Letters to the Editor: Guns, dogs, Joel Pett, elections, domestic violence.

Uvalde cowardice

I knew it. We all knew it. Those Uvalde policemen who waited for over an hour in the hallway of that elementary school for a superior to tell them what to do did so because Chief Pete Arredondo wanted to “preserve life.” He wasn’t as worried about the lives of those innocent children he took that job to protect. He was more concerned about the lives and safety of his men. I’ll be damned. It sounds crazy doesn’t it?

Police take an oath to risk their lives to protect the public, but not all police officers take that oath with sincerity in their hearts. To many police officers, that badge is simply a way to pay the bills. The thought of running into situations where active shooters are blowing people’s heads off with military grade assault rifles frightens not just regular citizens, it frightens the heck out of cops too. But they swore to protect. Policemen take an oath to do everything within their power to eliminate a threat. Chief Arredondo should be fired and charged with dereliction of duty. He failed his community. In many patriarchal cultures, the lives of men are considered more valuable than the lives of everyone else.

Yolanda Averette, Lexington

Gun safety

Regarding the Op-Ed “Common sense gun safety is our moral obligation to our children” by Chad Aull - the explosion in gun violence in America is truly “a crisis that has been decades in the making”. It is decades of governmental failure to deal with vicious street gangs and common thugs racking up more than 10,000 gun murders a year. It is the 150-year failure of federal and State governments to maintain the Constitutionally mandated “well-regulated Militia” for “the security of a free State”. This is compounded by the failure of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to use its membership and lobby power to force government compliance. Wayne LaPierre at NRA is only interested in gun sales and personal enrichment off the gun control issue.

All of these failures have brought America to the present social and Constitutional crisis. Additional gun control laws will only control the already law abiding while having little effect of violent criminals and the murderously deranged. Don’t think that throwing the AR-15 class of firearms under the bus will stop the problem. If the Second Amendment does not protect militia firearms it protects nothing at all, and is rendered a ‘dead letter’.

Brian Bloedel, Accomac, Va.

Petty Pett

The venom that flows from pen to paper by Joel Pett is pathetic. With all the fodder President Joe Biden’s administration, and the nation’s bungling leader, is sadly providing I keep looking for something from him to reflect what a burden they’ve put on the American people. But alas, there is no antidote for his kind of venom. Joel, give former Presidents Donald Trump, George W. Bush and Ronald Regan a rest for a day and share with us all the virtues, great deeds and outstanding leadership Biden has provided over the past 17 months. I’ll keep looking.

David Carr, Lexington

Ticket sales

It’s time to end the jacked-up ticket prices online sellers charge for Arts and Cultural events held at our public universities.

I learned “It’s a Grand Night for Singing!” was coming to UK’s Singletary Center. My search for tickets took me to tickets-center.com. I chose four seats for $524. The price was high. But “Grand Night” offers Broadway showtunes and features UK students, and I presumed I was at the Center’s authorized online box office. At check out, my total was $562.95, including service fees.

Suffering from severe sticker shock, I nosed around. I hadn’t bought tickets from UK, but had paid more than I needed to: similar seats for four were attainable from the Center for $220. I asked for a refund. The seller refused and told me to resell my tickets.

Transactions involving selling tickets online for admission to venues at state universities are a matter of public interest. So, can’t our legislature pass a law that safeguards the public against exorbitant rates? If not, online companies can continue to reap unconscionable profits from use of public resources paid for by Kentucky taxpayers. Where’s the public interest in allowing that to happen?

Jim Kurz, Lexington

Cleansing coal

“The wind and the rain [and the heat], hey ho”: re Kentucky’s loss to St. Peter’s on St. Patrick’s Day. This Watson suggests that the UK basketball team’s continued association with coal, specifically as in “Wildcat Coal Lodge,” amounts to a Rich Strike for the players (and therefore also the fans), who must endure a type of “ownership” that buries them under a mountain (of coal)? Perhaps a proper Christening of the lodge, as in renaming or rebuilding, could lift the curse?

Amy Watson, Hustonville

Violence escalation

In the H-L’s “We Are Seeing an Escalation” (in domestic violence homicides), Louisville’s mayor is quoted as saying, “This is not a ‘family issue.’ It’s not something for the police. This is a community problem and addressing it needs to be a community priority.” I disagree. If this is a community problem, then it is nobody’s problem. It is time for truth, not political pablum. The foundation of any community is its individuals and families. This is where the problems begin and where they must be solved.

