Letters to the Editor: KY lawmakers must speak up about Trump’s tactics to clear protesters
Speak up, lawmakers
From an article in the New York Times: “In Washington, police officers used tear gas and flash grenades to clear a path through a peaceful protest so President Trump could visit a nearby Episcopal church, St. John’s, where he posed for photos holding a Bible. An Episcopal bishop in Washington said she was “outraged” that he used the church “as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.” Trump also warned he would order the military into cities if local officials could not control their streets.”
Where are my senators? Where is Rep. Andy Barr? Someone needs to speak up and rein in this run-wild president.
Bob Crovo, Lexington
Read that Bible
My wife and I wondered why President Donald Trump did not carry his Bible with him from his residence at the White House across the street to St. John’s Church recently. Most people we know going to church carry their Bibles with them. We learned by watching the video of the event that the Bible Trump held up for photos was not his Bible. It was “a Bible”. We figured he did not own one to carry because he seemed so uncomfortable handling the actual word of God. We hoped that he would have taken the Bible in question back to the White House with him because it appeared to be brand new, and he desperately needs God’s help. But alas, the video shows that he hands the Bible off to an aide after the photos stop.
If our president would for once read the Bible and obey the Ten Commandments he would be a much more effective leader. As it is now, God appears to be only a tangential marketing tool in Trump’s life. Perhaps God will surprise us down the road someday. God often works miracles through impostors. We can only hope.
Gene Lockhart, Lexington
Sudden voice loss
Sen. Mitch McConnell was asked his opinion on the violent tactics used to clear peaceful protesters for President Donald Trump’s recent photo op. He dodged the question by saying, “I’m not going to critique other people’s performances. I can speak for myself and I just have.” He had his voice when he publicly berated former President Barack Obama, calling him classless and saying that he should have “kept his mouth shut.” In the space of less than one month what brought about the sudden change? Does he fear retribution from the person who hid in the bunker? Does his silence indicate lack of concern for the safety of peaceful protesters? Or does his non-answer denote consent with the actions?
Cheryl Keenan, Lexington
So many crises
We have an economic crisis, a health crisis, a social crisis, and a civil crisis. This is not what I voted for. Did you?
Lynn Pruett, Versailles
Violence not answer
A recent letter to the editor listed evils experienced by African Americans in our nation’s past. I gave thanks for what has changed as we strive to do better. However, instead of celebrating progress, the writer then states these are what should stir anger today. I was angry back in the 1960s helping a dear friend, wife of an active-duty soldier, find adequate housing for her family, only to be confronted with covert racism. I am angry today over the murder that sparked these ongoing protests and thankful for Lexington’s prayerful unity emphasis.
But I cannot, as the writer does, “support those who loot, burn and throw rocks.” How can I support the destruction of neighborhoods? How can I support the burning of businesses for which African Americans dreamed and worked to establish? How can I support those who on video attacked someone, kicking and hitting them repeatedly with 2x4s?
Evil is evil no matter where or by whom it is committed. Past sins cannot excuse participating in new ones. Not just jobs but lives are being lost. How can this heal? Individuals must do right to all people in all situations. This is my earnest prayer for our nation today.
Ruth Cook, Wilmore
Energy subsidies
The Kentucky Coal Association president complains that renewable energy sources get a larger subsidy than coal does. That’s as it should be: Wind and solar power are new technologies still in development, which can become American industries if we so will it. Coal is an established technology that makes profits and should be paying taxes, not demanding handouts.
New technologies require large investments to get started. The price of wind turbines has dropped by a factor of three and the price of solar cells by a factor of 10 over the last decade, because people could afford to buy them.
Besides, he’s only considering direct federal government subsidies. Coal also gets a “subsidy” in the right to walk away from commitments to retirement programs, commitments to land reclamation, and local taxes, with the tab being paid by the taxpayer instead. Coal is a major source of air pollution; it is estimated that there are 3,000 excess deaths per year due to fossil fuel power plants.
There are reasons to suspect that burning fossil fuels is changing the climate. Then there is a good case for subsidizing the development of alternate power technologies that don’t produce air pollution or carbon dioxide.
