Letters to the Editor: Herald Leader too biased, Rand Paul too unfit, marijuana too scary

Biden’s gas

If the liberal Herald-Leader wants to stop inflation, it should tell its man Joe Biden to let the U.S.A. produce oil and gas instead of trying to shut them down. Gas prices would go down as well as all other goods. This is no secret. The Herald-Leader does not represent the views of Kentucky!

Mae Thompson, Liberty

Paul unfit

Once again, Rand Paul has proven he is unfit to hold office.

I am referring to his encouragement of truckers to commit insurrection to overthrow a peaceful government in Canada. Failing in that effort, Mr. Paul tried to encourage the same truckers to engage in the violent blockage of commerce here in the United States.

Bully for Paul. While he lays snug and safe, a trucker goes to prison and his family starves. And we the citizens of Kentucky are thought to be either fools or idiots.

I believe Paul doesn’t care if he breaks the law. Like others he believes he is above the law. Enforcement of the rules, it appears, only applies to the poor, blacks, Hispanics or women who get pregnant.

When are we going to wake up and vote for someone who will serve us with honor, dignity, and respect for all Kentuckians - someone who will obey the law and encourage others to obey the law equally? When?

Damian Beach, Frankfort

Pro-birth control

I have always been a pro-choice individual when it comes to a woman’s right to choose. Not all women are meant to be mothers. I have witnessed firsthand the heartbreaking treatment of unwanted and unloved children who were born not out of love, but out of ignorance, carelessness, and stupidity. In many cases, there is simply no excuse for a woman to find herself with an unwanted pregnancy these days. There are way too many birth control options available for a fully adult women over the age of 21 to find herself “accidentally” pregnant. It’s no accident. Common sense tells us if people have unprotected sex it could result in an unwanted pregnancy or an STD. And unfortunately there are still women out here who become pregnant on purpose in their desperate attempt to hold onto a man. Oftentimes when that fails to work they head straight for an abortion clinic. That is what I am against. I no longer feel empathy towards women who find themselves “accidentally” pregnant out of nowhere. It’s never out of nowhere. Use birth control ladies.

Yolanda Averette, Lexington

Crazy Republicans

Many on the Republican side appear to have gone crazy. People like Michael Pompeo, Rep. Thomas Massie, and of course Donald Trump. They are praising Vladimir Putin and his aggression against Ukraine and calling Canada’s PM Minister Justin Trudeau a dictator for resisting the right wing trucker gang who paralyzed a major Canadian city for three weeks! And Kentucky Trump sycophant Rand Paul says he hopes that these same truckers come to the U.S. and barricade Washington, D.C. The only thing left for them is to officially declare allegiance to Putin and Russia in the struggle against Western civilization because, unofficially, they have already done so.

Jim Porter, Danville

Legalize marijuana

Recently, Democratic lawmakers filed a bill dubbed “Let It Grow” to legalize marijuana that erases prior convictions. Democratic lawmakers claim it will be for Medical and recreational use and will boost state revenue. Though lawmakers say 37 other states have legalized it, there have been serious issues. In California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office reported 150 illegal grows in 2020 that jumped to over 500 in 2021. In Mendocino County, 1,100 permits were issued and 10,000 illegal grows were found. Many of these large-scale grows appear to be run by powerful Mexican drug cartels. In desert areas, water theft is rampant and estimates are that as high as 3 million gallons a day are used for illegal operations. Many illegal grows are patrolled by armed guards and are located on public lands making those areas unsafe for hikers and outdoor use. The pesticides and herbicides some claim are used pose a significant risk to humans and wildlife. Officials say the illegal operations have overwhelmed law enforcement while undercutting licensed businesses and paying no licenses fees or taxes. We should ask ourselves if this is what we want in Kentucky.

Lisa Johnson, Clay City

Voter ID

I am writing in response to the letter to the editor titled “Media Biased” printed recently. I am not certain the author has actually done any of the tasks for which she claims a person needs an ID: going to the hospital, visiting the doctor, picking up medications. All these tasks require a name, address, and sometimes a signature — the same requirements as voting. Imagine how awful it would be if someone lost their ID and were denied lifesaving medications? Now take the same logic and apply it to our fundamental right: voting.

