Letters: Readers discuss Westport sidewalks, The Star’s Christmas front page and Trump

Too little Christmas

Since when has the Chiefs football game become more important than Christmas? Just look at the front page of the Dec. 25 Star. (1A photo, “Chiefs deliver new hope for postseason”)

Not everyone in this town is a sports fan. There was not a word about the real meaning of Christmas.

I have been a subscriber for more than 60 years, but I am beginning to think The Star has become a sports paper. Even the editorials are in the back pages, with advertisements in between.

Jeanette VanGoethem

Lee’s Summit

Westport sidewalks

I find it laughable that the Kansas City Council voted to privatize the sidewalks in Westport to solve a problem of gun violence and crime — a problem that the council created by allowing so many bars in the district. (Dec. 22, 1A, “Following council vote, weapons screening starts in Westport next spring”)

Every time you vote in favor of more bars over retail, you are going to create a bad balance. How many Westport business establishments have put money into this fight or contributed to the campaigns of our City Council members?

And the larger question looms: Who is going to pay for those security checkpoints? The bar patrons, becasue the businesses will be forced to raise prices? Or will the taxpayers be burdened by the City Council’s ignorance?

I used to love going to Westport when there was balance of retail and drinking establishments. Council members seem to be gung ho on creating a huge mess with more new buildings, tearing down the historic character of Westport and creating less parking, more density, more people and more crime.

No thanks to our dear council members, who have failed in their jobs miserably.

Chris Meyer

Kansas City

Trouble after hours

With all the problems in Westport, why do some bars get to stay open till 4 a.m.? Most other places close at 1:30 a.m.

At the least, they should stop serving booze in Westport at 1:30 a.m. Then people would go home.

Nothing good happens after midnight.

Ron Erickson

Independence

Good Will

As a subscriber of 30-plus years, I think it’s great to see George Will’s column back in the Opinion section. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s thoughtful. He writes well and brings different perspectives to his topics. And occasionally he’s even funny.

It’s always good to get some laughs with the morning Star and some hot tea. Please continue to publish him.

Ellen Miller

Lenexa

Consider his words

According to at least one of the president’s press secretaries speaking on the record, President Donald Trump’s tweets are more than what they first appear — stream-of-consciousness, please-say-the-first-thing-that-comes-to-your-mind thoughts. They are actually meant to be taken as “official statements by the president of the United States,” Sean Spicer said in a media briefing on June 6.

With that in mind, I ask you to please consider each and every one of the president’s tweets in terms of the following qualities: honesty, leadership, character, insight, authenticity, passable knowledge of history and law, racial and ethnic sensitivity, respect for the equality of others as prescribed by our Constitution, inspirational capacity, optimism and positivity, temperance, integrity, emotional intelligence and stability, temperance, humility, clarity, transparency, a firm grasp of risk versus cost, careful deliberation of what might lie beyond the moment, empathy, ability to project one’s self into another’s shoes, ability to compromise and an appropriate acknowledgment and respect of Americans who have different opinions than his own.

In other words, evaluate his tweets — again, official statements by the president of the United States — in terms of the characteristics you would expect from any leader … or even the children you’re raising as they approach maturity.

George Kinnard

Overland Park

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Westport sidewalks, The Star’s Christmas front page and Trump."