Posted on Mon, Sep. 01, 2008

Arrowhead naming rights

How can Clark Hunt and the Kansas City Chiefs sell the naming rights to Arrowhead Stadium for their profit? (8/29, A-1, “Chiefs to sell naming rights”).

If I understand correctly, the stadium is owned by Jackson County and managed by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. The stadium is leased to the Kansas City Chiefs organization.

If anyone is to make a profit from the naming rights to the stadium, shouldn’t it go to the taxpayers of Jackson County, who fund this stadium through their taxes, and not the Chiefs organization?

All this tax money is paying for the renovations and upkeep of this stadium, yet ticket and parking prices have already jumped since the approval of the renovation tax. Now the Chiefs want to profit further by hoarding the naming-rights money for the stadium?

Something seems fishy here.

Mike Carrothers

Kansas City, Kan.

So Mr. Hunt wants to sell the naming rights to the football stadium to some corporation willing to fork over a ton of money.

Well, I have a suggestion for him. Name it after the people who own the stadium and are already forking over a ton of money. Name it Jackson County Arrowhead Stadium.

Eric Weir

Kansas City

Why would anyone in Jackson County give the Hunt family the right to rename Arrowhead stadium? It should and does belong to the taxpayers of Jackson County, and we alone should have a say in the name of our stadium.

The Hunt family should leave it alone. They are making enough money off the Chiefs as it is. If they have to have even more money, then they should think about selling their family name.

I’m thinking “Snickers Stadium” would be good, since that would fit the laughable job they have done with an organization they inherited and can’t seem to figure out how to make successful.

Judy Beyer

Lee’s Summit

Editor’s note: The Chiefs’ lease with Jackson County entitles the team to all naming rights fees.

Palin a desperate pick for V.P.

In a desperate attempt to attract Hillary Clinton supporters, John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. I wonder if Palin knows about McCain’s vote against equal pay for women?

It’s funny that McCain, who bills himself as the experienced leader, selected a VP who has less than two years in the governor’s mansion. Before that, she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, population 8,471.

What kind of woman associates herself with a man who doesn’t consider her an equal?

Dorian Gist

Kansas City

Sarah Palin? Indeed, I am frightened.

John McCain obviously selected Palin as his running mate because he hopes that the distraught Hillary Clinton supporters will jump the Democratic ship. It is so transparent! Gaining Alaska for offshore drilling doesn’t hurt, either.

But wait a moment. Wasn’t it John McCain who criticized Barack Obama vehemently for being too young and inexperienced?

Palin is a 44-year-old hockey mom and beauty queen runner-up who has less than two years of experience as governor of Alaska. This is the person the Republican Party wants to be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office? McCain selecting her on his 72nd birthday reminds us that “President Palin” is a distinct possibility.

If it were Michael Palin, at least it would be funny. This is just potentially tragic.

John Tamilio III

Overland Park

McCain didn’t ‘vote with’ Bush

Democratic speakers at the convention (and on the campaign trail) keep saying that John McCain voted 90 percent or 95 percent of the time with President Bush, implying that it’s a bad thing. However, those speakers are not being honest, as they know (or should know) that the president has no vote in Congress and has never voted on the issues McCain votes on.

Do they mean that Bush signs the legislation that McCain voted for? If that is the case, couldn’t it be said that when the Democratic majority passes a bill and the president signs it, they “voted with” the president? Perhaps then that would be a good thing?

Frankly, it appears that those speakers are practiced at deception and are talking to people they believe are not smart enough to realize they are being duped. They embarrass themselves and our democracy by their half-clever tricks.

R.V. Reed

Liberty

Show us, Obama

What a grand and flowery speech Barack Obama gave Thursday night. But let me quote a much more simple speech, this one said a long time ago by man named Willard Duncan Vandiver.

“I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats. And frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

OK, Sen. Obama, stop telling us what needs to be done. We know what needs to be done. Tell us honestly how you’re going to do it. Tell us the truth — that it’s going to hurt to get our house in order, that we’re going to have to endure some pain to make our dollar stronger, that we can’t rely on the government to bail us out when we take out home loans we can’t afford.

Balance our budget so the Chinese won’t have to finance our debt. Stop the invasion across our southern border.

Sen. Obama, I’m waiting for you to tell us you’re going to give us tough and necessary medicine. I can take it. I’m from Missouri.

Ed O’Toole

Kansas City

‘Out of touch’ ad misleading

John McCain made a tongue-in-cheek comment — which he acknowledged would probably be used against him — in which he defined for the Rev. Rick Warren the middle class as people making less than $5 million. Everyone watching knew it was a joke, yet Obama took this sound bite and used it to imply that McCain is “out of touch” in a TV commercial.

Obama approved this ad. What kind of leadership and character are displayed by allowing such a misrepresentation? If these are the sleazy strategies Obama is using to get elected, I know I don’t want him in charge of the most powerful nation in the world.

