To me, one of the best benefits of having a subscription to the printed edition of The Star is turning to the Letters to the Editor page, going over them leisurely and checking out the headlines for ones you might be interested in.
I would venture to say that very few people who go to kansascity.com bother to go to the letters page — too much clicking and the layout isn’t appealing.
So, for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the letters, I’ve earmarked a few from recent days that I’d like to single out and comment on…Maybe you’d like to comment, too.
:: Wednesday, Jan. 25, “KC Fire Department budget cuts necessary.”
Jean Kaiser of Liberty posed the question of why Local 42 of the International Association of Fire Fighters has such a “stranglehold” on city policymakers. She goes on to say:
“Mike Cambiano, new president of the firefighters union comments, ‘I can’t imagine the city manager — who never consulted the fire chief about a reduction in force — would endanger public safety of the safety of our firefighters.’ That is inviting hysteria.
“It is common knowledge that the schedule and workload of firefighters, while providing needed emergency service, also provides time to sleep, exercise and barbecue — all while on the clock.”
Troy Schulte
I agree with Cambiano that City Manager Troy Schulte should have given Chief Smokey Dyer the courtesy of a call to advise him that he was going to recommend cutting 105 positions from the force. But Kaiser hit home on the point about all the down time that firefighters have.
The union, of course, would prefer to keep everyone’s attention on how the firefighters are constantly putting their lives on the line. Of course, they go into very dangerous situations sometimes, but at many fire stations there’s a lot more time spent shopping for groceries, preparing meals, eating and watching TV than going out on calls. I once had a KCK firefighter tell me, “It’s an easy job.”
:: Wednesday, Jan. 25, “Former House speaker.”
Fran Baker of Lee’s Summit wrote a short and bittersweet letter: “Did Steve Kraske need a transfusion after bleeding his heart out all over the Jan. 21 front page about former Missouri House Speaker Bob Griffin?”
Bull’s eye. I can’t stand stories that glamorize crooks, especially crooks who maintain their innocence, even after admitting wrongdoing.
I read Kraske’s story as far as the 11th paragraph, which went like this…
“Griffin’s message is this: He was innocent. He didn’t do what prosecutors said he did. He didn’t steer work to his longtime friend in exchange for cash. Even though he eventually pleaded guilty to a single charge of bribery, he didn’t do it, and he wishes now that he had stood up for himself and fought even harder.”
For the record, in 1997, Griffin was convicted of bribery and sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of trying to steer a $16 million casino-related contract to a consulting business owned by one of his allies, Cathryn Simmons. Griffin admitted in court that his deal with Simmons was that he would get a cut.
A few years before Griffin took his fall, a former state rep sat on my deck and said of Griffin: “He’s crooked.”
:: Thursday, Jan. 26, “Presidential coverage.”
This one is singular only because it should never have seen the light of print.
Here’s the letter of Frank Berry, Kansas City, in its entirety:
“CBS News is shooting itself in the leg. It matters not whether one agrees with candidate Ron Paul. Fair and impartial coverage is the issue.
“I, for one, will no longer view CBS News. And I’m sure there will be many others who are of like mind.”
What is the reader to make of this? Obviously, CBS aired something about Ron Paul that ticked off Berry. But what did it air and when, and exactly what did Berry find unfair? All of that should have been included to put the complaint in some sort of context.
Perhaps Berry did put it in, and Lewis Diuguid, the letters editor, edited it out. That’s unlikely, however. I think Diuguid simply was on autopilot and included a letter that made no sense — letter that should have gotten the “delete” treatment.
:: Tuesday, Jan. 24, “Loosen up slots in KC.”
This is one of the daffiest letters I’ve ever seen.
Citing news about the upcoming opening of a new casino in KCK, Larry Wilhite of Bonner Springs had some advice for casino managers everywhere.
“As a casual attendee at the casinos, I recommend that the slot machines allow a player to play longer on the money they feed into that machines.
