Unfettered Letters

Electronic medical records

President Obama’s plans for computerizing Americans’ medical records as a means of improving medical care and cost could actually led to socialized medical care.

Just think: Once computerized, your records could be checked by some central governmental medical staff to determine the job that your doctor is doing in taking care of you and your problems. They could control the scope and type of care (and cost) of treatments you could receive. Just check out the problems that patients in England and Canada have getting treatment for some conditions.

If the government determines that the proposed care is excessive or costs too much, the patient’s needs and wants are ignored.

Donald F. Darling Jr.
Kansas City, Kan.

Save secret ballot for workers

Why would anyone want to take away a worker’s right to a secret ballot regarding unionization? I am a small-business owner who knows that good employees are the backbone of any successful company. The old “us against them” mentality went out decades ago.

Unions have the “closed shop” legislation locking in membership, as well as “forced dues,” regardless of workers’ beliefs and wishes.

I have been involved in two unionization attempts. Cards were easily signed during home visits and a big free drink session at the corner tavern. When the secret ballot voting was completed, the union was rejected on both occasions. Each employee spoke without fear of intimidation.

I suggest we support our free enterprise system by all pulling in the same direction before there is nothing left to unionize. We must save the secret ballot for our workers.

Bob Cook
Mission Hills

Plagued by calls from charities

I am forced to quit giving money donations to charities. Once you give one cent to any charity that requests money over the phone or through the mail, they give your phone number and address to every charity in the world.

I average four to five phone calls a day and have changed my phone number twice, but they have a way of getting your new number the day after you change it (and not from the phone company).

I do belong to the Missouri and the National No Call Lists, but charities are exempt from the law.

Until the laws are changed about giving or selling personal information, I will no longer give to charities.

Donna Pogue
Raytown

Where’s outrage over wiretapping?

I see once again our Constitution is under attack in the form of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2008, and the assault goes underreported by our “free press” and unnoticed by the public (6/20, A-2, “Wiretapping bill rewritten”). Sen. Kit Bond has led the charge with his compromise legislation that would vastly expand the Bush administration’s powers to spy on the American people while at the same time granting immunity to the telecommunications industry.

What is most disturbing, however, is the lockstep support this legislation has received by both the Kansas and Missouri Democratic delegations. Even Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Nancy Boyda, who have been supportive of civil liberties in the past, have chosen to betray their oath of office and collaborate with the likes of House Republican leader John Boehner and Rep. Roy Blunt.

This legislation is headed to the Senate with the aid of Majority Leader Harry Reid and is very likely to pass. Let us watch and see if our new agent of change, Sen. Barack Obama, will use his power as the presumptive Democratic nominee and stop this outrage.

I’m not optimistic.

Frank. M. Hendricks
Kansas City

If we start down the slippery slope of retroactively granting immunity for breaking the law in the instance of illegal wiretapping, just where is it going to end?

The criminals who have been running this nation like emperors for the last 761/27 years need to be held accountable.

David Oberdorfer
Bonner Springs

Vexed by too much ‘Sex’

I’ve had it up to here with sex … but not lately.

Yuk, yuk. But seriously, folks, it’s no laughing matter. As a society, we’re way past that slippery slope. We’re tumbling headlong into the abyss of amorality.

The latest affront is all the attention being given to “Sex and the City.” I realize that the television show from whence it sprang was a monster hit, but that doesn’t absolve the producers, writers and actors from sending a disturbingly wrong message on sexuality. It only highlights their desire to cash in on the prurient interests of the ignorant masses.

I guess I don’t understand all the hoopla about four youthful, successful and rich women flagrantly discussing their bedroom antics amongst themselves.

I’m no prude. I’ve had my share of “antics,” some very stupid, wrong and hurtful. But I don’t lay it all out for the world to drool over. Why do we feel so compelled to listen, watch and now read about a tasteless torrent of time-wasting titillation?

Further, I admit I’ve never seen the show. The title alone is enough to turn me off.

Timothy Earl Osburn
Parkville

Cheers for Chelsea

Three cheers for Chelsea Clinton. What a classy young lady. I loved her response when questioned by the college student about how her mother handled the Monica Lewinsky scandal. She informed him NOYB — none of your business.

Josephine Byrne
Raytown

Acrobatic investigation

From an article in The Star (March 22, A-1, “McCain, Clinton files also breached”): “(Condoleezza) Rice told reporters in Brazil. ‘And therefore I will stay on top of it and get to the bottom of it.’.”

How’s she going to do that from up there?

Neal A. Johnson
Kansas City

Dead bodies everywhere

For those of you who say, “If you don’t want to see the dead bodies in Union Station then don’t go,” what about the pictures all over billboards and the above-the-fold picture in The Star? I don’t want to see dead bodies, so please stop shoving them in my face.
Jim Sissel
Raytown

Keep information private

We learned on The Star’s front page that Missouri’s Department of Revenue has been supplying private information to outside companies and some of this information may have been used by identity thieves (2/21, “Nixon sues Web site operator offering sensitive consumer data”).

This information has been gathered from Missouri residents when they apply for driver’s licenses, and has included Social Security numbers.

Regardless of the Federal Driver’s Privacy Act of 1994 — which “allows individuals and businesses to obtain information contained in a person’s driving record… for specific purposes” — I don’t think our state government has any business handing out our private information to anyone.

Our state government should stop supplying this information immediately.

I now know why I may have been a victim of credit card fraud last year.

Just by chance, I discovered that someone armed with my name, address and Social Security number was able to get Visa to send a duplicate credit card to Canada. I was able to cancel that account before any damage was done.

Missouri is slow to protect consumer’s identities. At least 39 other states have credit “freeze laws” — not Missouri. And now we learn that our state government is helping identity thieves.

Charles L. Beucher Jr.
Kansas City

White House visitors

To Robert Reimers and his view that asking for the logs of White House visitors is an invasion of privacy (12/23, Letters) — since when? Since when did the White House become a private residence? Is the White House not owned by the people of the United States? Sorry, Robert, but Mr. Bush just happens to be using it now — thankfully just for a little more while.

Richard L. Strickland
Mission