Our nation was founded on the laws of nature with individual rights coming directly from God, and our governments were created to protect the rule of law and those rights. In our arrogance and affluence, individuals and families have become disconnected from their relationship with their Divine Creator. More fathers are failing in their duties of parenthood. More children are being born into dysfunctional households. We ignore multiple ways to prevent unwanted pregnancy and argue over when it is OK to take an innocent life. We have become unmoored from individual accountability and our moral responsibilities. Stop blaming others. Shoulder your responsibilities and leave this place better than you found it.

Ray Davis, Lexington

Dog regulations

Lexington’s current ‘nuisance dog’ regulation is nonsense. The regulation actually says that a dog’s person is able to control another person’s mind. If we want a more effective regulation, the regulation should at least be meaningful.

Words have two kinds of meaning: they have connotative and denotative meanings. Connotative meaning is in the dictionary. Denotative meaning is the, often hysterical, add-on meaning. Some recent hysterical words on local television are ‘dog bite’.

Canines are long and sharp teeth designed to grasp, pierce and lacerate flesh. Dogs are named because of these teeth, courtesy of cousin Canis lupus, because canines are the modus operandi of the Genus. Except dogs are not wild animals. Indeed, dogs are human’s best friend.

Bites causing subcutaneous punctures from canines are serious. Bites using opposing rows of flat front teeth are like when your child expels flatulence during the moment-of-silence at church. Dog ‘nips’ are a social statement. You might say the same about horses, goats, and llamas. Are we going to start euthanizing serial nipping horses?

Doug Epling, Lexington

Help Ukrainians

I worked in Poland for four years in the early nineties. During that time, the Russians left Poland and Polish politics quickly became divisive. Once Ukranian refugees began pouring into Poland, everyone forgot about political differences and began helping the refugees. They had a cause suddenly thrust upon them. Now, Poland and its neighbors are near capacity helping refugees.

What can we do to help 10 million displaced Ukrainians? Send money so they can eat, find shelter and travel to join relatives. The Ukrainians are fighting and dying to save their land and families. In the process they are saving us, and the world, from another World War.

Some say they are not anxious about the war because it is so far away. They seem to be forgetting all the intercontinental missiles that can hit Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles in an hour.

Many of us could easily give a thousand dollars per month until this is over. That would not repay the Ukrainians for what they are doing for us, but it would be a start.

When this war is over, we can only hope the Russians will not replace President Vladimir Putin with another megalomaniac.

John Ragland

Delivery Problems

As a 6th generation Lexingtonian and a lifetime subscriber to the Herald Leader, I find the current delivery problems perplexing. Papers are often missing and/or not placed as requested. Calls to circulation are frustrating and not productive.

I actually believe that good journalism is an essential element to a democratic system of government. I think the Herald Leader’s reporting highlights and educates its readers - that is when they can find their paper. I long to see a Pett sketch of neighborhood matrons in bathrobes looking in their bushes for their paper.

Or perhaps Linda Blackford might turn her hand at exposing the problem... if we can’t find it or did not get it, we can’t read it. Digital you say , it is and has been the local Newspaper.

Madge Lynn, Lexington

Election Challenges

To paraphrase: You reap what you sow. Right now, a bunch of Republican candidates are reaping the whirlwind. As a result of Trump sowing distrust in our electoral process, several Republican candidates in Kentucky are asking for recounts in primary contests. Granted, none are bringing fraud or cheating into play. But, these are contests they lost. Some by thousands of votes. And if that weren’t bad enough, they are hoping Kentucky taxpayers will foot the bill. Please note, due to time and resources required, recounts are expensive and by law, must be paid for by the candidate requesting the recount. Seems fair, right? Up until Trump lost and lied, Americans could rightly claim confidence in the way we chose our leaders. Not anymore. All this is just a taste of what’s to come. Keep in mind, these are just primary elections. Republican primaries in a Republican state. Are you beginning to get the picture?

DeAeth Ross, Lexington

Write-in candidate

Thank you for the recent announcement that Randy Cravens is running for the 6th Congressional District as a write-in candidate. And thanks to Mr. Cravens for stepping up to offer voters an alternative to U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (with his ongoing allegiance to the gun lobby).

I have continually contacted my state and federal representatives about the insanity of our situation: over 400 million guns in the United States; 110 people lose their lives to guns every day. I get a form letter back and no action is ever taken. The Uvalde mass shooting is a turning point.

I have marked my calendar to vote for Mr. Cravens and any others who step forward to stop the assault on our citizenry by the NRA, gun manufacturers, dealers, and the politicians who keep them in business at the risk of our safety.

I hope you will keep us apprised of Mr. Craven’s activities as we get closer to the election. Please cover anyone else who announces their willingness to stand up to those who continue to put their office above our safety. I will support them as well.

Janet Piechowski, Lexington