Posted on Mon, Jul. 14, 2008

Let’s dress to impress

I spent the Fourth of July at Worlds of Fun hoping to enjoy a nice day with my two sons ages 5 and 18 months, but the day was clouded by teens in baggy clothes cursing and fighting in public. Young men unable to walk without holding their shorts up with one hand had shouting matches with young women, the fights eventually turning violent in many circumstances.

I’m a young black father, and I don’t think dress codes discriminate against anyone. I think they weed out ignorant young people who have no respect for themselves or their surroundings.

What kind of parent allows a child to leave the house wearing shorts that fall below the ankles? Dress to impress.

Dorian Gist

Kansas City

I find the discussion of the dress code for the Power & Light District and other retail destinations somewhat ironic. It seems to me that more and more places allow more casual dress.

I have been surprised at many restaurants by the way some diners appear. Gentlemen in shorts at the Majestic and Hereford House are two cases recently observed. In the not-too-distant past, such attire at both establishments would have been very out of place. I chuckle when I remember that I had thought I should wear a sport coat to one of those landmark restaurants.

However, when I saw jean shorts at our contemporary church service on Sunday morning and even more raggedy appearances boarding a plane on a trip two weeks ago, I had to remember the ’60s and my generation’s desire to shock our parents with our music and our dress. Do people not dress to impress anymore, or are my impressions too far removed from present standards?

Heaven forbid, but I may have become my father. If I start shining my shoes every Saturday, I will surely know the world has passed me by.

Mark Lewis

Liberty

Ten ways to use less oil

To reduce our dependence on foreign oil:

1. Return the speed limit to 55 mph.

2. Increase state and federal gasoline taxes by 1 cent per gallon per month.

3. Establish a benchmark mpg standard for cars, say 30 mpg. Increase it gradually. For each mpg over the benchmark the buyer gets a federal tax refund of $500 when purchasing such a car, not to exceed 50 percent of the car’s price. For each mpg under the benchmark the buyer pays a $500 gas-guzzler tax.

4. Lower state sales tax and licensing fees on cars that get more than 30 mpg.

5. All future federal, state and city cars must get more than 40 mpg.

6. All pumps must have a sign on every grade of gasoline telling the percentage of ethanol in it.

7. Allow only disabled drivers to use drive-through windows.

8. Use any extra revenue from the state, federal or gas-guzzler taxes to subsidize wind power, solar power and mass transit.

9. Raise the minimum driving age by three months each year until we import no more oil or the minimum age hits 21.

10. Encourage employees to walk to work or to carpool.

Patrick H. Crowe

Kansas City

Electric cars will help Earth

I was pleased to read The Star’s support for all-electric cars (6/30, Opinion, “All-electric vehicles hold great promise”) and the concerns expressed by Scott Bielicki (7/2, Letters, “Electric cars aren’t the answer”). However, each of Mr. Bielicki’s concerns have been addressed and resolved:

•Oil refineries are the single biggest user placing demands on the electrical grid in our nation.

•The actual carbon footprint of an electric vehicle, measured from the point of creating electricity to the point of driving down the road, is less than the footprint of pulling oil out of the Earth, transporting it to and from a refinery, refining it and driving down the road.

•Which is easier to clean: the exhaust from one smokestack (assuming you use coal to generate electricity) or the exhaust pipe from up to a million internal combustion vehicles?

Electric vehicles are not designed to be the single answer to America’s transportation needs or air-quality problems. However, electric cars are a very real, affordable, reliable and available option to help ease our oil addiction and clean our air.

Jim Donovan

Member, Mid America Electric Vehicle

Association

Westwood

Congress does nothing about oil

Funk and Wagnalls dictionary defines “collusion” as cooperation in fraud. It also defines “collusive” as fraudulently concerted or devised. Both of these are choice descriptions of the oil companies’ activities concerning price fixing at the retail level. Dozens of outlets, all raising their prices at the same time by the same amount is more than indicative of this activity. It’s brazen indignation aimed not only at us but also smack dab at our gutless leaders.

If someone in Congress ever gets the time to break away from steroid investigations, campaigning, traveling to disaster sites (there are local people in place for these things) and all the other needless diversions and tactics employed by our leaders to avoid confronting the true threats to our country, I would appreciate a little look into this situation. It might turn into something big.

Who knows? It might even make them look like they care.

Andy Cooper

Overland Park

Tax breaks take toll on KC

Yael T. Abouhalkah’s column (7/3, Opinion) was titled “Tax breaks helped create KC’s financial woes.” Of course, that news has been known for the past 10 years, especially to those of us directly affected by tax increment financing in our areas.

We residents of the Northbrook addition have been under the TIF tax since all our $200,000-plus homes were built. It didn’t matter that these tax breaks would last for 25 years.

