‘Sly’s Streetcar’

There’s a new “pub crawl” vehicle in town. It’s called “Sly’s Streetcar.”

Does it go to the American Royal? No, it doesn’t.

Does it go to the Truman Sports Complex for Kansas City Royals games, Kansas City Chiefs games or Arrowhead Stadium concerts? No, it doesn’t.

You see, we no longer have public bus service to Chiefs games — too bad. People pay $27 minimum to park, not to mention fighting the traffic, just to see semipro football.

Sorry, Sly’s Streetcar doesn’t go to the stadium.

Does it go to Kansas City International Airport for visitors and citizens to use? No, it doesn’t.

Try a $50 cab fare one way without tip, instead.

Does it go to any medical facility — Children’s Mercy, KU Med Center or any hospital for that matter? I don’t think so.

Does it go past and close to a lot of bars and restaurants? I am pretty sure it will.

I’m guessing the percentage of Kansas City citizens using Sly’s bar-hopping trolley will be very, very low. The voting mechanism for this project was pretty “sly,” don’t you think?

Party on.

Roy Lake

Kansas City

Chastain’s new drive

Kansas City is nearing its own dangerous “cliff.”

In 2007, the city’s performance was improper when it repealed a light-rail initiative approved by 73,998 voters. In 2011, the city’s performance was improper when it obstructed a vote on a light-rail initiative signed by thousands of voters.

These dictatorial actions were unwarranted because the city’s charter provides the city the legal remedy of amending voter-approved initiatives, if needed, to make them work.

Meanwhile, the city rolls merrily along, pushing its wayward streetcar plan.

Amazingly, the city’s own Final Transit Report identified light rail — not streetcars — as the preferred technology for the core system. Amazingly, 10 times as many voters signed the light-rail initiative as voted for the city’s insider streetcar plan.

Amazingly, the light-rail initiative calls for a citywide vote, but the city restricted voting on its streetcar plan to those few living downtown.

Most amazingly, though, is the city’s imperious claim that the light-rail initiative is “impossible” and would “confuse” the poor, ignorant voters.

The recall cliff is nearing for Mayor Sly James and the entire City Council for their improper performance.

Clay Chastain

Bedford, Va.

Keep drinking age

It is essential to keep our country’s legal drinking age at 21 and not lower it. According to DUIanswer.com, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that when the legal drinking age was increased between 1981 and 1992, 20 studies showed a significant decrease in traffic crashes and fatalities from alcohol.

It is also critical to understand that teenagers are more prone to binge drinking and other irresponsible behaviors because of a lack of maturity. Lowering the drinking age would give irresponsible teenagers an easier and legal access to alcohol.

Some people may argue that lowering the legal age would allow teenagers to drink in regulated environments with supervision or enable them to learn how to sensibly drink alcohol.

There may be some teenagers who are mature enough to drink alcohol without abusing it. But is giving the teenagers who are irresponsible with alcohol worth the possible increased risk of accidents and/or other negligent behaviors?

Cassidy Wrinkle

Blue Springs

Water fluoridation

Fluoridation opponents won the recent fluoridation referendum in Wichita because the latest scientific facts and evidence are so clearly on their side (1-6, A1, “For many, fluoride issue still has teeth,”). I recommend that anyone new to the fluoride topic simply focus on verifiable science and avoid all the useless spin and hype.

I got involved in the fluoride topic first as a neutral referee less than six months ago, trying to set up a debate between the opposing sides. My goal was and is to stick to the facts because the minute you let politics influence the science, you no longer have science at all, and everyone suffers the consequences.

With much more study still urgently needed, I believe the established scientific facts indicate that fluoridation of drinking water will soon be accepted as the biggest public health blunder in the history of our nation.

The fluoridation concept is a case of a well-intentioned public policy being later proved wrong.

The sooner we correct our public policy and bring our current practices in line with the latest science, the better off we will all be.

Once swallowed, fluoride affects every tissue in the body.

Mark S. Gietzen

Wichita

Toothless claims

Once again, the lunatic fringe surfaces in Kansas, this time to oppose fluoridated water.

My parents ensured I had regular dental checkups and adhered to good dental hygiene. However, I grew up without the benefits of fluoridated water.

Today, my mouth is a minefield of fillings, and I have more crowns than the queen of England.

By contrast, my children had the added benefits of fluoridation and at ages 42 and 38 have never had a cavity and have remained generally healthy people.

It’s more proof that paranoid positions advanced by fluoridation opponents are nothing more than toothless claims.

Ron Fugate

Overland Park

Lee Judge cartoons

I respectfully disagree with the entire Jan. 2 letter regarding Lee Judge’s cartoons. I do not care for Glenn McCoy at all.

It is a matter of viewpoint, and the newspaper does the right thing when it represents both political humorists.

The problem with the conservatives is that they are not open to views different from their own. They only want to hear or read what they already agree with. Where is the growth in that?

Sidney Carroll

Overland Park

Better gun regulations

Waves of people have been killed on high school and college campuses, in movie theaters, at malls and even elementary schools. To any rational person, it’s appalling and another indictment of policies that have made the U.S. the most violent country in the developed world.

No. 2 is too far back to see. In the gun-violence race, the U.S. is Usain Bolt and everyone else is your grandpa pushing a walker.

To the National Rifle Association, dead children are unfortunate but a small price to pay for the freedom to buy as many assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as one can get.

It’s not that the NRA doesn’t care about kids. It does. We’re now raising the fattest, dumbest kids in the developed world, and the NRA wants to make sure they all have access to assault weapons.

And I know there are some NRA members who aren’t conspiracy theorists, survivalists, members of paramilitary hate groups or just plain crazies who think everyone else is plotting to take away their guns.

It’s time for those rational folks to speak out against NRA leadership and speak up for common-sense gun regulation.

Talis Bergmanis

Fairway

Pioli and Obama

Four years of inept performance, poor decisions, terrible personnel choices and a total lack of transparency. Add a huge dose of arrogance and what does this get you?

If you are Scott Pioli, it gets you fired. If you are President Barack Obama, it gets you re-elected.

Mr. Pioli, if you are ever a general manager again, here are my suggestions: First, blame everything, yes everything, that goes wrong on your predecessor.

Next, you should give away free stuff, a lot of it. But only give these free things to those in the cheap seats.

Third, let the fans who sit in the upper levels park at no cost. Better yet, make the fans in the lower box seats and suites pay for these fans’ parking. After all, it’s only fair.

Finally, get the press and media firmly in your corner so they will rarely, if ever, criticize you.

How do you get them to cover for you? See the first three suggestions.

Remember, Mr. Pioli, blame, free stuff, make fans in expensive seats pay their fair share, and get the press and media on your side.

With our president, we see it working every day.

Richard Whitford

Kearney

Saints at post office

This is to whoever found my lost stamps at the Indian Creek Post Office last month. They were purchased near closing time, and I did not realize they were missing until later.

I returned to check the empty parking lot, but they were not there. My phone call Monday morning left me stunned.

Someone had turned them in. I was truly moved by your act of kindness and will surely pay it forward.

God bless.

Linda Johnson

Overland Park