Posted on Fri, Jun. 27, 2008

Phill Kline and Kelsey Smith case

I understand Phill Kline was close to being sanctioned by the judge in the Kelsey Smith trial for not turning over evidence to the defense (6/18, Local, “Defense pursues evidence in Kelsey Smith murder; No sanction imposed for delay, but Phill Kline’s pace frustrates judge, Edwin Hall’s attorneys”).

If Kline causes this indictment to be thrown out on a technicality such as this, he needs to be indicted himself. Kelsey and her parents deserve justice, and if Hall murdered Kelsey he should pay the most severe punishment there is and not get off on a technicality.

I am outraged by Kline’s behavior and also by his intent to run for another term after he told the Republican Party he would not seek another term.

Paul Morrison was ostracized for having an affair (a personal issue) but Kline seems to think he is above the law (his abortion crusade, the firing of some very good and experienced employees in the district attorney’s office).

Bring back Paul Morrison. He was a great prosecutor with a winning track record.

Donna Langford

Edgerton, Kan.

Faulty prewar intelligence

Sen. Kit Bond’s letter (6/13), blaming the CIA for faulty prewar intelligence, displays either ignorance or an attempt to cover up this administration’s deceptions that put us into this disastrous war when they knew that Iraq did not attack us on 9/11. Saudi Arabians and a few members of al-Qaida, who were not from Iraq, were responsible for the attack.

Knight Ridder, the now-defunct company that owned The Star, published an article reporting that the CIA told Vice President Dick Cheney that the information from Cheney’s buddy Ahmad Chalabi and his exile group about the existence of WMDs in Iraq was unverified and unsubstantiated.

Condoleezza Rice’s deputy, Stephen Hadley, also knew about the CIA report but said nothing. And Cheney chose to ignore it, because he wanted this war and knew that Bush wanted revenge on Saddam Hussein for having threatened his father.

Because of these deceptions, thousands of Iraqis and our troops are dead or wounded physically or mentally when none of this needed to have happened if it had not been for the rush to a pre-emptive war.

Madeleine Matthews

Kansas City

With surge, Bush got it right

A commentary by David Brooks in The Star (6/25, Opinion, “With surge in Iraq, Bush actually got one right”) made things clear. Quote: “Bush is a stubborn man. Well, without that stubbornness, that unwillingness to accept defeat on his watch, he never would have backed the opportunity for the surge.”

Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham insisted strongly for the surge, against the advice of many generals and even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. This gave our president the confidence to appoint Gen. David Petraeus, who strongly recommended the surge that is bringing such good results.

John McCain had called for more troops from the start. He could now be in a position to bring about an honorable conclusion to a stubborn conflict.

James F. Westhues

Overland Park

Building a better battery

New-change ideas or same-old-waste ideas. The difference in candidates is shown in their approach to car battery development.

Old idea: Offer a $300 million prize to whoever comes up with a “leap” in battery technology for transportation, even though all of the auto companies are researching this area while our National Science Foundation is underfunded and basic research is lagging. Whoever wins the “prize,” be it Honda, Toyota or maybe a U.S. auto manufacturer, gets the patent and the profits.

Or, a new idea: Fund the NSF with an additional $300 million with a priority on battery research. The new idea gets the same results plus all the additional research knowledge, U.S. control of the patents to license the local manufacturers and the labs, university scholars and the new jobs in research and manufacturing.

John McCain proposes the $300 million prize for a battery. Barack Obama promises to spend $150 billion over 10 years to encourage development.

One candidate is for the same old political change, meaning no change at all. The other is for real change in how government can serve the people and not necessarily always the big special interest spenders.

Alan Welles

Lawrence

Rising bus ridership and fares

I found The Star’s article on the impact of increased gas prices on bus ridership interesting (6/23, A-1, “It’s a traffic jam aboard buses”). It is a good problem to finally have the ridership the system has been seeking for many years.

However it was disappointing to hear city public transit administrators immediately, in the same breath, mention future fare increases to pay for the needed extra services.

Let’s start thinking outside the box with this new “problem” of more riders. An objective assessment would start with the premise that fewer cars on the road mean less maintenance needed than in the past, and the opportunity to transfer some road maintenance funds to cover increased public transit costs. These are not easy things to change, but these new problems require new approaches.

