Letters: Readers discuss Glenn McCoy’s cartoons, Baseball Hall of Fame and Trump versus Bannon

Government amok

We, as Americans, have continuously let the federal government grow larger and still fail us.

Every day, we the people are failed by our elected officials, who consistently are not held accountable. Every day, the government gives out power it should not have. Special interests and unelected bureaucrats wield power over us.

Meaningful bipartisan legislation has vanished. The consistent polarization of politics has brought about the passing of legislation that benefits one party’s platform but fails to help the American people as a whole.

Many in Congress focus on their next election — their next paycheck — rather than passing purposeful legislation. The implementation of term limits could help fix this problem.

Also, the executive branch has grown too powerful. The appointment of unelected bureaucrats to major agencies and consistent use of executive orders to single-handedly implement policy goes against the Constitution. The president is meant to enforce laws, not create them. Agencies can carry out day-to-day enforcement, but unchecked bureaucrats wield more power than necessary.

Vance Howerton

Liberty

Unfunny pages

My hope for 2018? I’d like The Star to stop printing political cartoons from Glenn McCoy of The Belleville News-Democrat because none of them is funny and many are highly offensive.

Katie Linder

Prairie Village

Take pride

Thank you for publishing the Jan. 3 letter, “Trash the litter.” (12A) It rang so true regarding the litter on the side of our highways. Unfortunately, it’s not just the highways that are a problem.

I drive to work every day through Swope Park, and I am appalled at the trash that seems to accumulate: mattresses, tires, furniture, bags of trash, yard waste and more. It is infuriating to see this disregard and disrespect of the park.

Posted signs say there are cameras present. This is a joke.

If there were and people dumping their trash suffered repercussions, then you would think, possibly, it wouldn’t be as big a problem as it is.

I know there are issues that are a lot more important. But keeping the city and parks clean will instill greater pride in our surroundings and make a better impression on visitors to Kansas City.

There are lots of big things in our city to be proud of, but we need to take care of the small things. In the grand scheme of things, big and small, it all makes a difference.

Debbie Steakle

Raytown

No juicing

I was very dismayed to read Sam Mellinger’s dismissal of Joe Morgan’s plea for nominees to the Baseball Hall of Fame to be held to the high standards of “playing the game hard and right” and not to have chemically enhanced their talent with steroids. (Dec. 29, 1B, “My Baseball Hall of Fame ballot (Joe Morgan, I’m sorry/not sorry)”)

By contrast, Mellinger wonders “how much longer we’re all supposed to be mad about highly competitive athletes following the incentives put in place to be their most productive selves,” such as Manny Ramirez or Lance Armstrong. So, in other words, chemically enhance your body or cheat so you can be the best and win awards.

What a terrible message to send to our kids and future athletes.

Following this line of reasoning, a good journalist, in order to win top journalistic awards, should be able to lift another’s ideas or plagiarize. Check your ethics and morality at the door so you can be the best that you can be.

Luckily, so far, more seasoned and ethical voters have kept many of the cheaters out. I hope Mellinger will start listening to his more mature colleagues and keep the Hall of Fame a place for the best players who won the honor honestly and with only natural talent and hard work.

Kirk Ridley

Belton

So much winning

Steve Bannon is at odds with his good buddy, President Donald Trump. (Jan. 4, 2A, “Trump fires back at ex-aide Bannon”) Who could have imagined that?

But sure enough, with the publication of Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” we can see the “I-win-you-lose” strategy play out. There is no honor among thieves, and no loyalty among “I-win-you-lose” losers.

Just as in Syria, where it is “I bomb your village” and “you bomb my village,” the “I-win-you-lose” strategy shows itself to be a losing strategy once again.

When will they learn the lesson? “Win-win” wins and “I-win-you-lose” loses.

Larry Marsh

Kansas City

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Glenn McCoy’s cartoons, Baseball Hall of Fame and Trump versus Bannon."