<strong><span class="subhead">McCain&#8217;s campaign funds</span></strong></p><p>Ed Robertson (6/23, Letters) writes that if John McCain had reversed his position on the use of public funds as Barack Obama did, <em>The Star </em>would have used the term &#8220;flipped-flopped&#8221; to describe his actions.</p><p>Where has Mr. Robertson been these last several months? In the fall of 2007, McCain opted into the public financing system for the GOP primaries, which meant he&#8217;d later receive just over $5 million in public funds in exchange for agreeing to a fundraising limit of about $54 million for the entire primary process. The primary process doesn&#8217;t end until McCain accepts the nomination at the Republican National Convention in September.</p><p>By late November 2007, his campaign was practically broke, so McCain took out a pair of $1 million loans, using as collateral the public funds he would receive. After McCain had the Republican nomination all but sewn up, he decided he didn&#8217;t want to be bound by the $54 million limit. He did a 180 and opted out of the public financing system.</p><p>Mr. Robertson is probably not aware of this because the so-called &#8220;liberal mainstream media&#8221; is bending over backward to help McCain get elected.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>M. L. Stone</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Gladstone</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">More drilling isn&#8217;t the answer</span></strong></p><p>The problem of $4 per gallon gas will not be solved by Sen. John McCain&#8217;s proposal for additional drilling (6/19, A-1, &#8220;Energy and where to get it heating up political debate&#8221;). The Energy Information Administration reports that even if both coasts were opened, prices wouldn&#8217;t begin to drop until 2030. The real beneficiaries of additional drilling would be the oil companies, locking up our public lands.</p><p>In the last seven years, 70 million acres have been offered in the Alaskan Arctic for oil and gas drilling. An additional 40 million acres have been offered in the Rockies. In return, we&#8217;ve received a doubling in gas prices while Big Oil takes in record profits.</p><p>What we need are clean energy solutions that help reduce our dependence on oil and boost our economy. This includes better mass transit, more fuel-efficient cars and more alternative energy sources. Our elected leaders must say no to Big Oil and yes to real solutions that help consumers and protect our last intact open spaces.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Jill DeWitt</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Missouri global warming coordinator,</em></p> <p align="right"><em>National Audubon Society</em></p> <p align="right"><em>Kansas City</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">Provocative dance demeans girls</span></strong></p><p>Our family has been enjoying Theatre in the Park at Shawnee Mission Park for several years. We look forward to every musical, and it remains a favorite family activity. We attended the June 22 show, &#8220;Oklahoma,&#8221; and it was above and beyond our expectations.</p><p>What we didn&#8217;t expect was the pre-show entertainment by a local dance studio. Two of the numbers were tasteful and highlighted the dancers&#8217; talent. But the remaining numbers, by adolescent girls in provocative costumes dancing to music-video style choreography, were a spectacle.</p><p>I imagine that most of those 8- to 12-year-old girls have been studying dance for several years and would have best been represented by a dance studio that highlighted more than their navels and swiveling hips. The lack of applause after these particular numbers was evident.</p><p>The studio may want to re-evaluate its direction in the art of dance, costuming and choreography, and the parents of these young dance students may want to re-evaluate their decision to allow their daughters to be displayed in such a demeaning manner.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Theresa Ebel</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Lenexa</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">Another reason to buy American</span></strong>