Letters on death penalty, Uber, Brownback waitress, athletic letters, yard sign of hope

End the death penalty in Kansas

The time is now to end the death penalty in Kansas.

There are many reasons to do so: Using the death penalty risks executing an innocent person. The death penalty is racist. But most states now are questioning the death penalty because of its high cost.

Because of extra preparation and a separate sentencing phase required in capital cases, lengthier appeals, and the added costs of incarcerating death-row inmates, studies consistently find the death penalty to be much more costly than a life sentence without the chance of parole. Kansas is no exception.

Our state has spent millions of dollars on the death penalty since reinstating it in 1994. A 2003 legislative post audit found that capital cases ending in a death sentence cost over their lifetime 70 percent more ($1.2 million versus $740,000) than similar cases in which the death penalty was not sought.

The budget disaster in Kansas calls for us to find savings wherever possible. I call on the Legislature to pass and the governor to sign a death penalty repeal bill in the next few days. That repeal law would not affect those currently on death row. We can save money and take a giant ethical leap at the same time.

Political pawns

Uber pulls out of Kansas, and Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, says it’s shameful that Uber is using “their drivers and consumers as political pawns” (May 6 Eagle). What about the citizens of Kansas, and the state of Kansas, being used as GOP right-wing-ideological pawns for a political experiment?

Applaud waitress

I read about the waitress at a Topeka restaurant who served Gov. Sam Brownback (May 4 Local & State). She wrote him a message on the tip line of his receipt saying, “Tip the schools.” I saw news interviews of her, and she was very articulate in saying that good-quality, well-funded education is the foundation for building a brighter future for all kids in Kansas.

I tend to agree with the waitress. But the executive director of the Kansas Republican Party responded by spouting the party line (“Kansas GOP director blasts waitress’ ‘utter ignorance,’” May 5 Now Consider This).

Brownback’s failed economic experiment has wrecked the state’s fiscal treasury. I applaud the waitress for giving a constructive tip to Brownback. I view her message as something the governor ought to think about and heed.

It was citizen input at its finest. No violent protest, but a kindly worded, brief message to get a point across.

Look in mirror

Clay Barker, executive director of Kansas Republican Party, has difficulty understanding the suggestion by a waitress that rather than giving her a tip the governor should give the money to the schools. Barker criticized the media for publicizing her “arrogant stupidity and utter ignorance” (May 5 Now Consider This). He then said “everyone” was thinking that.

Well, you can count me out of that one. If Barker wants to see arrogant stupidity and utter ignorance, he should take a look in a mirror.

Fleeting glories

“Earn letters” (May 1 Letters to the Editor), referring to the recent athletic letter controversy regarding special-needs athletes, complained that “getting a letter in high school will never mean the same again.” Such a sentiment is absurd on its face. When did it ever mean anything?

An athletic letter merely serves to instill its bearer with high status in a social hierarchy that evaporates the second that one receives a high school diploma. This is its only “meaning.” In a world of fleeting glories, a letter is among the most transient; it’s an extremely petty honor to hoard.

Indeed, I think it would be more instructive to show high school athletes that, in the long run, their letter has no more real-world relevance than one sewn onto the jacket of a special-needs student.

The letter writer appealed to the character of Vietnam, World War II, Korea and Desert Storm veterans. I would think that they, more than anyone else, would recognize the dubious glory of high school letters. In Arlington National Cemetery, there are gravestones inscribed with all manner of military awards. I have yet to see a marker with one’s varsity status listed among these honors.

Sign of hope

It was sunny with a nice breeze as I recently drove the tree-lined Ninth Street in Winfield. There were new green leaves and lovely lawns lush with colorful flower beds. Spring was in full bloom, heralding new beginnings, new hope and undying optimism for the future.

And there it was, prominently and proudly displayed in the neatly kept, pretty front yard. A campaign sign still speaking strong, hopeful, unrelenting: “Davis-Docking.”

Of course, the election is past. Those who led the fight have moved on to other pursuits, with the rest resigned to our fate. But it was a sign, and not just a yard sign. It was a sign that the hope is still alive, that the times are a-changing and that Kansas common sense will yet prevail. It will. We know it will.

Topeka is a long way from Ninth Street in Winfield, but a little Kansas common sense goes a long way.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on death penalty, Uber, Brownback waitress, athletic letters, yard sign of hope."