Letters to the Editor: McConnell, GOP betray democracy in opposing Jan. 6 commission

Remove blinders

House and Senate Republicans — including all from Kentucky — overwhelmingly voted to not have a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection which was a direct attack on their workplace, costing the lives of police officers. It’s clear they fear former President Donald Trump will not regain power or, for some, their own roles in these events. It’s a good thing these cowards weren’t around after Pearl Harbor as they would not only have failed to hold Japan accountable but might well have given them a medal. And yes, ring kissing trips to Mar-a-Lago is rewarding these domestic terrorists. As Bob Dylan once asked: “How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?”

Jay Hopkins, Frankfort

GOP betrayal

By blocking a commission to investigate Jan. 6, the Republican Party has proven beyond any doubt that they have no interest in upholding law and order or demanding personal responsibility or defending the Constitution, and will condone terrorism if it serves members’ agenda. The “personal favor” the GOP did Sen. Mitch McConnell was to betray our democracy.

Charles Edward Pogue, Lexington

Keep jobs payment

Our Republican legislators are shortsighted if they reject the $300 federal unemployment benefit offered in the American Rescue Plan.

Rhode Island found that rejecting the $300 would mean a net state loss of $20 million federal dollars each week — $20 million that Rhode Islanders spend in their communities at local businesses. That is a total loss of $400 million from Rhode Island’s economy that would hurt businesses and slow down the state’s recovery.

That’s why Rhode Island passed back-to-work legislation that uses the federal $300 to the state’s advantage to incentivize people to go back to work while helping businesses staff up.

I hope our local chambers of commerce around Kentucky will pressure our Republican legislators to look at Rhode Island’s plan and run the numbers for Kentucky instead of forcing workers to take a job at a minimum wage below the poverty level which won’t feed their families or put much needed revenue back into all our local economies.

Margaret Groves, Frankfort

Connections key

The next decades will be pivotal for our country and for the world. Americans are accustomed to playing a leading role on the world stage, having been raised to expect no less. But we lag painfully behind our global allies and competitors in our ability to communicate with people from other countries, and not just to them. For this reason and others, it will be crucial in coming years that we invest in strong foreign language education programs in a variety of languages in order to prepare our upcoming generation to collaborate with people around the world and tackle pressing global challenges in an age where worldwide communication takes nanoseconds but Google Translate remains insufficient for navigating cultures, building partnerships, and negotiating nuanced, varying, and often opposing worldviews. If the changes wrought by the pandemic have taught us anything, it’s how interdependent we are and how quickly we adapt to and learn from changing environments. For all the isolation and loneliness we’ve experienced, we’re more connected than ever before as we share our perspectives with people thousands of miles away, compare our cultures, and broaden our communities. The future is rife with challenges and replete with possibilities.

Jessamyn Rising, Lexington

Scammer caution

I get an average of five phone calls a day from obvious scammers. Recently I received calls saying they are from the Federal Reserve. Strangely, the call comes in with an ID belonging to some business. After pressing one to talk to an officer, the first thing they ask is for my first and last name. My response is, “You called me. You have my phone number. Look me up and tell me.” By the time I get that far, they have already hung up. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT give anybody that calls any personal information including your name. They called you and should have all the information they are asking for. If they stay on the line, I tell them that if I didn’t ask for the call, I wouldn’t buy anything or give anything to anybody that calls me. There are just too many scammers out there. If they are legitimate, they should understand. If they aren’t, well… .

Daniel Anderson, Mount Vernon