Letters to the Editor: Praise for Portofino. The real election fraud. Stop the hate.

Stop the hate

The Kentucky Council of Churches, an ecumenical body that includes 12 faith traditions and more than 1,100 churches from across the state, stands in solidarity with our interfaith partners in condemning the recent hate acts of vandalism and violence that occurred in Fayette County. These acts of white supremacy are arrows of evil that cut to the core of our faith that proclaims that loving God and loving our neighbor is our mission in life (Matthew 22:36-40).

Even though we are distraught by these divisive deeds whose only aim is to create havoc and pain, we are encouraged by the outcry of disgust over this and similar acts that have occurred in our Kentucky community. More and more, eyes, ears, minds, and hearts are being opened to the dangerous implications of these acts. More importantly, citizens feel the pain that is being afflicted upon cherished members of our diverse community.

The Kentucky Council of Churches is calling upon the statewide majority who believe “and now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13), to speak out and drown out the damage of this hate that is being forced upon our community.

Rev. Amanda Sims Groves, KCC president; Rev. Dr. Donald K. Gillett II, KCC executive director

Thank you, Portofino

Lexington has lost a number of bars and restaurants due to the pandemic. All had a following and a role in our community that we will miss. Among the more notable is Portofino, a fixture of fine dining in the heart of downtown for over two decades. But more than a convivial and elegant place for a fine meal, Portofino has played an important cultural role that deserves recognition as we say goodbye at the end of this year.

Portofino’s owners, Wayne and Susan Masterman, have for decades been active and generous supporters of our arts community, and made the restaurant a haven for artists, performers, educators and students of the arts. Portofino’s walls are graced almost exclusively with the works of Kentucky’s finest artists, and the Mastermans have generously hosted benefits, celebrations, performances, and commemorations for artists and performers.

When we can all gather safely again, the cultural hole left by Portofino will be hard to fill. But we want to recognize and thank the Mastermans for their contributions to our arts community over many years. We hope other businesses will follow in their footsteps, but in the meantime we salute the passing of Portofino and say thank you, thank you, thank you!

Lori Houlihan, Lexington Art League; Everett McCorvey, University of Kentucky Opera; Allison Kaiser, Lexington Philharmonic; John Nardolillo, University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra; Ame Sweetall, LexArts; Gregory Pettit, Chamber Music Festival of Lexington

Election thievery

Many Republicans, including attorneys general from across the country (not including Daniel Cameron, I note with relief), and most members of the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives, including most of its senior leadership (but not including Rep. Andy Barr, thankfully), are not merely standing back in servility, letting the president have his red-faced rage about a stolen election; they are engaged in vigorous incitement of violence toward, and destruction of, our most essential document, the very Constitution of our country. Theirs is the actual and transparent attempt to steal an election. And on what legal basis? There is none. President Donald Trump lost. To incite others to overturn that loss is no less than sedition and a craven assault on democracy.

Arthur T. LaBar, Richmond

Ignorance exposed

The majority of the voting population in Kentucky have revealed their lack of knowledge to the rest of the country by reelecting Sen. Mitch McConnell. His lies here in Kentucky worked again. He is despised by the majority of the rest of the United States. They know he is just an enabler for a con artist, cult leader, liar, and criminal. They have made the billionaires billions of dollars at the expense of the working class, adding trillions of dollars to the national debt for our grandchildren to repay; helped in the destruction of our environment, and are responsible for the deaths of thousands due to their mismanagement of the virus. This is a perfect example of minority rule due to the outdated Electoral College, which has happened twice in recent years. It may take generations to recover from the damage done to the economy and national security and democracy. The con artist, cult leader, liar and criminal is a wannabe dictator.

The overall education level of we Kentuckians must improve so we can eradicate ignorance.

Robert Ray Lillie, Georgetown

Looking to leaders

For the sake of our Republic, responsible Republicans need to step up and speak out. While President Donald Trump continues to attack the validity of the election results, other prominent GOP political figures are calling for throwing out ballots and issuing violent threats. Other officials and their employees around the country have been threatened simply for doing their jobs. This is how third rate dictators stay in power, yet we only hear crickets from Republican officials.