“It seems now that a $20 bill fed into a quarter machine takes about five minutes to lose. I don’t mind losing $20 in the slot machines, but it is annoying to me that I can’t at least have minimum of 15 minutes of play for that amount. You hardly have time to sit down and relax and your twenty bucks is gone.
“Loosen up the machines and allow people’s money to last longer, even if the person ends up losing it in the long run.
“I think this is the biggest gripe among slot players — not being able to play as long as their $20 should allow.”
Kind of makes you want to hit your head a couple of times, doesn’t it, to see if it’s your brain that’s not functioning properly? But, then, after a second you realize it’s definitely Wilhite’s brain that malfunctioned.
When Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved “riverboat gaming” about 20 years ago, nobody thought about how fast they might lose their money; they just wanted an opportunity to lose their money…It was, “Get the boats in here as soon as possible!”
Larry, I’ve got news for you: The casino managers’ philosophy is the same as that of the late, great W.C. Fields (pictured above): “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.”
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
the only job in kc where you can sleep and bbq while on the clock. i also had firefighters say that they got the best job. 24 on and 48 off to work at other jobs. if other city employees took a nap on the job they would be written up and possibly fired. i agree with the city manager, but it’s about time the council grew some balls and stood up to the fire union.
I know that you know this, Jack, but for those of you who aren’t familiar with the firefighters’ political operation, here’s how it works:
Union leaders “screen,” that is, interview, candidates for City Council and decide which ones are most likely to support firefighter interests once in office. The union campaigns on behalf of the candidates before the election, mainly through mailers. Then, on Election Day, the union rolls out scores — maybe even a couple of hundred — of off-duty firefighters, stationing them at polling places to pass out sample ballots and “electioneer” for the union’s slate of candidates. The workers man select polling places — those where their influence is greatest, such as precincts in the Northland and south and southeast Kansas City — and stay there from before 6 a.m. until the polls close at 7 p.m.
The union strongly urges all firefighters and their family members to vote — and vote correctly. Like other city employees, on-duty firefighters get about an hour off duty to vote, so no firefighters have an excuse for not voting.
In many local elections, the firefighters field the largest block of “deliverable” votes. Their support can make or break a candidate, especially in in-district races. Even in at-large, or city-wide races, their influence is far-reaching.
Is it any wonder, then, why a lot of council members don’t “grow some balls” and stand up to the firefighters? I think the firefighters have supported at least the last four mayors — James, Funkhouser, Barnes and Cleaver. I don’t remember if Berkley had their support in any of his three, successful mayoral elections. I know that they opposed Charlie Wheeler in each of his successful elections — 1971 and 1975.
Wheeler, who I’m proud to call a longtime friend, stood up to the firefighters, but he also understands their power.
After Sly James defeated Mike Burke for mayor last year, Wheeler told me: “You can beat the firefighters, or you can beat The Star. But you can’t beat the firefighters and The Star…James, of course, had both.
Public employee unions and the gaming industry are both bad for honest government.
Even cursory research on the demonstrations that took place in Madison show a community that was reduced to third world status by these unions. Millions of dollars of damage was done to the Capitol as police unions joined with other unions inside. Legislators were threatened and their property damaged and the Madison PD did nothing to stop it. There’s a Youtube video of a union thug assaulting a counter-protester and then having his getaway facilitated by a cop who held those who tried to apprehend him at bay.
The courts were also reduced to third world standards as a local judge with ties to the unions tried to overturn the state legislation and a liberal candidate for the Supreme Court campaigned on overturning a specific law.
Even the medical profession has been hard hit by the deteriorating standards of the union mentality. False excuses were provided by doctors so that teachers could defraud their employers. In Kansas we have very stringent regulations defining what constitutes a medical record and what it must contain. In Wisconsin, apparently not so much. Of the doctors who were hauled before the regulatory commission, all received minor slaps on the wrist.
So, bottom line, rule of law – dead, medical standards reduced to the moral equivalent of a tribal witch doctor, massive vandalism and unrestrained violence, education brought to a near standstill and all because of the misconduct of public employee unions.
