LETTERS 05/05/08

Obama and Wright

To insinuate that Barack Obama is divisive or supports the views in the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s “made-for-TV” sound bites, like Charles Krauthammer did in his column (4/29, Opinion, “Obama hopes to distract voters from his beliefs”), is just plain wrong. Obama’s work as a community organizer belies that position. With Obama, America has a unique opportunity to come together to find common solutions to its problems.

Hillary Clinton is divisive. She will say anything to get elected, to get her place in history, even if it divides her own party. She is a fighter, not a unifier. No health-care plan was adopted in the 1990s because of this attribute.

Krauthammer also mentioned William Ayers, who lives in the same neighborhood as Obama and served on the same community board. I may choose my neighborhood, but I do not choose my neighbors.

On the other hand, Bill Clinton pardoned convicted terrorists while president.

Michael Hyde

Overland Park

I am never going to believe Barack Obama doesn’t have the same beliefs, nor should the American public. He only had a supposed change of heart after coming to the realization his friend and pastor might keep him from getting into the White House.

Can you imagine if this same set of circumstances would have plagued John McCain and his campaign? I have a feeling the Republican party would be looking for another candidate, and the election would most certainly be going to a Democrat.

John Stossel of ABC’s “20/20” says it best: “Give me a break.”

Gary Gibson

Kansas City

Mayor Funkhouser made it a point in his State of the City address that he would like to bring the city’s retirement plans in line with standard business practices. What he really meant to say is that he wants to yank the rug out from under the police and fire department employees who have served their city honorably for years and, in many cases, decades.

Funkhouser failed to point out that he has already “retired” from the city and has his defined benefit pension in place and won’t be affected by this move. He basically wants to steal money from the very people who are entrusted to serve and protect this city on a daily basis.

Mr. Mayor, police and firefighting work isn’t standard business. It’s dangerous and can be deadly. We’re proud of what we do for our city, and we’ve earned what we have.

Unless you are willing to give up your defined benefit pension, keep your hands off ours.

Brian Acker

Kansas City

An extraordinary thing happened in the Kansas City theater community the evening of April 28.

Chita Rivera, the solo headliner who was to perform at Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s gala, became ill the afternoon of the event and was unable to perform. A somewhat anxious call was made to Kent Barnhart, artistic director of Quality Hill Playhouse, to inquire if he might be able to pinch-hit.

With little hesitation, Kent rallied the cast of his current production, “The Musical of Musicals.” Giving up their one night off of the week, Kent and his talented cast performed portions of their hilariously funny show at Spencer Theatre on the UMKC campus. Jumping in to save the evening showed a remarkable generosity and embodied the motto “the show must go on.”

Kansas Citians are truly blessed to have so many wonderful theater companies in their city. That one company would, on such short notice, help another says a lot about the community spirit of Kansas City theater.

Leaving the performance, the crowd was abuzz about “The Musical of Musicals.” Kent Barnhart’s generosity deservedly garnered some new fans for Quality Hill Playhouse, and he has the Rep’s sincerest respect and gratitude.

Lili Shank

Fairway

Myra Siegel

Kansas City

Recently, my granddaughter and I took Amtrak to St. Louis for a family event. It’s a darned good thing we weren’t in a big hurry.

By the grace of God and the tender mercies of the Union Pacific, it only took us six hours and 35 minutes to get from Independence to Kirkwood. We arrived an hour and 40 minutes late. By my calculation, we averaged a ballast-scorching 38 miles per hour between our state’s two major metropolitan areas.

I would suspect that 60 years ago someone would have found themselves called on the division superintendent’s carpet for taking the currently scheduled time of four hours and 47 minutes with one of the Missouri Pacific’s Eagles. The consequences of the time it took us would have been too terrible to contemplate.

If gasoline approaching $4 a gallon is a problem, the passenger rail service is not a very good solution.

Ross Warnell

Liberty

John McCain’s rise to the top as the Republican presidential candidate was accomplished by his loyalty to President Bush’s important issues: permanent tax cuts; balanced immigration reform; winning the war against terrorists; right to life; rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina; preparing for future devastating disasters; and energy programs.

John McCain should not now distance himself from this president who, in my opinion, is right up there with Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan in honesty and courage. In spite of his opponents’ determination to upstage his presidency, he has been able to keep the economy going with tax cuts, replace two rogue governments and keep Americans safe here at home.

To win in November, McCain must stick with a proven winner.

James F. Westhues

Overland Park

I am actually surprised by the audacity of the Republican Party, my former party.

