Unfettered Letters

Todd Haley unkempt

Look at the pictures of Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach Todd Haley in The Star. He is always disheveled and unkempt. Then look at great coaches such as Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi. Discipline obviously extended into their professional and personal practices.

Marvin Kramer
Overland Park

NRA in Canada

I’m curious: Why is the National Rifle Association spending money in Canada to expand gun ownership rights for Canadians?

The NRA is the self-proclaimed defender of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. But how does this justify the association’s involvement in the internal politics of Canada?

Could it be that the NRA is more interested in opening a new market for gun manufacturers than defending the Second Amendment? After all, sales of guns in America are near saturation.

Most estimates put the number of guns in the hands of U.S. civilians at 280 million to 300 million, pretty much enough for every man, woman and child.

When will members realize that the NRA is nothing more than a front for a corporate profit motive and a political organization interested only in consolidating its stranglehold on a political party?

The NRA does no real service to America. Instead, it waters the seeds of distrust, hatred and fear.

America needs more discussion on all issues, not more single issue haters.

John Meyer
Blue Springs

Waste in new KCI plan

I am one of the many who fly from Kansas City International Airport almost weekly and have for the last 25 years. I have been to almost every other airport in the nation.

I have stood in security lines for hours on end in airports designed like Mr. Mark VanLoh describes. Mr. VanLoh’s argument to spend multimillions of dollars on a new airport is KCI has lousy food concessions and poor taxi service.

Well people don’t go to the airport to eat, and the cab restrictions are self-imposed. He says that an airline can’t add extra gates, and yet half of Terminal A and Terminal C are empty. Even Terminal B has empty bays.

As for attracting new airlines — oh please, who is going to be attracted? Almost every major airline is already here. Do you think Virgin Atlantic or Alaska Air is going to come to Kansas City with buckets of money?

The argument about screeners is equally as bogus. On any given day you can go through screening and see twice as many screeners standing around “supervising” as working.

I think this is just an excuse to preside over the wasting of our money.

Jack Dillon
Leawood 

Enforce speed laws

To the powers that be, if you want to stop the traffic accidents on Kansas 10 west of Kansas 7. Enforce the speed limit. I travel in that area every day.

You would not believe the speed on that road. People go well over the speed limit of 70 mph. If law enforcement officers would slow them down then some people might live. There isn’t any thing that important to drive that fast.

Frank Thompson
De Soto

Congress’ red herring

The “balanced budget amendment” is a wonderful red herring to distract voters from the fact that Congress refuses to do its job.

Instead of passing a law that would require Congress to balance the budget right now, the “balanced budget amendment” delays the requirement for many, many years while giving the (phony) appearance that Congress is trying to balance the budget.

Paul Hirth
Olathe

Chaos ahead for KCI

Regarding the proposed Kansas City International Airport terminal, I have enjoyed KCI in that when I arrive, I can retrieve my luggage within 150 feet from exiting a plane instead of journeying either down several levels or riding on a subway train to locate it.

The new facility could handle 15 million passengers a year, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that 15 million passengers will be using the facility. Kansas City Aviation Director Mark VanLoh states that the new facility could attract more business and flights, but he does not explain how this would occur or guarantee that it actually will occur.

Why can’t Southwest Airlines have flights added at another terminal if that airline wants to expand and if Terminal B is so crowded?

The bottom line is that KCI concessions are not making what city officials think they should. To increase profits, they propose to build a new facility for $1 billion to $2 billion, much of which will be paid by passengers in the Kansas City area.

No mention is made of the chaotic conditions that will exist for passengers while the new facility is being constructed and the old one is demolished.

Grant Martin
Shawnee

Network against abuse

Penn State might borrow a lurid page from the Kansas City saga. Here a bishop is indicted for “slow response.” Perhaps someone might at least allude to the same actuality in Penn State circles. And prosecution seems to loom large but over another sea of roaring rhetoric.

Perhaps they need a new version of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Call it the Survivors Lacking Athletes Prosecution, or SLAP.

James McCormick
Kansas City

Small business shops

What a great shopping experience I had on Nov. 26, which was Small Business Saturday.

The 7 a.m. Fox broadcast featured cut-ins from the Brookside Toy & Science store. I had never been there and was not planning on shopping on that day. But I was intrigued by the prospect of different products that are not found in the usual chain toy stores.

The store provided a large variety of toys, games for all ages, and there were actually enthusiastic clerks readily available to help find the right gifts. The store was crowded, but there was no pushing or shoving going on.

I am so glad to have heard about this store and will be back. Local stores have a lot to offer.

Tami Tomes
Gladstone

Kauffman center more joys than problems

I must say that I was a little disappointed in the article about the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and its “glitches” (11-27, G1, “Kauffman Center glories and glitches”). I realize that a new structure of this magnitude will have some issues right out of the gate, but let’s not forget the importance of having a world-class facility to help Kansas City grow in cultural arts.

The complaints seemed pretty trivial when considering the positives we gain. Getting stuck in the stairway traffic for a minute or so is nothing compared to the delay people in larger cities experience just getting home after a performance in their decades-old facilities.

We should be proud that a city of relatively small-market size has such a wonderful venue. I’m sure that the sound issues will get worked out over time, and the ushers will be quicker about pointing people to their seats.

So let’s put down the torches and slow down on storming the castle. Maybe we should all spend a little more time gawking and appreciating what is there.

Monica Ketchum
Leawood

Biden, canine friends

The Nov. 27 article headlined, “Biden strategy in works,” refers to the vice president as an “attack dog” for the president. Why is it necessary to egregiously demean our canine friends to describe the proposed activities of the comically verbose exemplar of the cognitively limited?

Thomas J. Young
Leawood