Joseph P. Straley, Lexington
Op-ed misleads
Readers might be taken in by the Kentucky Coal Association’s recent op-ed if they didn’t read it carefully. To see association president Tyler White’s fallacy regarding subsidies to renewable power, one has to look at four little words: “per unit of energy”. He uses multipliers like 26 to imply that wind power gets much greater subsidies from the government than does the coal industry. Later in the article, while trying to make a different point, he lets it slip that wind and solar create only 1% of the energy so, comparing apples to apples, his factor of 26 times more subsidy for renewables falls by a factor of 100 to 0.26 times, or one-fourth the subsidy received by coal interests. Of course, the op-ed completely ignores the primary reason for using renewables: Fossil fuels are heating up the planet. Everyone who knows the science and doesn’t have a vested interest promoting coal warns of the immense coming cost of global warming.
Michael D. Kennedy, Lexington
Story ‘demeaning’
Educators are expected to perform with almost superhuman judgment and perfection. If they falter they are subject to having their name plastered all over the media.
The recent Herald-Leader article concerning the “demotion” of Jay Jones from William Wells Brown Elementary was unnecessary and demeaning. Jones should be commended for facing the challenge of becoming the principal at this school and for trying endless strategies over his years there.
According to the article, the reason for the “demotion” is the low academic performance of the students. This is a school that has a high free-lunch population; these kids often come to school hungry, without a good night’s sleep; some are homeless or live at shelters. Their parents don’t have computers; some work multiple minimum-wage jobs; there is little time or supervision for homework.They don’t have a PTA that raises thousands of dollars each year to fund numerous learning tools and programs.
The decision to change leadership there may have been a viable option; sometimes change is needed. However, it was unnecessary to draw attention to the change. I worked briefly with Jones (no relation) as a music educator; he’s a professional, kind man who cares about kids. He should be thanked, not demeaned.
Suzanne F. Jones, Lexington
Family affair
Wes Unseld was a class act. At Louisville’s Seneca High School, he was a year behind me. While everything that has been said about his athletic ability and positive personal attributes is true, there is another factor that should be recognized.
My recollections also include his parents. Charles and Cornelia Unseld were people you could only admire and respect. They always had a kind word and were supportive of everyone at Seneca. They were selfless in support of the community and always ready to offer help to someone in need.
I knew his brothers George and Ike better than his other siblings, and they were all cut from the same cloth. There is no better example of the impact of family than the Unselds. Wes Unseld’s parents not only did the right things, but they also did things right. It is no surprise Wes made the mark he did.
Charles Myers, Lexington
Closures overreaction?
For several months a number of governors and the media have warned us of the dangers of assembling in churches and many jobs because of the fear of infection. And, motivated by fear, we believed them.
But since the death of George Floyd, the news media, several governors, and mayors have encouraged people to protest. Some of them have even joined in the protests. All of a sudden social distancing and the fear of COVID-19 seem to have disappeared for those encouraging the protests.
I wonder if the stay at home orders and closure of businesses and churches were at least an overreaction, and at worst an attempt to damage the economy during an election year. And wouldn’t that be meddling in the election process? And isn’t it odd that the most restrictive COVID-19 governors happen to be encouraging the protesters.
Edmond Schwab, Woodburn
Abortion dodge
Once again, Sen. Mitch McConnell has made abortion the cornerstone of his political campaign. It’s worked for him before and keeps him from having to respond to questions about health care, climate change, tax cuts for the rich, and the expanding national deficit – issues which will affect the lives of the next generation.
Without medical knowledge about the complexities of pregnancy and childbirth, Republican men ignore the Constitution and continue trying to make laws without regard to the irreparable damage their ignorance and lust for power may cause. In the 1960s, doctors in a leading hospital ignored my ectopic pregnancy symptoms and dismissed me. Without the emergency salpingectomy that removed my fallopian tube and its attached fetus, I could have bled to death.
McConnell knows that wealthy women, their daughters, and celebrities will always be able to get safe abortions, just as they did in the 1960s. After Roe v. Wade gave all women — rich or poor — the constitutional right to make decisions about their bodies and their lives, the number of deaths from septic illegal abortions declined by 89%. McConnell knows these statistics, but I don’t think he cares. He wants your vote.
Shirley Baechtold, Richmond