Letters: Here’s the real problem with Fayette schools; Roe v. Wade not legitimate ruling

Court rulings wrong

In her recent op-ed, Susan Bordo argues that the “fetal heartbeat” legislation is an unconstitutional assault upon her absolute “right” to abortion at any time during her pregnancy. She has this “right” only if the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton are legitimate.

They are not legitimate. A majority of justices ruled there is such a right, although they adduced not a word in the documents or historical precedent, implied or otherwise, to support it. For whatever reason, the majority created the specious notion that “penumbras” around words legitimized this “right.”

These rulings inevitably weaken the principle of justice in our law and culture. As far as I am aware, it is the first time that a constitutional protection of innocent life has been taken away from innocent persons in our republic. False evidence and specious legal reasoning were used to enshrine the “privacy right,” and only pro-life legislation, judicial reversal, and hopefully a change of heart among our fellow citizens can reverse it.

Paul David Nelson, Lexington

Preschool education vital

A recent article looked at the continuing lack of success among seven Fayette County elementary schools. The usual response to such news is more disaggregation of data, generally focusing on discipline and racial disparities. Yet the end result does not change.

I wonder if any elementary school can begin with students, who already lag behind their peers, and remediate all deficiencies in a few years while continuing to challenge students achieving at or above grade level. We know the skills that need to be developed birth to age four. And we know that many of our children, for a variety of reasons, do not develop those skills. Why, then, do we not focus our energy and funds on innovative universal preschool preparation?

At least four states have invested in universal preschool education and are showing promising results. If the state of Kentucky doesn’t see the value of such investment, can our local public school system and our community take on the challenge of preparing all children to enter the primary grades?

I wonder if we want to acknowledge the real problem or if we want to simply continue throwing resources of time and money at poor performance grades K-8.

Judy Johnson, Lexington

Same old story

“The Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and, in some places, seals are finding the water too hot, according to the U.S. Commerce Department yesterday. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone.

“Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees, 29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters show the Gulf Stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by earth and stone, the report continued, while at many points well-known glaciers have entirely disappeared.

Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before ventured so far north are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds.

“Within a few years, it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable.”

I am sorry; I failed to mention this report was from November 1922, as reported in the Washington Post nearly 100 years ago. Perhaps all this was caused by Model-T Ford emissions.

Thomas R. McGeehan, Wilmore

Climate inaction ‘worst sin’

President Donald Trump is getting a wall, but it looks like the one closing in around him. The Republicans are determined to stand by their man. Our Sen. Mitch McConnell is Trump’s wingman. But there’s a bigger issue.

I’m reading The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. The bottom line: Even if we take decisive action now, the momentum of climate change means we can expect dramatic changes by 2050. What bothers me most is the Republicans’ unwillingness to acknowledge the crisis at the national level, even though they have been presented with the science. They are taking advantage of the ignorance of their base to avoid the issue, just as they took advantage of a disaffected white base to support a racist, after missing an opportunity to work with a black man to heal the nation.

This isn’t the first time Republican obstructionism has led to destruction. Woodrow Wilson worked to create the League of Nations after World War I, but was blocked by Henry Cabot Lodge. Had Lodge supported Wilson they might have stopped the rise of Adolf Hitler and the formation of the Soviet Union.

The worst sin of our generation is failure to act on climate change.

Mark McCammish, Winchester

Thank you, firefighters

Although Lexington has many amazing first responders, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Shillito Park firefighters for their exceptional response to an incident at the Boston Road Kroger on Feb. 22. My boyfriend had a seizure there while talking to me on the phone. I could hear everything that was going on, but did not realize that the person needing assistance was him. He had never had a seizure before. The first response team from Shillito Park exhibited exceptional care, along with the pharmacist at Kroger who initiated breathing help until the team arrived. It was care in every aspect of the word and everyone was instrumental in saving his life. There are truly no words to adequately express our appreciation for their life-saving expertise.

Donna Fogle and Steve Richie, Lexington