Letters to the editor

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 26, 2008

Community will suffer

In regard to the sentencing of Lisa Dick for 60 days for manslaughter, I and many other citizens of Rossville and St. Marys would like to know to which community Judge Nancy Parrish was referring when she said it was appropriate for the community.

Involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol are very serious crimes. A much stiffer sentencing would have been appropriate for the community I live in. When someone is caught for DUI and no one is killed, the punishment can be more severe. When a death occurs, why the short sentence and small fine?

We need to get drivers convicted of DUI and manslaughter off the roads. In Dick's case, she will be allowed to drive again. This ruling is being used as an example by the defense in the Jessica Dennon case Shawnee County, another case of vehicular manslaughter in which sentencing is pending.

Judge Parrish, I hope you realize you have made a mistake that might be used to lessen punishments for many cases to come.

PAM SUMNER,St. Marys

Unnecessary burden

Is the U.S. doomed?

With the path we're taking, it surely looks that way. Our enemies don't have to be concerned about defeating us. We're defeating ourselves. We're spending billions to help overseas countries that aren't Christian, to what end? Four thousand soldiers dead, and there will be many more, to say nothing of the permanently disabled and the wives and families who will live with this tragedy for life.

Usually when a company gets in trouble, it's management's fault. I don't think this country's management is doing a good job. Our national debt will probably never be settled, the dollar is not worth much and we are in a recession. Food prices are increasing, gas and oil prices are unbelievable and the housing market is in terrible shape.

The government can control prices during war, and we're at war.

I'm a World War II veteran, and, to me, war is insanity. WWII was forced on us. I believe the first responsibility of the government is to keep us out of unnecessary wars like Vietnam and Iraq.

CLAUDE C. MAXWELL,Topeka

Getting on track

The Daily Dose article April 14 titled "Looking forward" was no endorsement or incentive for anyone who is thinking of taking an Amtrak train. The track pictured wouldn't pass any worthwhile inspection for safety. It looks like the old Missouri Pacific Railroad track that ran from Lomax to Topeka that was abandoned many years ago and lay dormant for several years before being removed and replaced by a walking trail.

The city council's 9-0 vote in favor of the Amtrak resolution was indeed welcomed. I hope sometime in the not too distant future we will again be able to board a train in Topeka and travel, without changing trains, in comfort to several destinations in Oklahoma and Texas, as was the case until 1979.

Seeing a unanimous vote by the city council was indeed appreciated and proved that a worthy cause can bring them together.

JOHN A. MILLS,Topeka

Ben Stein flunks

"My teacher hates me!"

That's the excuse parents sometimes hear when kids bring home bad grades. In many cases, the real reason for failure is a consistent lack of effort.

In the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," Ben Stein profiles advocates of intelligent design who claim that their ideas are being unfairly suppressed. What Stein doesn't tell you is that ID advocates have consistently failed to do the work required to pass muster within the scientific community.

The problem for ID advocates isn't that their ideas are being suppressed. It's that they haven't even tried to develop their ideas into a viable scientific research program. They haven't been expelled, they have flunked.

And now, in order to distract you from all those zeroes in the grade book, they have made a movie about how much the teacher hates them.

JEREMY MOHN,OlatheCHERYL SHEPHERD-ADAMS,Hays

Get focus off of coal

While some Kansas legislators keep telling us that coal plants are the cheapest form of electricity, investment researchers are warning us of the opposite. The latest warning comes from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. It counts no fewer than 11 bills in Congress for reducing carbon dioxide pollution, any of which will greatly increase the cost of burning coal.

ISVA's comparison between coal and gas shows that natural gas (which produces much less carbon dioxide) is just as cheap as coal at a carbon price of only $13.20/ton.

Why do corporate officials continue to insist on coal? Is it because their job is selling coal at any cost? You know the old, "we lose while corporations get rich" business plan. It's time to tell our Kansas legislators that we want a better deal.

FELIX REVELLO,Larned

Retirees at risk

I am frustrated by the lack of concern the Legislature gives to the KPERS retirees. It seems to me that the title "public employee" applies to members of the Legislature as equally as it does to teachers. You would think they would be funding cost of living increases annually.

Those 65,500 plus members under the KPERS plan have not received a COLA since 1998. Their purchasing power continues to erode, by 27 percent as of now. With the U.S. dollar value decreasing almost daily, that purchasing gap will continue to widen. I wonder how the Legislature plans to meet this problem when the retirees can no longer meet their basic minimum expenses?