I’m not a huge fan of McCain, but I am a fan of the truth. Democrats, be careful what you wish for.

Phillip Kirkman

Gladstone

Feeling Hillary’s pain

I’m one of those “older women” who came of age in the women’s fight for equality in the ’70s, and who supported Hillary Clinton for president. As I watched and listened last week I felt — as I know many did — a deep poignancy for what might have been.

Hillary is a woman who has the intelligence, the experience and the background to have made a terrific president. I will follow Hillary’s lead and vote for a Democratic ticket because I believe so powerfully that we must get the Republicans out of the White House.

Still, in the words of Bill Clinton, who once famously said, “I feel your pain,” I feel in a very personal way the pain that Hillary must be feeling right now. It is a pain that many women — and all of her supporters, both men and women — are feeling.

Barbara Bartocci

Overland Park

Economy ‘jump-start’ didn’t work

Is America, the great capitalistic nation, running on dead batteries? I’m referring to the tax stimulus checks that were supposed to “jump-start” the economy.

Now here it is September, almost autumn, and I’m pretty sure that if you filed your taxes on time you’ve already received and probably spent that tax-stimulus check.

So, when’s the economy going to get jump-started? I think we have dead batteries.

Ed Coleman

Grandview

Tread carefully with Russia

Charles Krauthammer criticized NATO’s response to the Russian attack on Georgia (8/26, Opinion, “NATO failed in its lack of response to Russia”). Maybe he wants NATO to gather its forces and charge into Russia to prevent Georgia’s loss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and their probable incorporation into Russia.

Unless I misunderstood, The Star reports that these Georgian provinces have been autonomous for several years. It was Georgia that began excessive military action to regain South Ossetia. Maybe Russia helped provoke the Georgian attack, but I don’t remember reading about it.

The question is whether we support free determination. Nicolas Sarkozy may be a pro-Western president, but apparently South Ossetia and Abkhazia think his government is repressive and unacceptable. It says volumes if they would rather be part of Russia than his Georgia.

The U.S. has supported free determination repeatedly in the past, and this seems like a bad time to stop. I agree that Russia has other goals, but the world has changed since the Cold War and our policy of containing communism. We should carefully think about what we want before charging off into another war — even a cold war.

M.R. Polston

Blue Springs

Gloria’s help hardly free

Let’s be clear that Gloria Squitiro’s work at City Hall is neither free nor of little cost to Kansas City taxpayers. Costs associated with Gloria that can easily be measured are the costs of attorney fees and the possible settlement of a lawsuit filed against the city for her alleged actions.

It is more difficult to measure the cost of productivity forgone by the City Council, mayor and city employees who must deal with Gloria’s issues instead of other city issues. Though difficult to measure, these are real costs to Kansas City taxpayers.

Being a former city auditor, the mayor surely understands that this city can no longer afford for Gloria to volunteer at City Hall.

Royce Baker

Kansas City

Concert behavior rude

At the last two concerts I went to — Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty — we were forced to stand all evening or sit and look at people’s backsides while they sang and danced.

While I also enjoy getting up and dancing along with several of the songs, it is terribly rude and self-centered to do so the entire concert. People may purchase tickets on the floor to stand and dance the entire show. The whole section is open for people who want to do just that.

I didn’t pay $100 for a ticket to watch Julie Wintering (8/27, Letters, “Too old to rock with the Boss?”) perform. Is she sure she wasn’t sitting in Sec 112, Row 16?

Joyce Drummond

Leavenworth

Circus proud of animal care

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey would like to set the record straight regarding the misleading information presented in Ricky Setticase’s letter (8/26, “Animal cruelty at circus”).

Ringling Bros. is proud of its human and animal partnerships, and the physical and behavioral needs of our animals are a top priority. Our animals are great performers because their routines are tailored to each animal’s natural abilities and individual preferences based on a system of reward and repetition. We encourage everyone to see for themselves that our animals are healthy and thriving in our care.

Ringling Bros. remains undeterred in our commitment to ensure that our animals receive the highest level of care. That can be seen when The Greatest Show On Earth comes to the Sprint Center Sept. 9-14.

Janice Aria

Director, animal stewardship and training,

Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey

Vienna, Va.

So long, Jimmie the chimp

Just as we watched our own family grow, we also watched Jimmie the chimpanzee and his family grow during our many visits to the Kansas City Zoo (8/28, Local, “Zoo loses a familiar face in death of chimp”). We always trekked to “Africa” to visit him.

During college, our daughter served a summer internship at the chimp exhibit, and she is now a veterinarian. I know Jimmie helped fire her love of primates.

Even as he aged, he loved to watch us humans as much as we loved to watch him.

Our family and all of Kansas City will miss and remember you, Jimmie.

Jim and Gail Cianciolo

Independence

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