Calling All Karls

"In almost every musical case, you'd do well to pay less attention to the audience and more attention to the music."State Lines, "Dead to Fred," November 9Calling All Karls
I grew up with Karl Hockenbarger. He has always been strong-willed, opinionated and quick to anger. He's also .0.been one of the few members of the Westboro Baptist Church who I felt really embraced the teachings of my father — took them to heart and owned them. Many there talked the talk but were not genuine in their "faith."

Justin Kendall's story is probably the best piece of writing that I have seen in the past 15 years as far as shedding light on the actual nuts and bolts inner workings of my family. It is at times infuriating and humorous to read about the words and actions of my siblings and compare them with the classic definition of a cult.

To suggest that my family has not caused Karl and Kay to be divorced simply because a document hasn't been accessed and signed by a judge, and therefore they have not knowingly violated that dictate, is profoundly Clintonesque.

This article shines a pure, pristine spotlight on the grotesque, repulsive manipulation of the "truth" of the Bible that my father has practiced and passed on to his children and their children. "The Sins of the Father" seems so appropriate here. Nathan Phelps, Cranbrook, British ColumbiaState Lines, "Here, Kiddie, Kiddie," November 2Butt Seriously
Since the soccer fields in Cupcake Land fell through, I would love to see the Wizards back at Arrowhead. Arrowhead should be filled with Wizards blue on Saturday nights!

It's a shame to see such good soccer struggle. They have no clue how to promote it, though. The fact that they don't announce games in Spanish as well as English screams of racism to me. Or stupidity. Or both.

Major League Soccer has some of the best soccer played anywhere around the world now — they should have no trouble getting people out to watch the world's most popular sport being played at such a high level. However, it's not the most popular sport with the white, suburban, audience that they're going after, hence their problems with attendance.

The recent Wizards vs. Chivas match was an excellent example: Arrowhead seemed packed with fans, nearly all of them Hispanics wearing Chivas colors. I know almost all of the Chivas fans were from KC! They should be Wizards fans!

That passion for soccer goes through almost all newly immigrated groups in the United States. Alexi Lalas is right — the Barney & Friends mentality is alienating adult soccer fans. It's insulting. Real soccer fans want to go to the stadium and drink a couple of pints, yell, sing, drum, dance. Instead, we have to settle for stale, crappy beer and being head-butted in the testicles by snotty-nosed kids.

Hopefully MLS' idiotic notions will wear out before their pocketbooks, and we can have some real soccer in the United States. It sure was great to see the MLS All-Stars beat Chelsea this summer! Ken Krauss, Kansas CityFeature, "The New Fred," November 2Monster Truck
As a Kansas City native, I'm a frequent reader via the Web.

Regarding the article on the Phelps family and Westboro Baptist Church: Why? You are part of the problem here, not part of the solution.

Hands up, anyone who didn't know the Westboro people were completely and totally evil? Nobody? Exactly. An "exposé" serves no purpose. There is no need to understand them. There is no further information that serves the public regarding their beliefs or actions. By covering them, you are aiding them. The same goes for Hannity, O'Reilly and even Gallagher (negotiating with them over the Amish situation?). The only garlic for this breed of vampire is the strong stench of evasion. Ignore them. If you do not feed the monster, the monster will die.

Ignore them. Those who need to mind them (Patriot Riders, lawmakers) are. Stop feeding the monster, please. Justin Julian, La Verne, CaliforniaBetter Than Watchtower
This is the most apt article on religious perversion I have ever read.

Ray Paxton, Kansas City, MissouriShirley Not
As a Baptist minister's daughter who bore a child out of wedlock, Shirley Phelps-Roper might better spend her time atoning to God rather than playing God. If God truly hates homosexuals, it would follow that He also hates fornicators.

Hiding behind the shield of the constitutional right to protest is self-serving. Twisting the words of the Bible to advance one's personal agenda is heresy. Sane people who actually read the Bible understand that, though God may hate the sin, He loves the sinner. We are allsinners. At the end of the day, we answer to God, not Shirley Phelps-Roper.

Perhaps there's a compound in hell reserved for the Phelps family. Joan Wheeler, Kansas City, Missouri Feature: "Ethanol Pushers," September 21 and September 28Fuel Shaft
The ethanol articles were informative but highly negative.

Ethanol has its problems, but ethanol production is still in its infancy. Of course gasoline will be tough to compete with — we've had over a hundred years to refine it! When big oil companies are reaping billions of dollars in profits, how much is going toward funding better ways to drill, pump and refine their product? Yet how much do the U.S., state and local governments hand out in grants to our universities for scientific advances of ethanol?