Aaron Kruse-Diehr, Lexington

Balanced budget

I have been following the efforts in our State Legislature over a budget for the next two years - one of their most important jobs each biennium. We have the resources to make significant and needed investments in our people and infrastructure. Our state has a target to have 5 percent extra in our Rainy Day Fund and for most of the past 20 years, we have actually been at 4 percent or below. Today, we have a budget surplus from last year of $1.1 billion and a forecast surplus for this year of $1.9 billion. This is much more than our Rainy Day Fund needs. However, the Legislature has proposed to not spend most of this money, but hold it in contingency, presumably for last minute tax cuts. I am reminded of the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Our legislators are acting like the wicked and lazy servant who will not invest his master’s money but buries it in the yard. They are afraid to act to make needed investments that will earn us new industries and better our lives in the coming years.

Dan Nolet, Danville

Unbanning books

Here is an idea for an enterprising entrepreneur who wants to make some money while also promoting among our young people true American ideals such as democracy, honesty, respect for history, opportunity, and the unbiased evaluation of ideas. It would also seriously annoy homophobes, racists, would-be slavers, and Fox News addicts. Start a corporation named something like Banned & Burned Books. Those of us who are unhappy about politically far-right parents intimidating local school board officials into taking certain books off shelves and reading lists could contribute to a national data file of such books. B&BB could then make those books available at low cost to students. Perhaps a B&BB bookmobile could park in close proximity to affected schools after advertising, through social media to students, the availability of books that some adults don’t want them to read. In addition to defeating literary suppression, the company would collect money through contributions from those of us who find censorship reprehensible. These funds could go to subsidizing the book costs for students as well as assuring profitability of the enterprise.

Michael Kennedy, Lexington

Bolder Putin

I started to laugh when I read the title of Eugene Robinson’s Feb. 23 column (“Putin likely asking: Where’s Trump when I need him?”). Vladimir Putin wouldn’t be so bold in the Ukraine if Donald Trump was still our President. In my opinion, if Trump was still president, the missionaries in Haiti would not have been held hostage; Afghanistan wouldn’t have been such a total disaster; China wouldn’t be running military flights near Taiwan; and we wouldn’t look like such a weak and powerless country.

I agree that Trump should never have been on Twitter. Who really needs to be on Twitter anyway?

At least Jimmy Carter doesn’t have to worry about being the worst President now that we have Biden.

Diane Kerr, Lexington

Trump’s Putin praise

I wonder if all of the Kentucky Republican delegates in Washington and Frankfort are fully supportive of former President Donald Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin’s attack on Democracy. Trump thinks these attacks are pure genius and supportive of Putin’s motives. Do Trump Kentucky representatives in Frankfort and Washington agree? So far, they are generally as quiet as church mice on the issue. I believe Putin’s next violence against democracy here in the U.S. will be attempts to cyber-attack our energy, communication, food, and transportation systems. Do our Kentucky Republicans back these efforts too?

Democracy is in danger in our country and we don’t really know how much our Kentucky Republicans are Trump comrades, or actually on the Lady Liberty - Old Glory team. If all of the Kentucky veterans who ultimately sacrificed their lives so that we all could live in peace and liberty were to come back and say one thing would it be “well done thy good and faithful servants” or “are you out of your freakin’ minds?”

It seems like these are indeed truly very dangerous times for Democracy in America, and that too many politicians are okay with that if it gets them re-elected.

Gene Lockhart, Lexington

Respectful Paul

I’m glad Senator Rand Paul is pledging a “respectful” hearing for President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee. Would this be like the “respectful” hearing accorded to President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland? Oh wait a minute - he was not given the courtesy of a hearing was he? Paul could best serve our state by requesting reassignment to the Agriculture committee. This would at least serve a useful purpose for the manure he spreads.

Jay Hopkins, Frankfort

Giving deference

Proposed KY Senate Bill 138 and other Critical Race Theory proposals seek to shelter students from the discomforts of critical thinking. If passed, I feel these will harm students. Schools should be places where critical thinking should be universally encouraged and uncensored.

The proposed bill says if an instructor elects to talk about “current events or controversial topics,” then the instructor must explore “diverse and contending perspectives,” and must not “give deference to a particular perspective.”

Teachers should be encouraged to give deference when, by whatever merits are determined to apply (science? profitability? godliness? something?), deference is due.

When supportive teachers help students discover that their viewpoints are flawed, that’s okay, even if students feel some pain, embarrassment, or shame. Together, a teacher’s scrutiny and support ready students for the ambiguity and complex decision making that global citizenship requires.

I am weary of any effort to jettison deference from schools. Instead, we should encourage our teachers to challenge students’ ideas, beliefs, and thinking while our students are still within the easy and willing reach of their supportive teachers.

Roger McCain Brown, Lexington