Letters to the Editor: COVID-19 vs. the economy. Readers debate protests in Frankfort.

Not Beshear’s job

Gov. Andy Beshear seems to misunderstand his responsibilities as governor. In response to protests against the shutdown, he said that reopening Kentucky’s economy would result in deaths. It is not the governor’s job to keep all Kentuckians from dying of COVID-19, just as it is not his job to keep us from dying of influenza, heart attacks, car accidents, or any other misfortune.

Likewise, he said last week that it is his job to provide for all Kentuckians. This is not his job, either. His job is to protect our freedoms, allowing us to exercise them so that we can provide for ourselves. If our desire were simply to be protected from death and provided for, we would all live in padded rooms, drinking kale smoothies, and accepting our government checks every month. But we want the freedom to earn our own living and make our own rational choices about how best to do this.

There will always be uncertainty and danger, but we are capable of going on with life in spite of them, as generations before us have done. We just need the opportunity to do this, and keeping us indefinitely cloistered in our homes in the name of “safety” makes all our lives worse.

Stephanie Mason, Danville

Patience needed

I sympathize with the demonstrators who were making their voices heard during Gov. Andy Beshear’s recent press briefing. There were times when I was out of work, and they left a lasting impression. But let’s keep a few things in mind. First, this is a new virus, and we don’t have a clear understanding of how it behaves. We don’t have a vaccine or an effective treatment, and most states have been locked down for less than four weeks. And our country was woefully unprepared for this pandemic. I’m not a medical professional and am not prepared to argue herd immunity theories, nor am I a social scientist able to refute the data I’m seeing. Yes, maybe there are a few areas where lifting some restrictions could be considered. However, the most important thing to understand is that if we get this wrong and reopen our states’ economies too soon, we will see in our hospitals exactly what we’ve been witnessing in New York City hospitals. And the resulting restrictions and lockdowns will make us all yearn for the good old days of the spring 2020.

When you’re out of work, patience is a scarce commodity, but it’s all I would ask of those who are hurting.

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

Some questions…

For those critical of Gov. Andy Beshear’s effort to keep us safe and alive during the coronavirus crisis, those who want to open up things now or real soon, I have a couple questions. I wonder what virus-caused death rate is acceptable to them? Would their answer change if they knew the odds that they or their loved ones are among those who die at that rate?

John M. Zink, Lexington

Constitutional right

I wonder if people know the same amendment that protects our right to free speech also protects our right to assemble.

I mention this because of the comments referring to the small business owners and families as “idiots” and “selfish” (and worse) for recently going to Frankfort during the governor’s press conference.

As despicable as some of those comments were, they are protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Isn’t it ironic that those exercising their First Amendment right to free speech are using it to criticize those exercising their First Amendment right to assemble?

I also exercised my First Amendment right to assemble on the Capitol grounds.

That day wasn’t about the virus.

It was for those suffering under the economic impact of the governor’s decisions.

Many folks there were concerned about the virus, but their businesses and lives are being destroyed. They were desperate to get the governor’s attention so they exercised their constitutional rights in the face of a pandemic to try to do it. Shame on him for not listening.

The biggest takeaway: If you want the governor to slam the door on my First Amendment right to assemble, remember it also slams the door on your First Amendment right to free speech.

S.A. Clarke, Nicholasville

Tug those bootstraps

I don’t think we are asking the hard questions of these protesters that put the economy over a disease ravaging our country. Do they have their own bootstraps to pull themselves up by? Why can’t they start a side hustle or a new business that would be considered essential? Do they have an iPhone or other expensive technology? Maybe they could sell those to get by. I think they should have made better decisions, otherwise they wouldn’t have ended up where they were.

Jarod D. Wilson, Louisville

Do the math

If you look at Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green, the three largest cities in Kentucky with a collective population of approximately a million people, and consider the number of COVID-19 tests conducted, a little over 27,000, the results indicate that only 2.7 percent of that population has been tested. It’s much worse if you consider the entire state; then the number of people tested drops to a half of 1 percent. Although I sympathize with those who are out of work and are struggling to put food on their tables and pay their bills, let me ask a simple question. Knowing that COVID-19 has the potential to kill them, their loved ones and friends, are they willing to open the economy up without being tested? I for one am not willing to take that risk; life is too precious. So please, before people protest, before they start yelling at our local elected officials who this time really do have our best interests at heart, they need to stop and think. Would they rather be here to deal with the trials of the aftermath of the coronavirus or would they rather be dead? The choice is simple.

