Posted on Sun, Aug. 03, 2008

Cut the political bickering

The November election is months away, but I’m already quite sick of all the bickering. I want to hear just how the candidates will improve our government.

I want a president who will be in the office every day. I want an informed president, not one trying to tell every country how to run itself. No wonder other countries hate the U.S.

Candidates, there’s no need to raise taxes. Just tighten the government belt like we citizens have to do. No more pork added to every bill, and no more outrageously priced toilets. Stop these senseless wars, and keep out of Social Security funds. That’s not your money to spend.

I’m also tired of being lied to about government affairs and having information kept secret. We are not a group of dummies. Give us some credit. I’ve felt all along, since the Iraq war, that as soon as the big oil companies got contracts with Iraq then our troops would be coming home.

It’s time for Congress to shape up, too. You were elected to act for our benefit. What a farce.

D.S. Mahurin

Lee’s Summit

Obama forced to take the rap

Why is it that Barack Obama seems to be responsible for everything that anybody says about him or anybody who seems to like him? I was looking at national pundits talking about Ludacris’ rap song about him. I don’t think Obama wrote any of the lyrics or sanctioned the song, yet he will take flak from the right on that.

Also, why is it that whenever a black man is confident in himself, to many white people he appears arrogant? And he appears arrogant to a lot of black people as well, one of my brothers included.

There was a Kathleen Parker column (7/21, Opinion, “Don’t forget about the power of laughter”) saying that Obama needs to have more fun. But if he went on stage laughing and joking and smiling too much, he would be considered a buffoon not taking his campaign seriously enough.

Unfortunately we, as black people, tend to be our own worst enemy. Just look at Jesse Jackson’s comments — one black man hating on another black man.

Trust me. Obama is just the kind of politician this country needs.

Joseph T. Walker

Kansas City, Kan.

Where your gas money goes

When you pay $4 per gallon at the pump, where does the money go? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it goes as follows:

•18 cents to the federal government.

•22 cents to the state governments (varies by state).

•28 cents to distributors and marketers.

•36 cents to refiners.

•2.96 dollars to producers.

The majority of our oil is purchased from producers in foreign countries. All this money is going out of the United States. According to many sources, the U.S. has abundant sources of untapped oil. Why will Congress not allow us to utilize our own resources? Would not it be better if all that money stayed in the United States?

Write, call, e-mail or fax your U.S. congressperson. They need to stop talking and start action.

Wayne Miller

Overland Park

Big turbines small price to pay

L.L. Gibson (7/26, Letters) is concerned about the size of wind turbines and the number of them required to make a difference. Wind turbines or solar farms dotting the countryside are an unfortunate impact of renewable energy, which takes space to harvest.

Wind turbines are easily maintained and can provide energy with primarily a visual impact.

Have you visited a coal strip mine, looked at runoff in creeks below a mine or worried about the possibility of global warming turning the Kansas prairie into a desert? Have you toured a nuclear power plant and realized that after its approximately 50-year lifetime, the massive containment building will remain contaminated for about 1,000 years and cannot be removed economically?

Few people are willing to turn off their air conditioning and live without electricity. The environmental and economical solution is a combination of conservation with a transition to renewables, with cleaner fossil technologies applied during the transition.

Let’s stop jousting at windmills, start purchasing energy-efficient products and using energy wisely.

Ken Filardo

Eudora, Kan.

Safety ideas for sharing road

For many years, I biked to work in midtown Manhattan (as in New York City, not the “Little Apple”). During my years of commuter biking in the ’70s and ’80s, I quickly learned that the greatest car hazard wasn’t taxis, trucks or buses, but honkers.

I can’t tell you how many times a well-meaning — I hope — driver honked just as he or she was about to pass me. Please, I’m surrounded by traffic. I know you’re there! The sudden toot’s most likely effect was for me to jerk my wheel, which could only mean veering toward parked cars to my right or moving traffic to my left.

The deaths of Larry and Sierra Gaunt were a horrible tragedy. But I’m certain Mr. Johnson didn’t mean to hit those bikers. And, as others have said, that memory is a sentence he will carry with him for the rest of his life.

Ann Arnott

Lenexa

From 1957 through 1972, I rode a bike from Fort Thomas, Ky., to uptown Cincinnati every day, rain or shine. After all my bike-riding experience, it is my firm contention that bicycle traffic should face oncoming traffic, the same as pedestrians.

I tried it both ways. When the bicyclist faces traffic, he can see dangerous situations ahead and react accordingly, even stopping and moving off the road if necessary. Moving the same direction as cars is dangerous for the same reason that applies to pedestrians: The biker does not see the cars coming from behind.

A friend of mine, riding a bike the same direction as cars, was so startled by the closeness of a car coming abreast of him from behind that he overreacted and steered off the road and was seriously hurt. Yes, he was wearing a helmet, but that did not prevent a broken collarbone and dislocated elbow.

