Unfettered Letters

KC schools: a longtime adult money pit

I have lived in the Kansas City area for most of my 73 years. I have watched and listened to the so-called “power brokers” for the Kansas City Public Schools play their games with the students. I have come to the following conclusions:

The school district is just a cash cow for the school board members, Kansas City contractors, the teachers union and the teachers. The money that is generated each year is what this is all about.

They couldn’t care less about the students. It is all about their own self-interest and the money they can take from the district.

Now you are going to rope Mayor Sly James into this mess. That will most likely bring him down. I do feel that he is an honorable man and is being dragged into this doomed quagmire.

How many more children of his district are you willing to lose for the sake of money that the elders or so-called adults will steal from these children’s future?

I pray for the kids of this district. Please get rid of the self-interest.

Randall T. Ryan
Camdenton, Mo.

Power plants generate losses in fresh water

I find it interesting that the way we generate electricity not only affects how much pollution is made, but also directly affects our fresh water supply.

I’m an environmental scientist working in the Kansas City area. My consulting firm compiles data that our clients use to make decisions on how to improve the environmental performance of their products and services.

In our work, clients have only recently requested we inventory water consumption over the life cycle of their products. It turns out that the aggregate water consumption in a product system is almost always directly correlated with the amount of aggregate electricity used in the system.

This occurs because about half of the electricity generated by the average electricity grid is produced by a coal-fired power plant — a huge water user. Although the coal-fired plants return much of the cooling water, they still cause significant fresh water loss from evaporation and degradation of water quality. Wind and solar plants require no water during operation.

So each kilowatt hour of coal-fired electricity that’s replaced with wind or solar not only has the potential to provide jobs and bring money to the state. It also decreases pollution and improves our water security.

Rebe Feraldi
Overland Park

Land abused in Kansas

Driving through the Great High Plains from western Kansas through other states, one mostly sees more nothing than something.

Land there is still recovering from the human destruction of the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally fertile and grew great quantities of wheat to feed the country and the world. Now it is crippled, with little farming and few people.

In an effort to settle immigrants who knew how to farm, grants of land were given out during the early 1900s. Acres were plowed, and so much wheat was grown that the price fell to almost nothing. Many left, but the plowed grasslands were changed.

If one ever has doubt that we can affect the weather and the soil, or the land’s ability to grow crops for food, take a look at the Dust Bowl days. Prairie dust blew as far east as the White House.

Twenty million acres today are some of the sources for land subsidies to discourage farming. The lands are managed to keep soil from blowing, but these lands will never be the same. So if you doubt that humans can really affect the climate and the environment, remember the dust bowl.

Roberta A. Eveslage
Lenexa

GE plant in China

General Electric is planning to move its 115-year-old X-ray division from Waukesha, Wis., to Beijing. In addition to moving headquarters, the company will invest $2 billion in China and train more than 65 engineers and create six research centers.

This is the same General Electric that made billions of dollars in the United States last year but paid no taxes. This is the same General Electric that employs more people overseas than in the United States.

President Barack Obama just insulted every unemployed American by appointing General Electric Chief Executive Jeff Immelt to head his commission on job creation. Apparently Obama wants jobs created in China but not in America.

Hey union members, are you still glad you voted for Obama? Apparently Obama wants you and your unemployed fellow Americans to keep Chinese workers fully employed.

Wayne Flaherty
Overland Park

Self-righteous blather

The liberals are self righteous? Please.

It is possible there is a surfeit of self-righteousness bleating these days, with plenty to go around. But let’s consider that it wasn’t liberal party leaders who said, repeatedly in effect, “We will be the party of no,” and “Our No. 1 priority is to make certain Obama fails.”

I think any conservative would blush to accuse the other side of the aisle of being the self-righteous ones, given that particular history.

Kathryn Moore
Manhattan, Kan.

Obama offers hope

Candidate Barack Obama’s bid for president was unmatched. Large numbers of first-time volunteers of people of all ages generated enthusiasm, dedication and hope, which candidate Obama created. It was felt throughout this country and parts of the world.


President Obama restored our allies’ respect, which had been strained and damaged by President George W. Bush. Two wars were going on, and we were suffering disillusionment from the Bush administration’s lies.

Accusations against the Democratic Party are misplaced. The Republicans want credit, but deny their responsibility.

At the 2008 election, the Republican Party ignored the pride, positive feelings or voters’ will when needed and deserved to help unite the American people.

Newly elected Republican rookies can’t understand statesmanship means compromise.

Low 2010 voter turnout doesn’t equal 2008’s historic election. From January 2009, Republicans refused to accept reasoning.

Midge Newman
Kansas City

Security love at KCI

A company surveyed people as to whether they’d rather fly to a destination for a conference or attend a “virtual conference” over the Internet. One of the reasons given for not wanting to travel to a city by 40.9 percent of those surveyed said that security lines were the worst aspect of flying.

Blessed are we at Kansas City International that we don’t have long security lines. Travelers like that aspect, too.

Craig Paul
Lawrence

Cash pollutes politics

As long as we allow money to control our government, democracy in America cannot succeed. Our elections and legislation have been for sale for many years at our expense.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is long overdue, and I hope all of those involved have proper identification and are registered so they can vote.

Armand Way
Topeka

Occupiers’ damage

I read recently that the “occupiers” in the Occupy Wall Street movement aren’t doing any harm. I cannot believe that tents sitting on grass won’t kill the grass. I am sure that someone will have to pay for it to be replaced. The taxpayers will be on the hook.

The parks department isn’t charging them $125 per day, which I was told everyone has to pay. When I ask why they didn’t have to pay I was told: “This is different. They are doing it all over the country.”

I guess murder and rape aren’t illegal as long as everyone is doing it all over the country.

Richard Minear
Kansas City

Donation helps a child

Is it worth $5 to put a smile on a child’s face? My daughters are elementary school teachers in different districts.

At their schools, the social worker there manages a bank account whose sole use is to help the neediest of children. If the school that your child attends has the same arrangement, send just $5 to put a smile on a little girl’s or boy’s face.

Just $5 is all it would take.

Randy Maddox
Kansas City