Letters: an easy fix for healthcare, praise for the Lexington VA and MAGA fear

Easy healthcare fix

If Americans want everyone to be able to pay for healthcare — and we certainly do, don’t we? — then we need a plan, and we need to be able to support the plan financially.

Seniors over age 65 already have such a plan. It is called Medicare, and it works. All we need to do is expand the plan to include citizens of all ages, and of course raise the funds to pay for it. Basically, getting rid of private health insurance companies and their high overhead would do the trick. Compare a 4 percent overhead for Medicare to the 30 percent overhead for the private guys. When one considers that we pay trillions of dollars on healthcare, that reduction in overhead would fund the process.

It is a done deal. No problem, unless our members of Congress cannot do simple math like multiplication. I urge you to contact your representative and inquire.

Ewell Scott, M.D., Morehead

Check, then elect

According to a CBS report earlier this year, a government document stated that thousands more migrant children were separated from their parents under President Donald Trump’s administration than previously reported. The report also said that in the summer of 2017, a year before “the zero-tolerance policy”, there was a spike in family separations.

What a humanitarian crime this president and his administration have committed on our own soil. Who is vetting these so-called government workers watching these children? Are they sexual predators, child molesters and human traffickers? Does anyone really know? Our nation should have the morals to demand the vetting of who is in charge and where these kids are.

In the future, our millionaire-billionaire political candidates should have mandatory vetting, so we can avoid humanitarian crimes, treason, perjury, theft and other threats to our national security. Let’s not wait till they’re in office to find out they are criminals.

Richard Jones, Frankfort

‘MAGA’ truly scary

Women and black and brown people have been discriminated against from the beginning of “America.” The phrase “Make America Great Again” frightens me. It says to me powerful white men are trying to reestablish the America of my mother’s time, my grandmother’s time, my ancestor’s time, that was even more oppressive than it is today. The phrase is not related to religious phrases such as “Treat others as you want to be treated,” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” nor “Love thy neighbor.”

Suzanne Zivari, Lexington

Pickup patrol

I’ve noticed that in the last few years when the Lexington police pull someone over for a traffic stop or other reason, they don a pair of blue or black nitrile gloves if there is to be any physical contact with a subject. I agree this is a good practice. However, when they are through with the operation, they invariably, pull off the gloves and drop them in the street, or worse, in my yard, which happens to be adjacent to a busy street where many traffic stops are performed. Many times I’ve been forced to pick up these questionably sanitary leavings. It’s somewhat akin to picking up used condoms or drug needles, and I’m growing frustrated. I’m willing to supply the police department with enough Kroger bags to equip each patrol car with a trash bag for their nasty gloves.

Dick Hudson, Lexington

Don’t agree? Then don’t do it.

The Catholic Church is losing its credibility on many different levels, which is not to say our “peace and justice” Bishop John Stowe of the Lexington diocese is not totally correct in equating right to life with respect for all life. The right-to-life people are narrow and so focused on dogma that they totally ignore other questions raised by their stance.

If you don’t agree with abortion, then don’t have one. Statistics show that Catholics have abortions at the same rate as the general population. So don’t propose legislation or threaten to repeal legislation that supports or interferes with your beliefs. Respect other people’s beliefs too.

Ditto for same-sex unions or marriages. If you disagree with gay marriage, then don’t marry a person of the same sex. But don’t tell someone else they can’t or try to repeal legislation that allows them to marry.

Catholics need to stop listing to the Vatican Curia which is mired in clericalism and stuck in the 16th century. Grow a moral compass, for heaven’s sake.

Dominic Martina, Lexington

Washington warned us …

Republicans run to hold office. Democrats run to hold power. Republicans in general are a spineless lot. Democrats are ruthless in their desire to wield authority, and control every aspect of our lives. George Washington was adamant about not having political parties involved in our newly created government. In his farewell address, he said he feared partisanship would lead to a “spirit of revenge”, in which party members would not govern for the good of the people, but for power. We should have heeded his warning.

William R. Elam, Lexington

Security chief inept

Homeland Security chief Kristjen Nielsen does not know how many children are in Border Protection custody. Outrageous. Imagine a CEO unaware of how many people are employed by her company. A daycare administrator clueless as to the number of children in her care. A warden oblivious to how many inmates are housed at her facility. Shameful. Ineptitude of the highest order. Or maybe she doesn’t know because she just doesn’t care. It’s one or the other, folks.

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

Democrat, ‘pro-life’ compatible

How can a “pro-life” advocate vote for Democrats? Gubernatorial candidate and House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins and Jacqueline Coleman, Attorney General Andy Beshear’s running mate for governor, have apparently bridged this gap.

I don’t know them; but many of my self-identified “pro-life” friends say bridging this gap isn’t very hard and it’s not hypocritical. They worry abortion undermines our country’s traditional commitment to each individual life and they fear it’s a slippery slope. Still, they feel instinctively that abortion in the early stages of pregnancy isn’t murder.

The question of murder comes up for them in the latter stages with the onset of consciousness, and opinion polls indicate about 65 percent of the public feels the same way. A few of my friends are also familiar with the age-old theological debates on “ensoulment.” When does a human body receive its soul, the theologians wanted to know? Some of them reasoned that the soul must arrive in the latter stages given the high incidence of miscarriages in the days before modern prenatal medical care.

Today, my friends say the “pro-life” cause is about all aspects of human life. The Republican Party’s narrow focus on abortion seems calculated and cynical to them.

Tom Louderback, Louisville

Lexington VA a lifesaver

Many reports of poor treatment of veterans are surfacing, so I am speaking out in defense of our Lexington VA Medical Center. I have been receiving treatment at the Lexington VA since my total laryngectomy in 1997 due to Agent Orange-induced cancer. The treatments for this included both chemo and radiation, and the treatments engendered their own problems, such as dental issues. Agent Orange also contributed to my two heart attacks, in addition to the removal of my voice box.

As a result, I have required much treatment at the Lexington VA and I can, unequivocally and without compromise, state that I have always been treated with the utmost respect and willingness to provide any treatment required to aid my health. This includes not only ENT services but also speech pathology, the dental clinic, physical therapy, my primary care physician and staff, and so many others. In short, the Lexington VA has given me my life and I have absolutely no complaints concerning my care there. I regret that it has taken this long to speak out.

Robert Bertrand, Mt. Sterling

History key to critical thinking

Kentuckians’ lack of knowledge about American history may be disturbing, but I’m not really concerned that young people may not know what Patrick Henry said or isolated facts about Ben Franklin and Susan B. Anthony. However, as a teacher, I was very concerned when my college freshmen couldn’t name the three branches of government, thought Russia was our enemy during World War II, and had never heard of the Cold War or McCarthyism.

Reading comprehension is compromised when students lack the background knowledge enabling them to draw inferences, make connections, process and understand information. Teaching lists of facts without historical context or relevance is not going to turn young people into critical thinkers or informed citizens.

Our living, breathing history has drama, suspense, heroes and bad guys, pros and cons, successes and failures that need to be pondered, discussed, and questioned. Civic literacy is more than a list of “when” and “who” facts.

Using newspapers, news magazines, historical fiction, world literature, movies, and globes, an enthusiastic historian with or without a teaching degree could reveal the all-important “why.” What an exciting learning experience that would be! We could call it a history class.

Shirley Baechtold, Richmond