Five Alive
Peace of mind: It was fascinating to open the Pitch and read C.J. Janovy’s coverage of the anti-war action in Bond’s office. My jaw dropped while looking at mug shots of the five “old schoolers.”
Simply based upon their deep convictions, bare faith and courage, these grandparent citizens showed us an illuminating example of moral, peaceful action. These people are genuine, and truly our better angels whom we should learn from. The five “guilty” pleas are especially wise and powerful.
Janovy’s article was truthful, and indeed, a welcome breath of fresh air to this reader. Hopefully we will see more of this type of unbiased reporting in 2003. Congratulations on her journalistic excellence.
Jan Kulisky
Lee’s Summit
They don’t know Jack: The Pitch may be the best-written and most readable newspaper in town, but philosophically, alas, it is scarcely more coherent than the Star. I write here in reference to C.J. Janovy’s “High Five” (January 2), the tribute to the aging dilettantes of the first anti-war movement to lack a war.
Where were these champions of “faith and conscience” — and the Pitch by extension — when we were bombing the crap out of Yugoslavia, a country without weapons of mass destruction, a terrorist wing or territorial ambitions?
Where were they when President Clinton launched his miniwar on Iraq on the eve of impeachment in 1998 or when he bombed a Sudanese aspirin factory right after his disastrous grand jury testimony in the Lewinsky affair?
Where were they when the Clinton justice department incinerated eighty Americans in a religious community outside of Waco for what amounted to a tax violation?
Where were they when Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon sent fifteen protestors to prison for terms ranging from one to seven years, who — as a way to protest a perceived constitutional violation — authorized a legal lien against a judge that was expunged in minutes? The one Jackson County woman among the fifteen was a 23-year-old who went to the meeting to baby-sit for her nieces. I first interviewed her in a St. Joseph prison. No one else would.
If young people want to learn what real “faith and conscience” protesting is like, they might go where there is no easy self-congratulation or brainless posturing. I refer to the pro-life movement, a movement that even after the death of 40 million innocents, the American left still does its best not just to ignore, but to silence.
Jack Cashill
Kansas City, Missouri
So-So SOFA
Hall of infamy: Regarding Greg Hall’s “SOFA Awards!” (January 2): I disagree with three-quarters of his picks!
Maybe Hall is a Jayhawks fan, but I cannot stand listening to Bob Davis with his know-it-all butt-kiss Johnson … I mean Jayhawk country attitude. I understand the Royals make a lot of mistakes, but he ranks right up there with that organization’s problems as well.
Maas does not know how to interview; he simply is an ex-jock who just happens to be able to speak with a microphone in front of his mouth. That does not make him a good interviewer.
As for Lisa Holbrook, I think Hall needs to expand his horizons some. I’ve heard the same blah-blah about women in sports, and it was true on the sidelines at many of the bowl games, but Lisa Holbrook deserves more credit than he is giving her. She does not talk down to the sports audience and is not a “self-serving, wanna-see-myself-on-TV” anchor at all. There is more substance there than with just about any other name he mentioned in this article. She’s attractive and knows sports — sounds like a pretty good combo to me!
Where does Hall fit in with all this? It’s kind of like writing an e-mail … pretty easy to hide behind the pen, huh?
Aaron Luke
Kansas City, Missouri
Black Ball
Color guard: Another excellent piece of work with the article about Fatlock and his racist take on Roy Williams (Greg Hall’s “Black Hawks Down,” December 26). Enjoyed much. Thanks.
Bryce Pittman
Overland Park
Fiberglass Ceiling
Bad news bears: I loved C.J. Janovy’s commentary on the March of the Teddy Bears (Kansas City Strip, January 2). Her slant is always amusing.
I work for HEMCO Corporation, the fiberglass manufacturers of the bare bears. I have bad news for Janovy: Topeka is jumping on the public-art bandwagon with fiberglass trains to help pay for the restoration of an abandoned rail station. We have the model and are working on the mold for it as we speak. St. Louis has asked us about making dogs for their observation of the 200th anniversary of the Louis and Clark expedition. So 2003 will be fiberglass-free, but only in KC.
John Canterbury
Independence
Down Under Blunder
On the fence: Just thought I should point out a minor inaccuracy in Jean Oppenheimer’s review of Rabbit-Proof Fence (“Rabbit Punch,” December 26). White settlers began arriving in Australia in 1788, not 1820, as stated in the review.
Paul Trainor
Kansas City, Missouri
Magazine Wrack
No-Spin zone: Regarding Rob Harvilla’s “Mag Light” (December 19): I just wanted to commend the author on this fabulous, well-written article. Never have truer words been spoken.
Rob, I would be the first to buy YOUR music magazine. Well done!
Erin Case
Kansas City, Missouri
