Club Wed

Marry maids:The only thing scarier than C.J. Janovy's reflexive damnation of everything Republican in her February 12 piece, "Altar Ego," is the fact that I'm a Republican who almost agrees with her. I say almost because, in the end, the constitutional amendment we should be working toward is one that defines marriage as a union of two individuals. How can lofty principles like freedom, equal protection under the law be construed as a "gimmick" of the right wing?

As much as Janovy would like to blame Republicans for the sudden appearance of the gay-marriage issue, she should know better. I think some litigants in Massachusetts, the mayor in San Francisco and a number of judges coast to coast might disagree with her. Bush may want the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, but he knows it won't happen. The issue itself will play out in court after court, not in the voting booth. No one will need to be dragged to the polls this year. Anyone with a brain -- and liberals, too -- should know that the 2004 election will be unlike any other in recent memory.

The problem with the left-wingers is that their only true position in this campaign is that George Bush is a liar and he lies and keeps lying. What's missing here? Well, that would be the most elusive of Clintonian stains, called "proof."

The bottom line will remain the same no matter how and when gay marriages become legally recognized unions. Democrats will still claim to be the party of tolerance, as long as you're not a Republican or sound like one.
Clint Hooker
Prairie Village

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Space Cadet
Alien nation: In Tony Ortega's article "Space Ghost" (KC Strip, February 5), he states that Bob Lindsay "[put] up notices of the sighting on two different UFO Web sites" but "had no inquiries whatever from UFO researchers" and that "his messages on the two sites have both disappeared!"

I write to counter this assertion.

It appears that Lindsay did submit a report, albeit a very short one, to our center on January 28, although I can find no record that he tried to telephone us over our hot line. Contrary to your assertion, his report has been posted to our Web site (www.ufocenter.com) since January 31.

Perhaps the reason that Lindsay has not been contacted by any UFO investigators is that he included no contact information with his report. Even if we had wanted to contact him, we would not have been able to do so.

As a general rule, UFO investigators can do very little if the witness waits two weeks to report his sighting and then provides no contact information so a follow-up investigation can take place.
Peter B. Davenport, director
National UFO Reporting Center
Seattle

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Another Green Word
Courting trouble: Regarding February 12's Kansas City Strip, I say to Judge Henry Green: Sentencing a retarded teenager as an adult is a bigoted, stupid act.

Having been raped by the neighborhood pedophile at age 12, I can speak unimpeachably on this. The experience certainly didn't warp my "sexual identity," although it was some years before I rid myself of severe homophobia. These days I'm fairly "normal," save for the occasional urge to firebomb North American Man/Boy Love Association meetings, but I digress.

The majority position of the court is the worst kind of malfeasance, melding your fearful religious zealotry with affairs of the state. The Founding Fathers foresaw this possibility, hence the First Amendment. Unfortunately, people such as yourself still abuse their power and "do the Lord's work" of vengeance.

If Matthew Limon has the mind of a six-year-old, then treat him as a six-year-old. Help him rather than getting your jollies from persecutive excess akin to that of John Winthrop. Cultivate good judgment rather than judgmentalism: If brain death determines legal death, then let mental age determine legal age -- for sentencing, at any rate.

I live in Leavenworth County and like it here; however, your contemptible court forces me to like it somewhat less than I used to.
Russ Bixby
Leavenworth County

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Belly Ache
Director's cut: Thank you for Allie Johnson's insightful article about the colorful Dr. Timothy Sifers ("The Deepest Cut," February 26). In 2000, I also plunked my $200 down and got his infamous sales pitch. Cocksure of himself, he didn't convince me he was the man for me, and I was somewhat relieved when I found out that my insurance would cover only the Roux-en-Y. Sounded good to me -- it was a safe, known surgery with good results. One day I got a call from his office -- he was no longer going to perform the RNY! Believe me -- I got the hell outta Dodge! I found a nice, respectable doctor in St. Louis and am happy with my surgery. I never did get my $200 back.

I belong to a local group -- Kansas City Weight-Loss Surgery Support Group -- that is made up of people who have "been there, done that" and come together to share our experiences (never medical advice) and encouragement with those who are searching for answers about the different types of surgery. Several of our members were Sifers' patients -- some detest the man, and some put him up near God.