We know that our senators and representatives don’t have the courage to stand up for what’s right, but what about our civic leaders? A large percentage of our business and civic leaders are Republicans. They are the ones who need to be speaking out now if they don’t want to see the GOP go down in history as causing the death of the democratic process in the United States. If they keep quiet at a time when overt threats are being made to our democracy, then they are complicit and no better than those threatening the life of the wife of the Georgia secretary of state. I wonder if they will speak out or remain silent.

Howard Stovall, Lexington

Mitch’s playbook

Our Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has learned well from his mentor, Sen. Mitch McConnell: obstruct, obstruct, obstruct.

The only arrows in our quiver against this virus are masks, avoiding crowds/social distancing, and contact tracing.

Our attorney general is spending taxpayer money to chop off at the knees our only defenses against this virus.

I am sick and tired of seeing our governor and state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack on the verge of tears trying to slow this down. Apparently lives lost mean nothing to Mr. Cameron. His ambition reigns superior.

Judy Harvey, Lexington

Case choice

Despite my lack of training in the law, I am wondering on what basis Attorney General Daniel Cameron is choosing to support, or not support, involvement in legal cases. It seems his primary criteria is political expediency. I do applaud his efforts in ensuring voting in the last election, but his efforts in the courts are more problematic. Perhaps President Donald Trump’s floating his name as a potential Supreme Court nominee has led him to want to emulate the performance of Trump’s legal team — which has been far from stellar. I hope the attorney general will demonstrate more thought and diligence in determining how he chooses to carry out his duties for the future, perhaps leading to greater success in the courtroom and less wasting of taxpayer resources.

Charles Myers, Lexington

Politics of COVID

COVID-19 continues to be politicized in our state. The role of governor’s in COVID-19 virus management and decision making resulted from President Donald Trump abdicating federal government leadership. Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive emergency orders have resulted in lawsuits challenging whether Kentucky’s Constitution provided the governor such authority. Initially, lower courts ruled the governor did not. The attorney general also joined this position. Kentucky Supreme Court justices reached a unanimous decision the governor did have such authority.

The governor’s decisions have been publicly criticized by Congressmen Andy Barr and Thomas Massie. Republican state legislative leadership has voiced concern about not being sufficiently involved by the governor in COVID-19 activities, hoping to make political gains based on discontent with decisions. It should be pointed out that all of the professional, technical, and medical expertise are located in agencies led by the governor, not the legislature. The governor’s decisions are driven by federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

Trump did essentially nothing to deter the virus. He compounded this incompetence by purposely convincing his followers there was nothing to worry about when he knew better. Words cannot do justice to the resulting carnage. Trump and his Republican sycophants have used a pandemic to politicize and further divide the nation.

Danny Shearer, Lexington

‘Get over it’

I don’t know what country you live in, but I live in America and it seems many Trumpists want to live in an autocracy or under a dictator’s thumb. After more than 50 fake lawsuits and two Supreme Court beat-downs, according to polls, 77% of Republicans still believe the election was rigged. No evidence, only the allegations that were presented to the various courts. One of the main tenets of democracy is you are innocent until proven guilty. Without evidence under our (current) jurisprudence system you cannot be tried and convicted. If the Republicans believe allegations, lies or lack of evidentiary proof are no longer necessary to arrive at a conviction, if this is the society they want current and future generations to live under, then the grand experiment is over — all because of one narcissistic snake charmer whose spell they fell under.

As many Republicans four years ago chanted to Democrats, “Get over it.”

Robert Hoeller, Lexington

Speak up

We need Rep. Andy Barr, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul to step up and condemn the provocative words against voting officials in Georgia. My representatives’ silence is not acceptable. Their silence is complicit in the threatening behavior of the president. We will hold them accountable for any injuries or deaths caused by fanatics stirred up by Trump’s provocations. Americans need peace and calm. We need these crazy election allegations, the lies and the bullying by Trump to stop. Their silence is causing this to grow. We urge them to do the right thing and stop these fraud allegations. We blame them for standing by and allowing America to suffer under the chaos of Trump.

Diana Strzalka, Nicholasville

This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 11:39 AM.