Unfettered Letters

Unbelievable world

In the world today, believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.

Hollis Brazelton
Lathrop, Mo.

Kansas’ image suffers

I am a native Kansan temporarily transplanted in Missouri. It pains me to see Kansas mocked and derided in national forums.

Has the state changed that much in the 20 years I have been gone?

In recent years, we have been embarrassed by the Fred Phelps clan claiming that God hates (almost) everyone.

We witnessed the takedown of the Kansas Arts Commission, thereby depriving rural areas of funds for festivals and celebrations.

Recently Speaker of the House Mike O’Neal distributed emails mocking first lady Michelle Obama and suggesting the death of the first family.

Many years ago, Attorney General Vern Miller embarrassed Kansans by popping out of squad car trunks to nail people who were imbibing (a dry state then). He declared that the borders of Kansas extended straight up to the sky and anyone having a drink on an airplane in Kansas airspace was in violation.

The late-night talk shows hosts were given a gift that kept on giving for years, and Kansas’ imaged suffered.

Does image matter to a state? You bet it does. Maybe Boeing had difficulty recruiting the top-level people they needed to compete in the 21st century.

Karen Graves
St. Joseph

Growing debt crisis

To understand the tremendous debt this country has amassed, one has to come to grips with just how deep in debt we are. If we translated it in seconds or hours, maybe then we might start getting our arms around the enormity of this crisis.

One million seconds equals close to 12 days.

One billion seconds is 31 years.

One trillion seconds equals 31,688 years. If we look at it in hours it gets even more scary.

One million hours ago it was the year 1865. One billion hours ago man had not yet walked on Earth.

Now you tell me: How much sense does it make to think we can fix all this debt by spending more?

It is time for our representatives to say no to this administration and begin to work together to find real solutions for this unsustainable path of spending and waste.

The president is more interested in campaigning for re-election than leading on the issues.

Let’s elect leaders in Congress and the executive branch who care more for their country than themselves.

David Gerrasch
Overland Park

Photo ID for voting

What is wrong with a citizenry that supports the hypocrisy of a president who will require every “citizen” to prove he/she has health insurance but not require people to prove they are a citizen in order to vote?

Joe Neuner
Olathe

Climate change nothing worth celebrating

“Welcome to the warmer zone; Gardeners rejoice” Jan. 27 story was on the front page of The Kansas City Star. Why would The Star print these headlines?

Sure, I know it is because of the new planting options for gardeners. Yet is moving to a warmer planting zone and the fact that global warming is happening now with all of its dangerous consequences like drought, floods, extreme weather something to rejoice about?

Near the end of the article (and most people don’t read that far) is mention of rapid climate change. David W. Wolfe, professor of plant and soil ecology at Cornell University, told The Star the new map “gives us a clear picture of the ‘new normal’ and will be an essential tool for gardeners, farmers and natural resource managers as they begin to cope with rapid climate change.”

I feel like crying, not rejoicing.

Mary Helen Korbelik
Mission Hills

Hanging by a thread

It is worth noting that the rural Missouri counties mentioned by The Star Jan. 29 in the article, “Disability rolls have rural flavor,” about a dramatic increase in disability claims, all voted overwhelmingly in 2008 for John McCain. McCain’s party, of course, has been working feverishly since then to block or undermine many federal programs that people depend on in these hard times.

Let’s give credit to the conservatives for convincing people to vote against their own best interests. It’s time to connect the dots.

Republican leaders seem to think America is at its best when all the money moves toward the top and there are no troublesome federal programs to siphon any of it.

Democrats, for the most part, think that we are all stronger when we work together and support each other and that government has a role in helping create a better society for everyone.

There are a whole lot of people in this country hanging on by a thread. One party wants to make it even harder for them.

Donald Skinner
Leawood

Spotlighting parents

What a neat idea a former teacher expressed in a Feb. 1 letter regarding Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to post teachers’ and administrators’ evaluations online: Let’s post objective information about the parents — convictions for traffic violations, serving alcohol to minors, domestic violence, failure to pay taxes and the number of days their children were absent from school.

John Sheeley
Kansas City

Respect for anthem

I couldn’t agree more with Feb. 2 letter writer speaking about the lack of respect at sports events during our national anthem. I also notice players and fans don’t pay attention or put the hands over their hearts. Another totally disrespectful thing that bothers me is changing the last line of the anthem to “and the home of the Chiefs.”

It’s “the brave” who keep us free and safe in America — not the Chiefs, or any other team in any other city.

Helene Blogumas
Lee’s Summit

Jobs for Kansans first

Before Kansas state legislators consider a state-managed illegal immigrant worker program for the agricultural sector in the state, the following questions should be asked (1-30, A5, “Waiver sought for immigrants”). Exactly what agribusinesses are in need of such labor?

What agribusinesses are currently hiring and at what wage and benefits?

Are the agribusinesses facing labor shortages on file with the state unemployment offices?

Are these agribusinesses placing hiring notices in counties with high unemployment numbers?

