Letters to the Editor      

Posted on Sun, May. 04, 2008

Readers' views

GOP helping bring blacks back to the South

On April 29, Herald-Leader columnist Merlene Davis wrote, “Many southern segregationists who were Democrats hopped over the fence to the Republican side, taking their racist views with them and tainting what had been a good relationship” (between blacks and the GOP).

By saying that, Davis painted the GOP with the racism of Southern Democrats.

I can assure you that equating Southern Republicans like me to racist, segregationist Democrats is an outrageous insult.

Many Southern Democrats, influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, wanted to get away from the segregationist Democrats, so they became Republicans. Some, like former Ku Klux Klan member now U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, continued to be Democrats.

Look at the southern states now. The Republican influence is enormous. There are more Republican than Democratic governors. The congressional delegations are dominated by Republicans.

What has been the result of that Republican influence? For the last 20 years, the net migration of blacks has been into the South.

When Democrats dominated the South and ruled with Negro Codes and Jim Crow laws, blacks moved north to get away from the tyranny of segregation.

Now that Republicans rule, the South is a much friendlier place for blacks, and they are going back.

Maybe Davis should be a little more appreciative of what the GOP has done for blacks.

If blacks ever want to have a positive relationship with conservative Republicans, I recommend they stop equating us with racist, segregationist Southern Democrats.

Edward L. Smith Jr.

Park Hills

Just believe

How many of us are willing to state that we agree with literally everything that our individual pastors say and believe?

How about small snippets from what our pastors might have said at some point over the past 10 or 20 years? Would you welcome being held personally accountable for each and every message in all of those sermons?

I am saddened that so many people are apparently willing to broadly condemn Sen. Barack Obama over a few extreme and inflammatory statements made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama has stated unambiguously and with sincerity that he does not share or agree with these viewpoints. I believe him.

James MacLeod

Versailles

Best man for the job

I was extremely disappointed to read that Brad Cowgill, under intense pressure from Gov. Steve Beshear, has resigned as president of the Council on Postsecondary Education.

I am not surprised that Cowgill took the high road and acquiesced to the demand of our governor. Neither am I surprised that the governor apparently allowed politics to trump what is in the best interest of Kentucky.

What disappoints me is that our postsecondary education system lost an invaluable asset, and our youth will suffer.

I will be the first to profess that I know little about how the CPE chooses its president. However, I know a great deal about Cowgill. I can say without reservation that Kentucky can conduct all the national searches it wants and a better replacement will not be found.

I practiced law with Cowgill for seven years at the firm of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP. He is one of the most intelligent and hard-working individuals I have ever met.

He is a brilliant innovator and problem solver. He works tirelessly on whatever task is before him. On top of that, he is honest and a man of character.

It should come as no surprise that, despite these qualities, Cowgill would be victimized by what appears to be a politically motivated move by our current Democratic governor to oust anyone associated with our former Republican governor’s administration.

Regardless of Beshear’s reasoning, he did a great disservice by forcing the best man for the job to resign.

W. Craig Robertson III

Lexington

Wait for constituents

While I fervently supported Ben Chandler in his bids for Kentucky governor and U.S. Representative for Kentucky’s District 6 in which I reside, I didn’t feel represented when I read of his endorsement as a superdelegate of Sen. Barack Obama before the voters of Kentucky have a chance to make their voices heard in the May 20 primary.

Although there is no specific rule requiring a state’s superdelegates to align behind the candidate their state chooses, Chandler may soon find it politically expedient to do so since he, too, is an elected official at the mercy of the will of his constituents.

When politicians disregard the will of the people, they endanger their livelihood, regardless of how secure they think they may be in their offices.

Others willing to listen to the voice of the people will eventually come forward to challenge incumbents, and this is healthy for the political system.

Since the positions superdelegates take are not immutable, I urge Chandler to reconsider after the primary.

Emery Caywood

Paris

Truth was told

The April 27 article, “Historic, heroic horses” by staff writer Linda B. Blackford, described legendary racehorse Alydar’s injury as being the result of a “mysterious” incident, still raising questions.

There was nothing mysterious about it, and she joins a long list of writers who have described it that way.

As a part of a small group that was in the barn that night, I reported to the insurance underwriters exactly what I had been told about the origin of Alydar’s leg break by three prominent and well-qualified veterinarians.

Their description fit perfectly with what could be seen by people on the scene that night in November, 1990.

As for Alton Stone, the night watchman suspected of contributing to Alydar’s death for insurance purposes, his sentence was reduced by the judge. It should be noted Calumet Farm president J.T. Lundy was not called to testify.

Later at Lundy’s hearing on unrelated bank fraud charges, another judge pointed out he had never been indicted, tried or convicted for the death of Alydar.

A Herald-Leader editorial pointed out at that same time, “rumors and allegations do not constitute proof.” There was an extensive investigation of the stallion’s injury by the FBI, and the author of Wild Ride spent months investigating the matter. Seventeen years after Alydar’s death, the facts have not changed.

Tom Dixon

Lexington

Photo too graphic

I am astounded that, here in the horse capital of the world, such disrespect would be shown toward rider Laine Ashker’s accident. In the eventing world, the nightmare of every rider is having a horse do a somersault on top of you.

I believe I can safely assume that the person who decided to put a graphic picture of Ashker’s fall on the front page of the newspaper is not a rider. If they were, they would understand the graphic nature of this photograph.

No rider, or anyone who is compassionate about horses, would ever want to see a picture of a horse that they know is about to die.

With respect to the euthanized horse and Ashker, who is still hospitalized, such a graphic picture should never have been published.

As a witness of the accident, I would sincerely like to thank the Herald-Leader for allowing me to relive the horrific incident that I, as a fellow eventer of Ashker’s, had hoped to forget.

Joanna Grant

Lexington

Regulate, enforce

I enjoyed Tom Eblen’s April 20 column about the recent senseless deaths in Lexington.

I appreciated especially this quote: “When youthful exuberance finds alcohol after midnight, even the best young people become victims of life’s random cruelty.”

As he noted, it’s too early to say what role alcohol played in the recent, tragic deaths of two University of Kentucky students.

However, I think we all know that alcohol abuse is far too widespread in Lexington.

I see no logical reason for bars to remain open late at night serving alcoholic beverages. And, tragically, underage drinking is far too widespread among college and high-school students in Lexington.

I urge the Herald-Leader’s editorial board to advocate strongly for stricter enforcement of underage drinking laws, including prosecuting and closing down repeat offenders among bar owners.

Furthermore, I urge the Herald-Leader to support prosecuting bar and restaurant owners who serve persons to the point of legal intoxication.

James E. Gibson

Lexington

The Herald-Leader is pleased to provide this opportunity for readers to comment on stories and issues. However, we urge readers to avoid personal attacks or inappropriate remarks in their postings. Some of the comments may be reprinted in the newspaper. The views expressed here are not those of the Herald-Leader or its staff. Registered user names are posted for comments.