Letters: Readers discuss Overland Park development, Trump’s swamp drain and division
Swamp creatures
While campaigning for president in 2016, Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. It’s appropriate for him to conduct investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden, or others he’s concerned about. During the three years of Trump’s presidency, the Democrats have done nothing but try to find ways to impeach him.
They remind me of how crocodiles would behave if their swamp were being drained. Can you imagine the snarling of snouts, the baring of teeth and the furious thrashing of tails during their struggle for survival?
It is just what we are seeing in Washington, since the Democrats realize their swamp is being drained. Keep watching, but stand back or you will be spattered with mud.
- Allene Maloney, Trenton, Missouri
Residents’ interests
Hooray for Overland Park City Councilman Faris Farassati, who has announced that he will run for mayor in 2020. (Dec. 5, 6A, “Overland Park City Council member Farassati announces run for mayor”)
It’s about time someone with gumption took the time and effort to stop political leaders from passing legislation that benefits developers and not the city’s residents.
Mayor Carl Gerlach joined a few senior members of the Overland Park City Council at its recent meeting in passing a deal that would enable developers of the Brookridge Golf Course area to build more high-rise apartments and condominiums. It also includes tax breaks for the developers that could amount to more than $200 million.
Upon completion, that project will dump a great number of automobiles onto our already crowded streets.
This is outrageous. We need more people like Farassati to make decisions that benefit our residents instead of working with developers to fatten their profits.
Councilmen and mayors are elected to represent the city’s residents, not developers.
- Allyn Glaub, Overland Park
Precedent gone
While teaching Anglo-American constitutional and legal history for many years, I never imagined that a president and attorney general would challenge the centuries-old precedent of a head of state being accountable under the law, not exempt from it.
England’s King John’s signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 was a landmark fundamental to English and American constitutional law. Until now.
Attorney General Bill Barr’s interpretation of “unitary executive theory” claims that no matter what a president does, it is inherently legal and cannot be challenged while he is in office. Therefore, the president cannot be impeached for unconstitutional abuse of power.
For 804 years, our understanding of the importance of essentially unlimited executive power giving way to the rule of law has mattered in both nations.
This is not a minor matter. If you buy Barr’s version of presidential powers, the rule of law as we have known it is history and America is OK with granting unlimited authority to our president, contrary to the Constitution. Forget “we the people.”
Until now, Republicans acknowledged this, as did Democrats. Why are Republicans today willing to throw away this restraint on excessive authority simply to defend a president’s possible abuse of power?
- Harold J. Schultz, Kansas City
Credit due
I applaud Ivanka Trump’s support of opportunity zones in her Dec. 14 guest commentary, “Self-reliance, not government dependence in Trump economy.” (9A) However, she gives credit for creating them to the Republicans’ 2017 tax reform.
As Forbes explained last year, several members of Congress from both parties, including Sen. Cory Booker, worked hard for several years to bring about this legislation.
- Linda Stinnett, Overland Park
A sad song
“America, America/God shed his grace on thee/And crown thy good with brotherhood/From sea to shining sea.”
Brotherhood is kinship, fellowship, an association, a state of being, community, society, connected by common interest. It is the soul that binds members together and allows us to strive toward greater goals.
Today, I can’t help but make up new words:
“America, America/How divided can we be/God took his grace; we are in disgrace/Our brotherhood, we look for thee.”
I do hope our government honors our Constitution and doesn’t continue to try to bend its words to represent anyone’s own selfish gains and interests. I do want to feel trust and respect again in our elected officials. I do want to believe that we, all Americans, will remember that we are in this together.
Honor our flag, honor our liberty, our freedom, our brotherhood. We all have a voice.
- Pamela Lehman, Leawood