunity to stop the madness. Please weigh your inconvenience against your responsibility and duty as an American to act. And then, no matter how inconvenient, vote. - Jim Bretz, Blue Springs Life standards Two years ago, my son put a loaded 9mm to his head and pulled the trigger twice. Paramedics said that his heartbeat was strong, but it didn't look good, and I prepared for an organ-donor scenario. He survived and is doing well, but initial fears led me to research brain-death testing. I learned that some doctors aren't using American Academy of Neurology guidelines. This means we have approved organ donors who are still alive. Those AAN guidelines should be mandated to reduce the risk of homicide. The Joint Commission, an independent accreditation agency, cannot enforce these guidelines in hospitals. The 1980 Uniform Determination of Death Act is model legislation and cannot be enforced. The Midwest Transplant Network has reported concerns with determination of death. It thought our bigger hospitals used the guidelines but wasn't sure about smaller hospitals. Emailing the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, I asked if it had the same issue. A representative from MTN later sent me a strongly worded email to deny comments made over the phone. I don't think this is the person I spoke with, but her defensive stance was troubling. The organ donor program is a gift of hope, and mandating AAN guidelines is not new. Nevada has legislation. I'll get my law in Kansas, but this controversy should prompt remaining states to consider similar statutes. - Keri Strahler, Topeka Horse cruelty As a veterinary professional, I read The New York Times' investigation into wild horses sold and shipped to slaughter with genuine alarm. The reporting captured the betrayal, but it cannot fully convey the suffering. Horses are prey animals, hardwired to panic in confinement, and the trip to slaughter typically means days without food, water or rest. Given their unique physiology and temperament, a humane death is far from guaranteed. This is not a partisan concern. Polling shows that nearly 80% of Republicans oppose horse slaughter, and the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, House Resolution 1661, has amassed broad bipartisan co-sponsorship. Yet Rep. Sam Graves, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, voted against legislation that would shut down this pipeline. As a constituent, I am deeply disturbed by this and am relieved that the amendment passed despite his opposition. The loophole that allowed the Bureau of Land Management to sell these horses is precisely what both the SAFE Act and the provision barring the transportation of horses to slaughter would close. I urge Graves to represent his constituents, like me, by supporting the horse transportation provision as this bill goes to the House floor. - Muhammad Attiq, St. Joseph