Evalyn Block, Lexington

What were they thinking?

Far too many Kentucky Republican state legislators are brain dead. They want to open the commonwealth immediately for business, which every sensible person in the state knows will spread the coronavirus and cause more deaths. One wonders when they lost their humanity and their minds. They attract people with the same incapacity who gather in groups outside the Capitol to urge this foolhardy notion of “business as usual”. Apparently, they do not read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch television, or follow the internet, all of which warn about the spread of the virus if we open prematurely. Moreover, they wanted to subsume the flexibility of the governor to act during this time of crisis by passing laws that would violate the doctrine of separation of powers and thus cripple the governor’s authority mandated by the state Constitution. What’s wrong with these people?

Jack Blanton, Lexington

Protests ‘meaningless’

The protests over Gov. Andy Beshear’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic seem nonsensical. Just like the president, the protesters ignore the advice of medical experts and even most mainstream economists who caution against an abrupt restart of the economy. If these knee-jerk reactionaries want to restart the economy, then put forth a detailed plan that will minimize deaths and economic losses. Please have your expert sources listed and logic explaining how your plan will save lives and effectively restart the economy. This is what Governor Beshear is in the process of doing. Look on the Centers for Disease Control web pages for recommendations. We have had enough of the meaningless and fake outrage against anyone who doesn’t believe the uninformed rantings that come from our president.

Greg Schorr, Lexington

National plan

First, the recent protest in Frankfort wasn’t a local event, it was a national astroturf with identical signage and social networking templates. Look at Michigan and Idaho. Second, what those fools, specifically including state Rep. Savannah Maddox and protest leader Erika Calihan, did in Frankfort was a terrorist’s dream. Spreading a virulent disease by gathering together and then to other areas when the useful idiots returned to their homes. Tom Clancy novel-caliber plot. They’re domestic terrorists, and they’re endangering your family.

Bill Adkins, Williamstown

Pet boarding essential

The efforts to slow the coronavirus are nothing but exceptional and I do appreciate Gov. Andy Beshear’s efforts. During a recent televised question-and-answer session, Beshear basically told the commonwealth that dog boarding facilities and dog training are nonessential activities.

I do agree dog training can wait, but dog and cat boarding is essential to doctors, nurses, and others who are still working outside the home and need this service. I would ask that the governor reconsider his remarks and let dog boarding facilities remain open.

Paul Blackburn Sr., Louisville

Reconsider ban

The governor announced that dog daycare and boarding should close; however, we believe he is not fully informed regarding the low risks of pet transmittal, the measures we’ve taken to social distance, and the role we play for essential workers.

Regarding transfer of the disease from pet to human, groups including the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have stated it’s highly unlikely the virus can be transmitted via pets to humans.

Our regular cleaning procedures and kennel cleaners already kill the COVID-19 virus. We have no direct contact with customers: Customers drop off and pick up their pet through a gated system that maintains over a 6-foot distance between customers and staff. Staff have cloth masks and, per their job duties, can maintain over 15 feet apart.

We stayed open to help eliminate one more worry for people that are already under stress: hospital workers, first responders, postal workers, managers, and other essential workers.

Travel is only a small part of boarding. We house pets for couples having babies, families taking care of sick family members. Several clients have no immediate family, are at risk, and want to know we can take care of their pet should the need arise. This measure should be reconsidered.

Kristyn A. Kay, Lexington

Vets ‘disposable’

The Republican Party’s disdain for veterans has been thrust into the spotlight again in the form of its refusal to provide funds to the U.S. Postal Service as part of the COVID-19 economic stimulus plan. It’s no secret the GOP views a properly functioning government and public sector as a waste of resources, but recent attempts to starve the agency into insolvency make it clear the Republicans feel the same about former service members. As they continue to demonize our postal workers and the USPS, they would do well to remember that roughly 18 percent of those workers are military veterans.

These actions are reminiscent of their repeated attacks on the Department of Veterans Affairs, and if nothing else, are a testament to the fact that President Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues ultimately consider veterans to be disposable in their quest to privatize all aspects of public service.

It’s bad enough that they drown us with hollow praise and parade us around like circus animals as a cheap ploy to win votes, but to turn around and actively work to sabotage the lives and careers of veterans who have chosen to continue serving their country after leaving the military is absolutely disgusting.

Ashley Adkins, Williamstown