Unfettered Letters

‘Sexting’ not porn

Equating teens’ sending seedy pictures of themselves with child porn is absurd (2/8, A-1, “When teens bare it all on cell phones”). It qualifies as inappropriate and stupid, but it is hardly porn. It is merely the techno version of steamy letters and tawdry sex talk.

The willingness with which cops and prosecutors pursue this activity says they are concerned more with securing a conviction than serving justice. They are obviously willing to destroy a teenager’s life for a boneheaded act in the interest of appearing “tough on crime,” which looks good for their next re-election bid.

Zealotry has overridden common sense and has become a pestilence.

Mark Anderson
Lee’s Summit

Texting for dollars

And the winner of American Idol 2008 is … the telephone company!

Tony Bradley
Parkville

Recycling cell phones

Did you know about 130 million cell phones will be retired this year, and that fewer than 20 percent of those phones will be recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?

It happens to many of us. We get a new cell phone and the old one goes in the junk drawer or the trash. Unused wireless phones can have a second life helping a local nonprofit do its work.

In fact, recycling a wireless phone can be done on your next trip to the mall.

Several retailers have programs to recycle wireless phones and other electronics. Verizon Wireless takes used phones in any condition from any service provider at any Verizon Wireless retail store nationwide. Through the company’s HopeLine program, the phones are either disposed of properly, or refurbished for resale and reuse with proceeds going to support victims of domestic violence.

Additionally, recycling 100 million cell phones would save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year (EPA).

With Earth Day around the corner, take the first step and recycle your old wireless phone.

Jason Taylor
Store Manager, Verizon Wireless
Overland Park

Forsee’s golden parachute

How many times over the last several years have we been graced with the smiling countenance of Gary Forsee beaming out from the pages of The Star? And always, the article associated with the photo told of the millions in bonuses he’d received, while thousands of Sprint employees were laid off.

Forsee goes on to lead Sprint to the brink of ruin, and he was handsomely rewarded with $40 million in compensation last year and a million a year for life. Now he’s in a position to reap up to $500,000 a year from the University of Missouri.

Considering what Forsee’s management abilities did for Sprint, one wonders if the term rape isn’t more appropriate than reap. I’ll wager that as long as Sprint keeps mailing him checks he couldn’t care less about the future of Sprint or its shareholders.

The boards of directors of all corporations need to be made aware that retirement packages like Forsee’s, assumed necessary to attract and keep talented executives, are, in fact, a disincentive for performance.

Shareholders need to read their proxy statements, vote accordingly and complain to their company directors, the Securities and Exchange Commission and their representatives in Congress, if necessary. Financial abuse by corporate executives has to stop.

Greg Gerike
Olathe

I’ve been a Sprint cellular customer for more than a decade. I, too, have dealt with frustration brought on by Sprint’s customer service challenges and customer-perceived bait and switch sales tactics.

While most of my professional colleagues switched to other providers, I stayed with Sprint in support of local jobs. However, the recent disclosure of ex-CEO Gary Forsee’s golden parachute buyout is too much.

According to The Star (3/28, A-1, “Forsee walked away with $40 million, with more to come”), Mr. Forsee’s reward for flying Sprint/Nextel into the ground is an estimated $40 million payout and $1 million dollars a year for life.

While thousands of hardworking Sprint associates lose jobs, Mr. Forsee gets rewarded. I’m amazed there’s not been more public outrage. Or maybe regular folk are just numb to this corporate insanity.

Phil Swayne
Kansas City

Cell phone scam

The folks who were “smished” during the recent cell phone scam (2/16, Business, “Cell phone users warned; A fabricated Web site is shut down by small KC financial institution that was targeted”) face an unpleasant surprise when they open their next cell phone bill. You have to pay for this unsolicited, malicious text message.

Every member of my family has received such spam. I took the bill to our cell phone provider and asked them to remove the texting charges. Their response: “Tough!”

We paid an extremely high rate because we did not opt for texting in our family plan package. The provider’s response: “For X dollars, you can add Y texting minutes to your package. This will represent an upgrade to your contract and extend it for another two years starting today.”

I passed, and I will change carriers when our current contract expires.

Who knows how much the scammers made? One thing is for sure, the cell phone companies are making out like bandits!

Tom Stroud
Overland Park

Scout messages

I’m astounded that Kansas City Scout has a plan to send e-mail alerts and text messages about highway traffic jams to drivers (1/21, Local, “Scout traffic messages in a tech jam”). Everyone is aware of the risk of cell phone usage while driving and yet we want to send distracting text messages to drivers zipping down the highway at 65 mph? Who thought this was a good idea?

Richard Pursley
Shawnee

The Jan. 21 Watchdog column described the delayed plans to offer KC Scout information via e-mail and text message. I wonder if the designers of the system have considered the possible consequences of this feature. With the ever-increasing number of smart phones being sold (I own one) — and considering that practically every cell phone on the market has text messaging capabilities — all of us should be concerned that enabling these types of alerts would simply encourage drivers to check their e-mail and text messages while driving.

This is a dangerous practice that needs to be discouraged — no matter how useful such a service might seem.

Brian Beam
Lee’s Summit

Cell phones, teens and driving

I am writing today about the use of cell phones while driving. As a teenager I feel that I sometimes spend more time during the week on my cell phone calling and texting people than I do with my homework.

Like many teenagers and adults, I have used my cell phone while driving. Lately, there have been a few stories in the news about people getting in accidents because they were using their cell phone, so I have been just putting my cell phone away in my center console of my car where I can't hear it and it doesn't' distract me.

I feel that too much in today's world people feel that they need to take every call they receive, or read every text they receive even when they're in the car driving, which puts them and the people around them in danger.

Cities in the metro area should pass laws banning the use of cell phones while driving, like some cities across the nation have already done.

Sean O'Connor
Overland Park

On smoking, cell phones

Smoking in public places should be banned. That’s a no-brainer. People have the right to protect themselves and their children. What kills you doesn’t make you stronger.

Alcohol and tobacco are legal drugs. Maybe tobacco should be illegal. Our government makes huge profits on both. Let’s raise a pack of smokes to $10. Let’s take $6 of profit and spend that money on positive measures such as prevention and research.

Now let’s talk about cell phone use while driving. I commend those in Shawnee for considering banning cell phone use while driving. Our kids learn bad habits from their parents, even road rage. All of these bad habits can be prevented. Remember, what can kill you doesn’t make you stronger.

K. Zarda
Merriam

Cell phones, driving

Regarding the “hang up and drive” discussion: If we’re going to say people can’t use their cell phones while driving, then you better not talk to passengers in the car, have teenagers in the backseat, sing to the radio (better yet, don’t listen to the radio), or think about what you’re going to do once you get to the office.

Concentrate only on driving. The brain is a simple organ and cannot do more than one thing at a time. And, for heaven’s sake, keep your hands at 10 and 2!

Debbie Winstone
Olathe

Don’t blame phones

Why all the hype over cell phone use in cars? Cab drivers, truckers, police and delivery drivers have been using two-way radios since the early 20th century.

What about CB radios? It seems only cell phone use causes accidents. Is this due to the chit chat? People used to gab on CB radios constantly.

How many babies have been killed or injured because their mothers or sitters were talking on the house phone? Let’s ban landlines.

Joseph Butler
Overland Park