Letters from the week of January 4
Ask a Mexican, December 7
Norwegian Would
Hey, Mexican Dude, I’ve been a Kansas Citian for about a year, and I happen to be one of those “dirty Norwegians” you wrote about. I want to tell you … right on!
I do, however, have a lot of Mexican friends, and I love the Mexican culture, music, food, etc., even though I’m a pasty, white, lumpy, dirty Norwegian. The jackass who wrote that stupid, baiting and misquoted question needed to be, in my opinion, bitch-slapped. I think your response was a well-informed, moderately polite, literary bitch slap.
Keep up the good work. I look forward to the next donkey punch or dirty-Sanchez column. Peter Olson, Kansas City, Missouri
Backwash, December 21
Something’s Rotten
Thanks to the Pitch for printing the rest of the story about home builders and wood rot. I have worked with many outstanding reporters at The Kansas City Star and know that they love journalism and want to report the full story. The editors are the culprits for cutting important consumer information.
I do thank Paul Wenske for his front-page story. While it didn’t give pertinent information like who the builder was, I am certain it was the editors, who are afraid of the powerful builder advertisers and lobby, who prevented that information from being in his story. No matter what, the warning his great story sent to the public is an important one.
It is sad that there is no good way to check a home builder’s reputation. The Better Business Bureau, the state attorney general and the Home Builders Association simply don’t make that information available. Mandatory binding arbitration clauses with secret settlements and court cases that settle with secrecy agreements make it nearly impossible to learn which builders to avoid. Homeowners can submit a complaint about a builder through the Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings Web site, www.hadd.com. This database is searchable by builder and by state.
Campaign contributions and lobbying by the wealthy and powerful builder association keep our elected officials from passing consumer protection legislation. I thought these people were elected to represent the people, not the builders. It has been obvious for the 13 years I have been going to Jefferson City, and for the years I went to Topeka, who they really represent, and it isn’t us. Nancy Seats, Kirkwood, Missouri
Protect This House
Eleven-year-old houses should not have wood rot in the interior of a wall. It would have been easy enough for the reporter to ask the homeowner for evidence that they maintained the home, or it would have been evident to a seasoned reporter that the homeowner did not maintain the home.
Missing pieces of information relevant to stories is why the Star and all the local news stations are no longer interesting. I want to know the supposedly irrelevant pieces of the story. I do not want to be left hanging and thinking, Gee, which Kansas City builders have the reputation of a used car dealer? I don’t need to be fed stories that are obviously related to advertising or shipped in from other states for “fillers.”
I want to know what is going on in Jefferson City and Topeka. I want to know what political figure is dating the family member of the builder of a major attraction in Kansas City. I want to know who has scratched whose back to get what bill through. I want to know what business is cheating the public. I want to know what church or union is wasting money. I want to know what a school district is doing to save money. I want to know about employees who cheat their employers money by claiming to be ill or disabled. Most of the public who actually understand the big picture might be getting a little tired of trying to convince those that prefer to keep their heads in the sand. Karen Horstman, Raytown
KC Strip, December 7
Foundation Repairs
Thank you for your informative article regarding the Mutual Musicians Foundation. It shined some light as to why the foundation’s existence is now in jeopardy.
I left the almost-empty place three weeks ago at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday night. It was clear to me that the Foundation could not survive as a dry venue.
I believe the Pitch is in a unique position to make its mark on this town by bringing to the public’s attention that here is a true cultural landmark, one of the few this young city has, which is about to be made history unless we demand that some allowances be made for this precious place. It has been one of most color-blind places I have visited in this city. I share Sean O’Byrne’s experience of the place as described in your article: It was the Foundation that my visiting friends will remember above all else.
It should be noted that the bar in question was typically little more than a cooler full of somewhat cold beers, which a donation of $2 could secure. In my experience, drinking was not the focus of the audience. This begs the question: Why should the Foundation need to sell alcohol in order to stay in business? You may as well ask why should bread need (just a little) yeast? To my mind, it’s that fundamental. (Jazz has never been about sanctity.)
What about an article giving the history of the Foundation with some commentary from Kansas City musicians, coupled with a phone-in petition to our esteemed mayor? Kay Barnes might just have visited the place herself at some point over the years. A. Mullarney, Kansas City, Missouri
Feature: “The Last Temptation of Dougie,” December 21
Odd Ends
That stupid article about swingers in the Ozarks was bad enough (“Party Cove Pimps,” August 31). Now this? It’s not a challenge for a good journalist to find a story about a wacko. Please redirect Nadia Pflaum’s efforts toward more intellectually and professionally challenging stories. Enough about individual weirdos, scumbags and other eccentrics. There is much more going on in Kansas City that affects us as a community.
Name withheld by request
Feature: “Holiday Bummer,”
December 14
Cash Out
Your article on KC panhandlers was a must-read for me. Years ago, while I was still in college and visiting Dallas, I was given a long sob story from an unfortunate soul who only needed $5 to get home on the bus. I was happy I was there in time to help and gave them what they needed without delay. Not long after that, another person with a strikingly similar story met me by chance. I realized how naïve I had been.
Since then, I’ve been fascinated by the various ways people try to get me to part with my cash. It’s become a bit of a pastime for me when I travel. I want to check out the local panhandlers (as I call them) to see how they operate. San Francisco has the best; they are creative and entertaining. Paris has the worst — if they can’t take it honestly, they will steal it just as well.
The format of your article was great. I recognized many of the people you interviewed. Thanks for a great article! Jason George, Grandview
Feature: “Bosom Buddies,” October 28, 2004
Buddy System
My first thought after hearing of Sen. Sam Brownback testing the political waters for a presidential run was the article “Bosom Buddies,” which described the relationship between Ahmad Chalabi and Brownback. This article is forever etched in my brain. I would like to see you rerun this article!
Karen Horstman, Raytown
Editor’s note: Former staff writer Kendrick Blackwood’s story about how Brownback stumped for Chalabi, the Iraqi exile who reportedly helped convince the Bush administration to invade Iraq, is archived at www.pitch.com/Issues/ 2004-10-28/news/feature.html.
Correction: Valorie Engholm was misidentified in the Night and Day section of the December 28 Pitch. Engholm founded and is co-host of the Wednesday open-mic night at Crave Café, 1615 West 39th Street. The person in the accompanying photo was Crave owner Pete Mackey.
