Palin lost in space

Would somebody please tell Sarah Palin that the “hopey-changey thing” seems to be going pretty well, thank you very much?

Sara C. Smith

Greenwood

Useless military medal

I read the reports of a new medal, (2-14, A2, “A medal for a new warfare”).

The new decoration will, in the words of outgoing secretary of defense Leon Panetta, provide “recognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combat entails.”

We do not need a new medal.

The Bronze Star may be awarded for either valor on the battlefield or achievements that affect combat operations. The Legion of Merit can also be awarded for significant contributions to combat operations not involving personal risk on the battlefield.

This new medal is a silly response touted as “new” for the 21st century.

Our existing awards and medals are just fine.

They need new and perhaps expanded criteria.

Kevin Benson

Lansing

Veterans poorly treated

Thank you for exposing the problem that veterans face (2-18, A1, “Veterans waiting longer for help”).

As a retired veteran, I find it disgusting how our veterans are served.

They are asked to serve with the possibility of injury and/or loss of life.

What is so very sad is that our governmental bureaucrats are served better than our vets who protect the bureaucrats.

The article states that the processing time has worsened for our veterans.

Why?

The claims process has been made more difficult, not easier. Is this to discourage veterans from applying?

This does not say much for the Department of Veterans Affairs and/or concern for those who served, does it?

Apparently, Congress’ investigative arm (there to protect) is again a terrible failure. It is very apparent that the VA is not there to help our wounded vets.

It’s there to discourage them from seeking help to which they have a right.

How disgraceful.

William Hahn

Mission

Support Roe v. Wade

Jan. 22 marked the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision ensuring that abortion remains a safe and legal procedure for women. Despite this victory and the defeat of Senate hopeful Todd Akin last November, state politicians continue their relentless attacks on women’s health.

Politicians shouldn’t be involved in a woman’s personal medical decisions. Women don’t turn to politicians for advice about mammograms, prenatal care or cancer screenings.

According to a December 2012 Gallup poll, 80 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances.

The abortion debate often gets polarized between pro-life and pro-choice labels.

These terms do not reflect the complexity of the issue or how Americans feel about abortion. We can’t let extremists hijack the conversation about women’s health and turn it into political fodder.

Supporting access to safe and legal abortion services is a mainstream position. Politicians who block women’s health care do so against the will of their constituents.

Roe v. Wade wasn’t the end of the battle. Its anniversary reminds us of this important fact: access to abortion is legal, constitutionally protected and supported by a majority of Americans.

Let’s keep it that way.

Rachel Sweet

Kansas City

Helping homeless folks

I am writing in response to The Star’s Feb. 3 story, “Help or hindrance?” regarding efforts to feed the homeless. I am a senior social-work major at Park University and have volunteered with the Uplift Organization since my freshman year in high school.

I have seen firsthand the good that Uplift and other charitable organizations like it do for our citizens who live on the streets.

The critics contend that providing food to people where they live keeps them from accessing other resources, and therefore street missions should be eliminated.

Although this sounds like a logical argument, the problem is that the critics have offered no research-based evidence to support this proposition. Stopping food distribution sounds like a logical and simple answer, but homelessness is a complex problem.

As H.L. Menken once famously said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.”

Until we find a better solution addressing the complex problem of homelessness, groups such as Uplift should remain free to act compassionately and feed the hungry.

John Kisthardt

Shawnee

Pageant for girls

Last summer, Danielle Hill, the daughter of Teresa and Mark Hill of Overland Park; Megan Johnson, the daughter of Andy and Janine Johnson of Leavenworth; and Megan Bancroft, the daughter of John and Kristy Russell, competed at the Miss Kansas pageant. It’s a quality competition that promotes youth development.

They all did fantastic jobs representing their families and the community while earning scholarships and developing career-applicable interviewing and public-speaking skills.

Quality competition plays an important part in the development of life skills in young girls. On Saturday at the Olathe Community Theatre, young ladies from the Kansas City area will have the opportunity to compete for a local title in the Cinderella Scholarship Pageant, a competition based on the Miss America model for girls ages 3 to 17.

A “natural” pageant, contestants will focus their energy on performing talent, interviews and stage presence.

For information about the competition, you can visit www.kscinderella.com.

Dianne Paukstelis

Manhattan, Kan.

Don’t ‘provoke’ anger

Derek Donovan’s Feb. 18 opinion piece, “Cartoons should provoke thought,” says, “But it’s the Opinion section’s job to provoke thought. Even make people angry.”

Really?

I certainly understand provoking thought, but a stated goal of making people angry is something I don’t understand.

I don’t enjoy Lee Judge’s cartoons and ignore them.

Although any civil person should refrain from threats of violence, some people when they get angry can’t express themselves without using profane language.

It looks to me as if you met your goal if you received thousands of angry emails and calls about Judge’s Feb. 9 cartoon.

Please stick with provoking thought. I get enough stimulus on a day-to-day basis that makes me angry, and I don’t need any additional help from the editorial board.

Gerry Martin

Smithville

Lee Judge cartoons

Why does editorial cartoonist Lee Judge bother to draw? Why not simply place the statement “I am a low-information, prejudiced hater of conservatives and a worshiper of President Barack Obama” in the cartoon box several times a week.

It would be more honest of The Star to accept that format than to pretend that his drawings represent anything of societal relevance.

I cannot understand why The Star awards a podium to an ideological pawn.

Marvin Kramer

Overland Park

I have admired and enjoyed Lee Judge’s work since it first appeared in The Star.

I immediately understood the intent of his Feb. 9 cartoon and its reference to earlier comments by the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre.

I’m not remotely surprised that Glenn Beck didn’t get it or that he deliberately created an incorrect translation to suit his followers’ beliefs.

Shame on him and on all those who violently reacted to an exercise of free speech.

This isn’t Iran, folks.

Charles Barnes

Kansas City

Olympic change errors

The International Olympic Committee members have lost their minds (2-13, B3, “Olympics to drop wrestling”). Instead of dropping ping-pong and badminton, both of which have demonstrated grift and deceit, they chose to drop wrestling.

In addition, golf may be added in 2020. Any event that you can smoke a cigarette and drink a beer while playing should not be in the Olympics.

If there are any Olympic events that should be dropped, it should be shooting, badminton and ping-pong. Keep wrestling.

Brian Mullies

Blue Springs

Government intrusion

Red state Kansas Republican Rep. Brett Hildabrand wants to stop “over-the-top searches” at airport screenings, calling them “aggressive and humiliating” (2-15, A1, “Airport searches irk Kansas lawmakers”).

Hildabrand rejects what he calls the government’s “authority over our bodies that we must endure.”

That’s pretty incredible from a Kansas Republican whose party advocates “aggressive and humiliating authority” over Kansas women’s bodies and their reproductive health.

Lee Karbaumer

Platte City