Streetcar to nowhere

Cheers to the second coming of downtown streetcars. However, the route through the River Market doubles back on itself in a redundant loop.

It’s illogical to waste money on excessive track in a low-density district. Even if the streetcars traveled to Grand Boulevard and back to Main Street, it still squanders resources.

Passengers can disembark on Fifth Street and stroll the two blocks to City Market. Leaving Crown Center out of the mix dumbfounds me.

Big-spending business people and conventioneers, the very segment city leaders desperately court, will balk at the prospect of slogging their way to and from the Union Station stop to get downtown from Crown Center or vice versa. To end the line in limbo-land would be a colossal mistake.

It seems counterintuitive and shortsighted to make it any more difficult than it already is for visitors and locals to get around. Time is of short supply, especially when deadlines are to be met.

I thought the streetcars were, in part, to project to the country our city’s new-found progressiveness, not to sabotage our image.

Revive the original plan. Design the streetcars to pass east on Pershing Road to Crown Center.

William Miller Maurer

Westwood

Acting presidential

They say that the second time is the charm. Well, I hope so. It’s President Barack Obama’s second term, and he was given the oath of office twice this time, too, so maybe it will take.

We, the American people, deserve a full-time president. Our hope is that Obama will spend more time doing presidential work and less time playing golf, campaigning and vacationing.

Lowell Davis

Excelsior Springs

Sheriff is right on guns

It wasn’t long before the editorial board of The Star took issue with Sheriff Frank Denning’s view on the Obama administration’s proposed gun law changes, restrictions, bans, etc. (1-23, “Johnson County sheriff is wrong about gun safety”). Many think more guns aren’t the way to stop the shooting of innocent people.

However, history has shown repeatedly these crimes end in one of several ways: The shooter hears the police coming and confronts the officers or the perpetrator shoots himself. An armed potential victim stops the threat.

One thing is certain. Criminals will continue shooting innocent, defenseless people until someone with a gun stops them.

The sheriff’s opinion isn’t from a National Rifle Association playbook. It stems from years of seeing some of the worst evil that men can inflect upon others. Most folks only read about it, unless they or loved ones were victimized by this evil, which originates in the criminal mind, not in the object used.

His views are mirrored by street officers around the country, as noted on PoliceOne.com. If my comments appear to defend the sheriff’s views, that is coincidental.

Jack Livella

Special Agent (Retired)

U.S. Army CID

Edgerton

Great train adventure

What an inspiring article about Larry and his great adventure (1-20, A1, “Fifty years later, tale of train keeps rolling”).

When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, one of the scariest news stories was about the thalidomide babies. Larry’s story shows that if you are determined enough, you’ll get her done. He had an exciting everlasting moment in his life.

Margaret Kensinger

Raytown

Stellar Stan Musial

The terms “great” and “legendary” are aptly applied when they describe the great and legendary St. Louis Cardinal, Stan “The Man” Musial, who passed away last week. The terms class and dignity also come to mind.

Not only was he one of the top half-dozen baseball players ever, his off-the-field life was Hall of Fame as well. He was a great family man, married to the same woman for 71 years, a great humanitarian, heavily involved in the community and charity. He was a strong direct supporter and encourager of African-American players coming into the game at a time when that often went against the grain.

Today’s athletes, other entertainers and all of us can learn from Musial. Most of it wouldn’t directly involve baseball, although, obviously, a budding player as well as major leaguers could learn much from his on-the-field heroics.

I’m sure Musial had faults. For example, I hear that his jokes (clean) were often not that funny. One thing is for sure, Musial obliterated the often-stated claim that good guys finish last.

Mark S. Robertson

Independence

Armstrong fallout

Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Livestrong Sporting Park is changing its name because officials don’t want to be affiliated with Lance Armstrong anymore.

Armstrong has become a pariah. However, we seem to forget something.

Armstrong didn’t get all those drugs by himself. They didn’t just suddenly appear in his locker. He didn’t inject or swallow all of that stuff with no one aware of it.

I am aware that the old “everyone else is doing it” excuse doesn’t make it OK.

But we seem to want to disregard the fact that not only was he doing it, but so were a lot or most of his teammates and competitors, and, most importantly, a whole lot of corporations and organizations were aiding and abetting this whole bloody mess.

Nike? The U.S. Postal Service? The International Cycling Union? There is going to be blood in the streets before this thing is over, and it’s not going to be all Armstrong’s blood.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency started this with its holier-than-thou investigation. I hope the agency is ready for the fallout because it’s going to be big.

Luke Edwards

Olathe

Limbaugh is no racist

Radio talk show host and Missouri native Rush Limbaugh probably doesn’t care whether his bust is removed from wherever it is. The only problem with him are the liberals don’t agree with what he says.

I would like an example of his so-called racism. When liberals have nothing significant to say, they always resort to name-calling and labeling.

Liberals say he is mean-spirited. Well, how about your liberal buddies, Chris Matthews, who called Laura Ingraham the “s” word, or Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin the “b” word? Of course, it’s OK because the liberals agree with them.

Stan Atkins

Raytown

Guns, regulated militia

To all the gun nuts who rave about the Second Amendment. Please stop and read it.

We have the right to own and bear arms within a well-regulated militia.

Albert Henry

North Kansas City

Averting future woes

If including a sunset provision in federal law was intended to encourage politicians to support controversial measures, then the same politicians (and their successors) who supported the controversial measure with the sunset provision should be prepared to live with the consequences of their actions.

The so-called fiscal cliff drama is a problem that was caused by politicians in 2001, 2003 and 2010 for their own purposes. The American people should not have to suffer any adverse consequences caused by politicians solely for the purpose of promoting political objectives.

If triggering the sunset provisions could cause dire consequences, then that fact should have been considered before support for the measure was given. Politicians are accountable to the people for the mess they created.

John Becker

Westwood Hills

Misguided Republicans

I dispute Kansas Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook’s comment that the people of Kansas want limited government. Many Republican politicians generalize and pretend to speak for me and my family, but they don’t.

This is just one of many such comments that Republicans use to justify their own belief system. Talking to their cronies, listening to Rush Limbaugh and watching Fox News can produce skewed perceptions.

If they don’t hear different views from their constituents, it’s probably because those individuals have given up, knowing their concerns will be dismissed.

Trying to talk sense into a conservative Republican is like banging your head against the wall.

But silence doesn’t mean acquiescence.

Our state government is going off the deep end, drowning in paranoid delusions. Gov. Sam Brownback is using our state as an experiment in unproven economic policies, while making deep cuts that harm our citizens.

I’ve always found it curious that Republicans say they want limited government yet spend most of their time passing more restrictive laws to govern all sorts of personal behavior that is none of their business.

In actuality, they’re control freaks.

It’s their way or the highway.

Diane Stewart

Olathe