Until these questions are answered, no such waiver should even be considered by the Kansas Legislature. Talk about an outrageous proposal supported by the Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman, the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

We have plenty of unemployed Kansas-born workers who would love the opportunity to work in this sector of the Kansas economy if only given the chance.

Michael Kalny
Shawnee

Witches, Kansas, Oh my

The Star on Feb. 2 ran an interesting front-page story, “Lobbying lawmakers was never this cute,” about the first-grade public school class in Olathe that is recommending the cairn terrier for official recognition as the state dog of Kansas. Who will tell these well-intentioned youngsters that the Legislature could not possibly approve this action?

As The Star article pointed out, the cairn terrier is a reference to the canine character in the book “The Wizard of Oz.” Because witches are occult figures, they are taboo in the Christian political culture of present-day Kansas.

Presumably, on this basis, the book and the movie are banned from most Kansas school libraries.

Bob Campbell
Lawrence

U.S. support for Israel

It is not the Israelis who haven’t gone to the negotiating table. Until recently, the Palestinians had stayed away because they do not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Hamas still refuses to recognize that Israel has a right to any of the territory from the Mediterranean to the border with Jordan. Do not expect Hamas to give de facto recognition to Israel by talking to the Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority on the so-called West Bank won’t come to the table because they fear armed action from Hamas. Even when the Palestinian Authority reaps economic benefit from Israel, it would be literal suicide to admit Israel can co-exist with any Palestinian state.

As for money, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations send millions to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. And these nations won’t stop aid for the arms that Hamas buys while at the same time refusing to build a country.

Ending U.S. aid is not the answer while the Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel.

Alan A. Goldberg
Overland Park

You can help in gauging world light pollution

The mild winter weather that we have been enjoying will make it even easier to participate as a citizen-scientist in the GLOBE at Night project to preserve dark skies.

The GLOBE at Night project is a global effort to raise awareness of the effect of light pollution by inviting participants to measure their night sky brightness by counting the visible stars within the constellation of either Orion the Hunter or Leo the Lion.

The observation should be made during the evening hours and only during certain weeks including February 12-2 and two other weeks this winter and spring.

The star count observation is then reported to the Globe at Night website from a computer or smart phone.

Last year participants made more than 66,000 observations from 115 countries.

I encourage people to join others around the world by participating in the Globe at Night campaign this year.

Not only will you contribute relevant data to this global investigation, but you may also find that spending some time outside looking at our starry sky is a rather pleasant pastime.

For more information about the project or light pollution, visit the Globe at Night web site at: http://www.globeatnight.org

Bob Riddle
Lee’s Summit

Choose vote for U.S. president carefully

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the government from denying a legal citizen from voting, regardless of race, creed, or color, has been a law since 1870.

Now in 2012 we all must ask ourselves, who is the right person to lead us forward through the new millennium.

Will it be a community organizer who won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing to earn it?

Or will it be the man who spent a trillion dollars on “shovel-ready” jobs where there were no such things?

A closer look at some of President Barack Obama’s appointees and associates will reveal that many of them have not even owned or run a business.

Government officials who brought down Fannie Mae received golden parachutes and work in the Obama administration.

Another blaring fact is the food stamp recipients have increased since Obama took office.

Also, don’t forget about the “Fast and Furious” ATF gun-running scandal. No one wants to admit they knew anything about it.

Do your own research, and vote with your own heart and conscience, not what others tell you.

I only hope that each and every voter votes for the best person.

DeWayne Steele
Kansas City

Photo ID for voters is an unnecessary burden

Missouri is “The Show Me State.” When I consider those words I take them to mean that Missourians insist on knowing the facts.

I find no facts that warrant legislation demanding voter photo identification at the polls, yet two such bills have been introduced in the Missouri legislature.

The fact is that most voter fraud prosecutions involve eligibility or improper registrations and would not be prevented by having a photo ID requirement.

The fact is that a restrictive photo ID law would prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots at the polls.

Securing the proper documents to apply for a state issued photo ID would be burdensome and sometimes impossible to obtain.

Currently there are 230,000 Missourians registered to vote who would be turned away if this legislation were enacted.

The fact is that a photo ID bill would be costly — $20 million would be spent to implement this unnecessary legislation.

Let’s not make Missouri a “Show Me Your Photo ID” state. Let’s be the “Show Me The Facts” state.

Mary Clemons
President
Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice
Kirkwood, Mo.

Kudos to kid lobbyists

To all the children in Mrs. Molly Gentz’s first-grade class at Liberty View Elementary School in Olathe who’ve jumped into a full-fledged letter writing campaign to designate the cairn terrier, like the dog in “The Wizard of Oz,” the official dog of Kansas, you go guys (2-2, A1, “Lobbying lawmakers was never this cute; Olathe students join effort to make Toto’s breed, the cairn terrier, the official state dog”).

In with Toto, out with Brownback.

Sandra Wegerer Bernstein
Kansas City