As for the gaming industry, only a fool expects to win anything at these casinos. As the moron correctly points out, the only real variable is how long it takes to lose. As for the gaming industry’s impact on government, the legislators I’m familiar with in the Kansas legislature with ties to the gaming industry are also those with the sleaziest reputations. They just seem to go hand-in-hand, and that’s not even touching on all of the other social problems that are correlates of gaming. I’ll never forget walking into a foreclosed property and seeing the Harrah’s Gold Card laying on the floor. Yessir, you too can be just like a Vegas high roller – even if your family’s living in a cardboard box.
Union thugs and high rollers aside, I cringe when I read the Letters to the Editor. With editing considered, roughly 8 out of 10 letters seem to come from useful idiots. Unfortunately………many of these people have procreated, unleashing an even lower form of intellect and critical thinking on our beloved Cowtown.
The Lord tells us to hate the sin, not the sinner. Which commandment covers thou shalt not be STUPID?
I don’t think it’s as bad as you say, Smartman. I think a majority of the letters are pretty good and fairly interesting. I don’t have a lot of confidence in Diuguid’s editing and letter selection, however. A former Star vice president, he probably feels he’s above the job. It’s tough to have that v.p. label pulled from you; that gets you on the masthead, you know…Hell, if I had gotten to be a v.p. (in my dreams) and then got knocked down to editing the letters to the editor, I’d probably give them cursory treatment, too.
When I worked as an administrator in the Fire Department (1991-1996), a standard joke among the firefighters was that the Battalion Chief’s test should include questions about the Andy Griffith Show. When they went to the grocery store it was “familiarizing themselves with the neighborhood.”
It was quite an experience for me. By the time I moved from Fire to Budget, I was totally sick of the firefighters’ sense of entitlement.
Quite a telling comment, David. You were always a consummate professional; I never heard you criticize anyone or anything at City Hall when you were employed there. Now that you’re retired, of course, you’re free and entitled to speak your mind, and that comment, coming from a former insider, smacks of credibility.
David: It’s too bad the public doesn’t know this before voting on their raises. I see them in the fire trucks for about an hour shopping down at Price Chopper on 103rd and the Hy-Vee on 123rd and State Line line. If other city employees would do that, they would be written up and docked their pay. I had 32 years with the city.
The letters to the editor are generally the first thing I look at in The Star because I want to know how “regular folks” – stupid or not – feel about the issues of the day. And yes, some offerings are more valid than others. The Star invites its readers to submit lengthier opinion pieces under the heading “As I See It,” but it has been my observation that the vast majority of the submissions accepted for this space come from people who aren’t so “regular” in that they usually have a seemingly impressive title after their name. The typical man or woman on the street is rarely heard from here.
Good stuff Fitz and great comments.
I will say this. I trained in the Navy for a couple of days with fires, mostly fuel fires. Hoses, water, you get soaked and knocked around by the equipment.
The first time we went into the smoke house, the smoke was so thick, you could reach your finger up into it, as it descended, and your finger would disappear joint by joint into the smoke, it was thick.
I frequently passed out from smoke inhalation and was drug out of the area by, usually, shorter guys (That my friends, ain’t easy, I am nothing if not diminutive.).
It was a bitch, then later on, it was a bitch.
Firefighting is not for this guy, and I do appreciate the folks that charge into flames at ful tilt to save the kids and the family dogs.
The truth about proper compensation, is, as always, somewhere in the middle.
Good post Jim. It seems that the quality of the letters to the editor has declined markedly in recent years, though I don’t know if it’s the Star or the letter writers that are more to blame. I may be a bit hypocritical as I have not written one myself for years. I don’t know if my letter would raise the quality or drive it further down, if it was even printed. I need to write one.
ive written to the star several times about the city and the condition of the water lines. but was never made it on the editors page. several years ago ive raise so much hell with the councilwomen in my district about water pressure that my 85 year old neighbor had to go and buy water to flush his toilet. we had a 2 inch line and i threaten to call the health dept finally they ran a 6 inch line replacing the 2 inch