The law should be changed to accommodate bicyclists facing the traffic when riding.

Glenn Robinson

Lee’s Summit

Rick Mounkes’ letter, “Bicycles will always lose” (7/27) had a great suggestion: no shoulder on the road, no bikes. Maybe the cities could put up signs on some of the more heavily traveled streets or secondary highways to prohibit bicyclists.

Sometimes you just have to save people from their own stupidity. After all, what kind of knucklehead rides his bike on Noland Road between 40 and 350 highways? Or how about Lee’s Summit Road from 40 Highway to Colbern Road?

Both are narrow, winding roads with minimal or no shoulders, and I believe both are marked as a “no passing” zone the full length. I’ve seen more than a couple of riders tempting fate on these two roads.

If it’s not safe to pass another car, then how dangerous is it to try to avoid a cyclist?

Come on bikers, use a little common sense.

Shaun Lee

Lee’s Summit

‘Special interest’ stoplights

A car is driven out of a residential neighborhood on a quiet, lightly traveled street. The driver stops at a traffic light where the quiet, lightly traveled residential street intersects with a busy, heavily traveled main thoroughfare.

The driver has to wait only a few seconds for his light to begin stopping scores of vehicles on the main thoroughfare. All of the many gallons of fuel used to get those cars and trucks up to the speed limit are wasted just so that lone car can get out of its neighborhood quickly and easily.

It gets worse. Now all of those vehicles, sitting at a dead stop, have to get going again. The worst mileage a vehicle gets is starting from a dead stop. This scenario occurs thousands of times every day in the Kansas City area.

Some of these “special interest” lights are for schools and other legitimate purposes. But just as many or more have no discernable purpose.

I don’t know how to do the math, but I’m sure an engineer could come up with some pretty astounding figures on how much fuel is being wasted citywide. But wait! Our streets are designed by engineers.

Woody Smith

Lenexa

Don’t call me ‘Sweetheart’

Alan Bavley’s fine article (7/28, A-1, “ ‘Elderspeak’ is not endearing to the elderly”) addressed the negative reaction of nursing home residents with dementia to demeaning language such as being called “Dearie” or “Sweetheart” by caretakers.

This should lead researchers to look at the effect such language has on a more general public, especially mature women who, for the most part, hate it when department store salespeople or restaurant servers use what KU researcher Kristine Williams calls “elderspeak.”

There is no reason to depart from the local custom, which calls for addressing women as “ma’am” or “madam” regardless of apparent age if the name is not known.

Beverly Boyd

Lawrence

Breastfeeding moms go for gold

Aug. 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week. This year’s theme is “Mother Support, Going for the Gold.” The name refers to the upcoming Olympics and calls for greater support for mothers in achieving the gold standard of infant feeding: breastfeeding exclusively for six months if possible and adding appropriate solid foods to a year and beyond.

How can we support moms who want to give their babies the best by breastfeeding? Hospital policies and birth practices need to be more supportive of breastfeeding moms. Lactation consultants need to be available to every new mom. Breastfeeding classes should be available to all pregnant women. Post-hospital support and workplace support need to increase.

When you see a mom breastfeeding, smile and tell her what a good job she’s doing. After all, she’s going for the gold.

Sherry L. Payne

Breastfeeding committee chairperson,

Mother and Child Health Coalition

of Greater Kansas City

Overland Park

‘Very dissatisfied’ with KC schools

I received an opinion survey from the city of Kansas City recently. It was very complete and covered a variety of subjects. Unfortunately, I think they left out the most important subject concerning Kansas City: the Kansas City School District.

My painting job allows me into homes in both Jackson and Johnson counties. In every home in Johnson County with children, the No. 1 reason they chose Johnson County over Jackson County is the deplorable Kansas City School District.

Maybe the compilers of the survey were afraid to include this question because they knew what number most people would circle, including myself: No. 1 — “very dissatisfied.”

Richard Stebbins

Kansas City

Praise for city employees

Generally, over the last 11 years living in Kansas City, Mo., I have found city workers to be unpleasant, with little concern for those of us they supposedly are there to assist.

Recently, though, I have had to do a little research regarding building permits, planning and codes, tax abatements and certificates of legal noncompliance. I have to say the employees working in those offices were pleasant, helpful and truly went out of their way to do whatever they could to get me the information I needed.

They have relieved a great deal of stress for me, and I want to thank each and every one of them for their great attitudes. These people are your best examples of how customer service should work.

Kristina DesCombes

Kansas City

Lesson on less and fewer

Here’s another comment on how people (including the “professionals”) mangle their grammar. “Fewer” and “less” are not interchangeable, as in “There were less than 50 people in attendance.”

No, the people weren’t any smaller; there were just not as many. Fewer for numbers and less for size, get it?

I hear this with great regularity in conversation as well as national newscasts.

Jan Riffie

Lee’s Summit

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