Jeff Gorski

Prairie Village

Something doesn’t seem quite right when we’re told bus fares are likely to rise when ridership is increasing. Shouldn’t higher volume offset the rising cost of fuel?

Corwin Simmonds

Roeland Park

Move forward on light rail

I can’t read another news story about community leaders who can’t come together and make a choice regarding light rail in the Kansas City area. Anyone who uses the highway to commute knows that action needs to be taken now.

Complicated? Yes. But each time I listen to a traffic update about lanes blocked because of a serious accident, I can only think of leaders who aren’t leading.

Whether you can convince other leaders to join you in the work or not, make the hard decision to move forward on a metro rail system.

Christoph Sisson

Lee’s Summit

In America, you can’t suppress a vote of the people just because you disagree with it. At least, not yet.

Nevertheless, Kansas City leaders did so and are now marching toward putting their own light rail plan on the November ballot, leaving the light rail plan 73,998 citizens voted for and the initiative process plundered in their wake.

Also in their wake transit plans abound, a deadline nears, a promise hovers, a lawsuit looms and confusion reigns.

Sir Walter Scott warned, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

The city can try to sweep the light rail lawsuit under the rug, but it doesn’t promise to stay there.

This sleeping giant may become the perfect legal storm to undo the city’s entire transit agenda if the Missouri Supreme Court rules the city’s misdeed was unconstitutional and orders it to reinstate the light rail plan they so callously took from the voters.

Clay Chastain

Bedford, Va.

A white grandma for Obama

I am a white, middle-class grandma. Polls be damned; I support Obama.

M.K. Mustard

Lake Tapawingo, Mo.

We didn’t elect Gloria

Regarding the article on Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, and his wife, Gloria Squitiro, who volunteers for him and has to be by his side (6/21, Local, “More KC council members call for mayor’s wife to leave City Hall”), here’s the deal.

Ms. Squitiro: Go home and find something else to do. We did not elect you.

Mayor Funk: If you cannot run this office of mayor without your wife by your side, then step down and go home with her.

We’re all tired of the baloney. Could we just get this city in good shape?

Charlotte Humphrey

Kansas City

Old enough for war but not P&L

The new Power & Light District “Live” area posts signs advising that those under age 21 cannot enter special events and concerts during the evening hours. America regularly sends young men and women aged 18, 19, and 20 into combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, where many have been killed and terribly wounded.

Old enough to go to war but not old enough for the Power & Light District? What kind of idiotic nonsense is this?

Robert A. Eberle

Kansas City

Flagging respect for Old Glory

I attended the Sunday night performance at Starlight Theatre, which was preceded by the singing of our national anthem. A growing trend I noticed there is the indifference of many toward the U.S. flag. Is there no longer a respect for our flag, which includes holding one’s hand over one’s heart, facing the flag and paying attention while the anthem is played?

I have observed that a lackadaisical attitude of disrespect has grown. Simple flag etiquette is ignored, and people even talk during the anthem. This disregard for what our flag stands for is also an insult to those men and women, past and present, who have defended our country and honored our flag.

Please, the next time you have the privilege to hear our anthem played and watch our flag fly, think about what our flag signifies, show respect and be grateful to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Marianne Weber

Roeland Park

They’ll miss delivery of The StarA “bad hair day” started when letters were received this week by people living in Maryville, Mo., who subscribed to home delivery of The Star. Our weekday delivery ends in June. Wow! We are so lucky to still be considered important enough for delivery on Sundays.

Did the leadership of the paper ever consider giving us a choice to pay more for daily delivery?

After more than 30 years of reading this paper, our only options now are to go online or get a mail subscription. It isn’t the same.

I strongly object to this decision by the leadership of The Star.

Dorothy A. Baldwin

Maryville, Mo.

Brit’s happy holiday in KC

I have just spent my first vacation in the United States — a week in Blue Springs and Kansas visiting family. I have to say it was one of the best holidays ever, and not just because of my great family.

The people of Kansas and Missouri should be proud. I experienced nothing but genuine friendliness and politeness that is unrivaled in all the countries I have been in for the last 10 years.

I became addicted to baseball when seeing the Royals play the Giants and was amazed at what a family affair it is for everyone to go to the game. More than 34,000 people and not a word of dissent from anyone (and we lost)!

What a great state you have. I will definitely be back. Missouri and Kansas, you rock!

Jo Adams

Furzehill, Dorset, England

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