Now our city sewers are a mess, our streets and bridges are almost beyond repair, and our mayor and City Council have awakened to the fact that after all those giveaways, the city is in dire need of some cash to run the city for the next year and beyond.

Bill Austin

Kansas City

Hired soldiers in Iraq

There’s been talk about reducing troop levels in Iraq lately. That’s good news, if it happens. But I haven’t heard a word about reducing the number of contracted, mercenary personnel in Iraq.

I recently read that the number of contracted personnel exceeded the number of military in Iraq. That’s a cost of billions of dollars. I also read many of the contractors’ expenses are hidden in the department budgets.

I’d like to know what has been spent on contracted personnel in the Middle East and if they replaced any federal employees. Or are these contractors in addition to the federal employees, including military? The Defense Department, the State Department and Homeland Security are heavily involved in hiring contracted personnel.

Recently Sen. John McCain said, “Government has grown by 60 percent in the last eight years” (7/8, A-4, “Two duel on economy”). Does that figure include contracted personnel too? A responsible Congress would be investigating and reporting this.

Republicans have always promised a leaner, more efficient government. Voters should know.

Larry Bilotta

Kansas City

A vote for the Constitution Party

I have been interested in politics for six years. When I first got involved, I was a member of a local group. That group has since disbanded, but my passion for politics has stayed with me.

I see our country headed in a downward spiral. I have little faith that anyone in the current two-party system can save this nation. I recently decided to throw my support to the Constitution Party. This is a party determined to bring this country back to its roots. More important, this is a party that chooses to use the Constitution as its means for running this country. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean much anymore in our current system.

The brave men who fought and died so that we could be a free nation would be ashamed if they were with us today. Let’s make them proud.

Justin Goddard

Grain Valley

Kansas weak on immigration

Now that Missouri has laws to catch illegal workers (7/8, Local, “Immigration law signed”), there will be a flood of illegal immigrants coming into Kansas.

As I understand it, the lawmakers in Topeka could not pass legislation last year because of special-interest groups. And just who are these special-interest groups? The packing plants in western Kansas. Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal all have plants that hire these people. Are these packing houses giving money to the Kansas lawmakers to look the other way to keep these plants open?

Oklahoma and Missouri now have laws to get tough on these employers. It’s time to clean house in Topeka and get legislators elected to pass immigration laws in Kansas as well.

Roger Ziegenhorn

Olathe

Raising the minimum wage

On July 24, the federal minimum wage will be raised to $6.55 per hour. This means that one hour’s work buys 1.63 gallons of $4 gasoline. In 1950, the price per gallon was about 19 cents and the minimum wage was 75 cents. An hour’s labor bought 3.94 gallons.

As the minimum is raised, then so are the pay scales of the lowest-paid workers. The rising tide raises all ships.

The Republicans in Congress will surely oppose any such increase with their timeworn, pro-management argument that it will cause more unemployment. In fact, the opposite is true: Higher pay means that more Americans can afford to take jobs that are presently being held by undocumented workers or not filled at all.

Bill Emerson

Shawnee

Support for Medicare bill

Recently, the U.S. Senate and House worked to pass legislation that would assure that severe payment cuts to physicians would be reversed. This would enable physicians to continue to see their current patients and allow them to take new Medicare patients as they turn 65. Another benefit to this bill: Medicare patients could be assured access to their community pharmacies, of which I represent close to 200 in Missouri.

While the House moved quickly to pass this Medicare bill, the U.S. Senate stalled due to political posturing between the two parties. I thank Sen. Claire McCaskill for voting in favor of this bill. But Sen. Kit Bond, wanting to vote along party lines, voted against it. I hope he will remember to support his constituents and their physicians and local pharmacies during his recent return to Washington. Not only is the health of our citizens at stake, but the health of our local economies is as well.

Dale E. Smith

Director of TriNet third party services,

PBA Health

Kansas City

Traffic rules apply to everyone

I’ve read several letters over the years about the rights of bicyclers and pedestrians, and I agree that drivers need to realize we are not the only ones on the streets.

However, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen bike riders run red lights and stop signs and zip between lanes of traffic, or how many times I’ve waited my turn for the green light only to have someone walk across the street in front of me while the pedestrian signal flashes a red hand.

The traffic signals and laws apply to all of us sharing the road— not just drivers, but bicyclists and pedestrians, too.

Susan Genova

Mission

Hillary’s hat in hand

There she stood. Up there, center stage, needing you to pay her bills because she wanted to be the president.

She has a husband with a net worth around $75 million, and she wants the public to pay her bills.

That’s why her husband has so much money.

Bob Faulkner

Prairie Village

Be open to this advice

Beware the open mike, the open mouth and the closed mind.

Maggie Caron

Kansas City

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