City Hall soccer rip-off

The way Kansas City is going about stealing funds from other cities is completely ludicrous (12-7, Editorial, “Good move in KC soccer dispute”).

I am currently going to Metropolitan Community College-Blue River as a full-time student, living with my grandmother and working a full-time job.

Building a new soccer stadium in Kansas City means taking $150,000 from funding for Metropolitan Community College. Times are hard these days, and taking this funding will require a higher tuition or even less pay for the teachers.

MCC is a school for any type of student, young or old, to receive a quality education without paying as much as at universities.

Taking this money away is sending the message that Kansas City will take money from Missouri citizens to make a profit. City officials are promoting the idea that money is more important than education.

Even if this has no effect on you personally, letting Kansas City officials steal this money is showing them they can continue to do this.

At some point it will affect you, so take a stand.

Samantha Wickman

Independence

Education trumps soccer

Why would Mayor Sly James and Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Circo think they could steal money from the Raytown School District, Jackson County, Mid-Continent Public Library, Metropolitan Community College, mental health fund and blind pension fund totaling about $5,010,000 without a fight?

If not illegal, it is morally disgusting. This will not only victimize and drain money from everyone once, but it will also take millions of future tax dollars from these entities. The Jan. 9 public meeting with the Tax Increment Financing Commission should have a packed house.

Our community has seen how Kansas City treats its very own school district. Raytowners must stand up and support Superintendent Allan Markley and Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders in this battle.

Of course, most of us think education should come before a soccer complex.

Elisa Breitenbach

Raytown

Dear Mitt Romney:

There is an old saying: “If you’re going to be a chump, don’t be a loud one.”

John Sullivan

Shawnee

Kudos to beef series

Great series by The Star this week on Big Beef. In particular I was delighted to read that cattlemen’s groups were courting dietitians by plying them with wine, touring scenic ranches and giving hayrides.

Next they should host a tour of the giant feedlots in western Kansas to showcase the bucolic vistas of the modern cattle industry at work. Mid-July would be perfect.

Craig Volland

Kansas City

Brownback’s overreach

Gov. Sam Brownback proclaimed Dec. 8 as the National Day of Restoration, exhorting all Kansans to “repent” and pray to a “holy God.” This official proclamation by our sitting governor cannot go unchallenged as our great constitutional republic is built on the foundation that religion and government should be separate.

Some say that people who object to government displays of religious texts, symbols and proclamations need to get thicker skin. They say we shouldn’t take offense so easily.

This has nothing to do with taking offense. It’s about a clear understanding of the fundamental dangers to our constitutional republic when religion and government are mixed.

When government is used to promote religion, both secular society and religion are endangered. Our history is replete with examples of what happens when government and religion are not kept separate.

Our society is, and always has been, pluralistic, and our founders made clear that respect for all religions — and no religion — would be the law of the land. If our founders could read Brownback’s religious proclamation, I’m certain they’d hang their heads in shame.

On behalf of the MainStream Coalition, we will fight to keep government and religion separate.

Micheline Burger

President

MainStream Coalition

Olathe

Influencing elections

I have always been suspicious of special-interest groups and lobbyists because they place the values of their causes above the values of the country. Their only concern is that they get what they want.

It occurred to me after the last election that President Barack Obama’s coalition, which carried him to victory, was composed mainly of special-interest groups. He promised women, Latinos, gays and lesbians, students and African-Americans that he would take care of them if they would give him their votes.

Even though the majority of the American public believed Obama was taking us down the wrong economic path, a majority of Americans voted for him. This implies they placed their own special interests ahead of what is best for the country.

Several of these special-interest groups have already claimed credit for giving Obama a victory and are expecting political repayment. Selling out to special-interest groups does not always involve money.

Influence is influence.

William Gray

Overland Park

‘Customers’ hurt

During the 2012 election cycle, many businesses and their billionaire owners as well as the lobbying group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, campaigned against the interests of their customers — businesses, from small entrepreneurial efforts all the way up to large nationwide corporations. They depend on regular folks to spend their money to support those businesses.

But the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce on behalf of its members seem to be against regular folks getting ahead and earning a living with take-home wages. Those not involved as business owners are being turned into part-time workers who have no disposable income.

It seems to make sense if you are a business that having your customers with disposable income is a benefit. So why does the Chamber of Commerce work against the customers?

The best customer is one with more disposable income. If we have money, we will spend it.

Paul Comerford

Blue Springs

Obesity more than pop

Obesity is a vital health issue, and I appreciate the attention to the connection between diet and obesity in news articles. It is important to note Americans’ consumption of sweetened drinks has declined in recent years.

Therefore, we must examine all calorie sources in the diet in order to control weight. We will miss the mark if we concentrate solely on reducing intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Calories of any kind, consumed in amounts greater than the body needs, will lead to weight gain. We must not forget obesity is not caused by one single food/beverage but a multitude of factors.

As a dietitian, I believe moderation of food intake with regular physical activity is the key to wellness.

Elizabeth Patton

Registered Dietitian

Diabetes Educator

Consultant

Coca-Cola Co.

Maryland Heights, Mo.

Handwriting on wall

A number of articles have appeared in recent weeks regarding discontinuing the teaching of cursive writing in schools. What a loss this would be for future generations,

A few of the items that I hold most precious are letters, recipes, notes and such that were written by my grandparents and parents, none of whom is with me any longer. My recipe box is full of my mother’s handwriting.

I have letters from my father and my grandparents. All died many years ago.

I feel certain that a typed email will not have the same value to a person in 25 years that a handwritten note will. Understandably, teachers are hard-pressed to find time in the school day for something that is not often used in today’s world, but it does seem a shame to lose the beauty of the written word.

I suppose we could change the lyrics to some old standard songs. Try singing, “I’m gonna sit right down and type myself an email,” and see how that sounds.

Candy Anderson Huschle

Independence