Unfettered Letters

Suburban museum?

The proposed Johnson County museum with a national center to study suburban crabgrass and cul-de-sacs is a sure sign that Johnson County has achieved its reputation for having more money than brains (6/26, Local, “Interpreting suburbia – seriously: Officials envision a scholarly take on the suburban experience as part of a new facility”).

The Johnson County tax base is now so large and our public servants so giddy that every absurd idea can now be funded.

The enthusiasm of California consultants and HNTB architects for the museum project is a clear indication that the JoCo tax honey pot is overflowing.

Mike McDermott
Olathe

Animal rights

In 20 years there will be no pets. No goldfish, no canaries, no dogs or cats. No service dogs for the blind or impaired. Nor will there be meat on the table or eggs for breakfast. There will be no zoos for endangered species to be maintained, no cows or sheep in pastures. We will “allow” rats and mice to proliferate and mosquitoes to thrive because we will not trap or spray anything. This is PETA if they have their way.

Linda Morrow (6/25, Letters) tells us, “Those who care about dogs — not just a specific breed — understand the crucial need to prevent more unwanted animals by requiring those who already exist to be sterilized.” That means every single living pet!

PETA is an “animal rights” group, not an “animal welfare” group. People should investigate the difference — it is huge.

Norma Chandler
Kansas City

Heed traffic laws

Last fall, there were several letters complaining about bike riders ignoring traffic and safety laws. On a recent evening, while out with a friend, I came across a large group riding through Mission. It was the usual thing of riding several abreast and ignoring stop signs.

I wonder if any of them noticed the boy, standing with his bike, near one of the stop signs they were ignoring. After they had all passed, he decided to jump on his bike and follow, right through the same stop sign.

Fortunately, the approaching car with the right-of-way didn’t ignore him and stopped.

Now, children will do such things — they don’t think in terms of obeying traffic laws. A bike ride is just a fun thing to do. So that is why adults have to set an example. But apparently these adults didn’t care about that.

A couple of minutes later, I did hear the sound of sirens and saw a fire truck head off in the same direction as the riders. I hope that they didn’t ignore another stop sign and meet up with driver who was slower to react than the first one.

George R. McCasland
Overland Park

Welcoming church

This is in response to J. Hamilton’s obviously bitter letter (6/26) about a church he attended.

Please do not paint all churches with the same brush. My family has found just the opposite experience where we now attend.

Eight years ago, we were new to the area, having moved from out of state. The second church we tried was a warm, giving group. There was ample opportunity for us to find a place where we fit, with many areas available for service in the relatively small congregation.

Recently, I had open-heart surgery. This church stepped up to the plate with gift cards, offers of housework, meals for more than a month, prayers, encouragement and so much more. Ours is not the only family, both in and out of the congregation, to benefit from everyone’s generosity, both recently and in years past.

Nancy Cozadd
Excelsior Springs

Pit bull terriers

Surprise! The Star has a fresh, colorful new look but continues to print the same oppressive opinions (6/25 editorial, “Cities can’t ignore worries over pit bulls”).

Granted, this is not a human rights issue; however, it is an “owner’s rights” issue. Animals are still property and at last check we still had a Bill of Rights.

The fuss over dogs is almost always the result of emotionally charged arguments, fueled by the media. Cities foolishly cave under pressure and allow the inmates to run the asylum.

Area cities have or should have dangerous dog ordinances that allow them to deal with bad dogs of any breed. Why are more laws always The Star’s answer to everything that ails society?

Please quit wasting good ink on the “snarling pit bull on steroids at the end of the chain” picture. The prick-eared dog wearing the pink collar (pictured here) is much cuter.

Kim Krohn
Board member, Missouri Federation of Animal Owners
Blue Springs

Car rental taxes

To Jeffery R. Jontz (6/26, Letters), I offer the following:

“Hello, Mr. Pot? This is Mr. Kettle. Uh, you’re black!”

I can’t believe anyone from Orlando would complain about rental car taxes, fees and add-ons in other cities. ,I can only guess that he’s never rented a car in his own town.

I’ll never forget taking my young family for a trip to Touristland there in the heart of Florida, and finding out what my $30-a-day rental car was really going to cost me after paying the road-use taxes, additional gas taxes, airport taxes and a myriad of other fees. It almost derailed our vacation before we even got started.

During the debate on Kansas City’s rental car tax, which I supported, I used Orlando as an example to my friends of how it wasn’t unheard of elsewhere.

Someone whose own local economy is based on sticking it to out-of-towners at every possible opportunity shouldn’t complain when we reciprocate in this relatively minor fashion.

Oh, by the way, do you think the Magic might like to find a home in a city that will support them? Thanks to the rental car tax, we might be able to help them out.

Eric Ramer
Kearney

Inspirational gift

What a thrill to watch Bill and Melinda Gates discuss their foundation and plans for Warren Buffet’s gigantic donation (6/26, A-1, “Buffett donating billions”). We are so in need of a hero, and this week we witnessed three of them.

While this is such a difficult time in our country — with so much disappointment in our government’s decisions, actions and inactions, and so much dissent — to know there are good, successful people who really want to help others and do good for all mankind is almost unbelievable.

Their generosity and gratefulness for their own good fortune is truly admirable.

What a message they are sending out to all of us to be better citizens and neighbors and to contribute to solutions. They are an inspiration.

Linda Paul
Prairie Village

Choices in Iraq

I share William Brown’s frustration (6/25, Letters) at the atrocities committed against our troops. But his idea to bomb select Iraqi towns into oblivion is just rage against a foe that won’t “fight fair.”

And his claim that shelling a few towns “…would end this bottomless pit of misery” is simply wishful thinking.

Occupying another country is difficult, especially when it’s done on the cheap. Our mismanaged occupation of Iraq has created a generation of terrorists. And despite what Brown thinks, bombing the place into a parking lot won’t make things better.

So we have a choice: Either we dramatically increase our troop levels and properly equip of our military in Iraq, thereby creating true “safety in numbers,” or we bring them home and thank them for a job well done.

That’s it. Either get serious about protecting our troops or bring them home.

Bob Berry
Raymore

Weapons found

Thomas McClanahan’s column (6/26, Opinion) touting the latest report that WMDs have been found in Iraq is an excellent example of truthiness, the quality of something one knows emotionally is true regardless of any real evidence for it to be the truth.

He acknowledges the obvious problems with this report: “…the details are sketchy,” and the weapons found were “degraded.” He even cites the story The Star printed (6/23) that noted these WMDs were not the stockpiled weapons that were the basis for our invasion of Iraq.

McClanahan speculates that the report is so sketchy because the insurgents would know that stockpiles still exist and look for them. His speculation ignores the following facts: We have been in Iraq for more than three years, we have interviewed all of the people who could possibly have had anything to do with Iraqi WMDs, and the official U.S. report on WMDs issued earlier this year predicted we would continue to find such degraded weapons.

McClanahan’s column is one more example that apologists for the Iraq war have no respect for facts. We definitely should not stay that course.

Bob Yates
Warrensburg

Monitoring terrorists

A matter “of public interest” is the phrase The New York Times used to excuse its revelation of a secret government program for tracking worldwide financial transactions in order to monitor terrorist operations (6/26 A-4, “Lawmaker wants newspapers charged”).

Perhaps there is some interest on the part of the public. But the responsible staff members of The New York Times should be required to show that it was in the public interest to reveal such secrets when we are at war with a most implacable enemy bent on our destruction. The only interest they pursued was circulation for their paper or aid to the enemy or both.

Public hangings would be “of public interest” and in this case in the public interest as well.

Steve Fitzgerald
Leavenworth