In 2000, they pushed W on us while destroying any competition with lies and half truths.

In 2004, they continued to promote a reckless, destructive agenda while destroying any competition with lies and half truths.

Now, in 2008, they are promoting the same agenda but with a different face, while establishing a new record deficit daily.

The American people deserve an apology from the Republican Party. To show their sincerity, party leaders should announce that since they don’t have the wisdom to choose a national leader who cares about all Americans, they will abstain from nominating any candidate for president.

John McCain claims everything is fine. Just stop and look at the millions of Americans who are just getting by. To think that so many voters will still check the Republican box is beyond comprehension.

Our economy will not improve all by itself. We need national leaders who can identify the problems and get America employed and functioning again, not another closed-eye career politician.

Paul Yeager

Lenexa

In these times of $4-a-gallon gasoline, carbon emissions and everyone seemingly in favor of saving the environment, why can’t Overland Park and Leawood learn to program the stoplight patterns to keep traffic moving?

You cannot drive on a major street without stopping at every single intersection. Anyone can understand that every time you stop at a light, just a few hundred feet from your last stop, you sit and idle, start and stop, just wasting gasoline.

Many cities time their stoplight patterns to keep cars moving, and have more than one pattern per day to accommodate the direction of rush-hour flow.

Have you ever driven on 135th or 119th streets and made it from Mission to Metcalf without stopping at every intersection along the way?

Joseph A. Leto

Leawood

I agree with Bill Harkins (5/1, Letters. “Gun-free zone signs”) that everyone should carry a sign to protect themselves from gun-wielding psychopaths. But I lean toward a hipper, more permanent solution: gun-free zone tattoos.

And if I can paraphrase Andrew Meyer, the student removed forcibly from a John Kerry speech, the tattoos could read “Don’t Shoot Me Bro!”

Jeff Buckley

Raymore

Your editorial “Authorship questions raise doubts” (4/18, Opinion) raised valid points about the need for transparency in pharmaceutical research. However, your editorial refers to articles published in The Journal of the American Medical Association that were false, misleading, and lacked context.

First, those who wrote the JAMA article apparently failed to check their accusations with the non-Merck authors of the papers themselves. Several of those authors publicly protested the allegations, calling any allegation of “ghostwriting” of their papers absolutely false.

Second, you ask “so what” that the JAMA articles were written by consultants hired by trial lawyers. The significance is that it is a one-sided account. Indeed, the company was given no opportunity to provide any input. In the litigation — where Merck was able to present its side — Merck won nine of the last 11 product liability cases.

Theodore V. H. Mayer

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP,

Outside counsel for Merck & Co., Inc.

New York

Why do people on oxygen smoke? Aren’t the tanks clearly marked that they are explosive?

Have you ever been to a casino? I can’t believe how many people I see hooked to an oxygen tank lighting up one after another. Why are we letting this happen?

I used to be on oxygen myself, so I feel I can talk about this freely. It used to puzzle me when I would go out to eat and the hostess would ask “smoking or nonsmoking?” Would you want me to blow up your restaurant?

Come on people, get a grip. Be safe. If you want to blow yourself up, do it in your own home, not in public.

Kathy Barnes

Raymore

Frank Grimaldi (4/25, Letters) seems to think the Bible gives us license to destroy the Earth. He states that Genesis gives man “dominion over this creation,” and therefore we can do with it what we will.

It’s true that we seem to have dominion over the plants and animals. But we don’t have control over the laws of nature — one law being the law of gravitation, which means we are more or less stuck here on this planet.

If we don’t find a way to limit population growth, Earth will become a barren sewer and our descendants will end up killing each other over food and water.

Maybe that is the fate of humanity, but you can’t blame some optimists for thinking that we are intelligent enough to live in harmony with nature.

Jim Meyer

Lenexa

There are many things we can do to fit into an acceptable lifestyle.

Hygiene: A friend mentioned that when he was interviewing applicants for a job, he would look to see if they had clean fingernails. A lady barber remarked that when a person’s hair was clean and shoes were shined, everything else was usually OK.

Etiquette: It is extremely important today, as many are seeking jobs.

Amy Vanderbilt said that appropriate dress is part of good manners. Clothing need not be expensive, but it should be appropriate for the occasion.

Emily Post stated that clothes not only add to our appearance; they are our appearance. The first impression that we make upon others depends entirely upon what we wear and how we wear it.

Glenn L. Knapp

Lenexa