Pete Hegseth’s diversity purges are anti-American and anti-military | Opinion

Anti-American military

Chris Talgo’s column, “We can still count on the young to defend to defend America,” is flawed with vicious assumptions and anti-Black American policies. He falsely claims the U.S. military is better prepared for combat under President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth who are both incompetents.

Hegseth was a low-level soldier who did not have the energy and ambition to go to a military college and climb the ranks to become a general. Yet, he is the leader of generals who probably privately do not respect or trust him or his leadership ability. Talgo writes, “...Trump ordering the military to get back to basics, cut the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion nonsense, and refocus on combat readiness.” This is so disrespectful to Black soldiers and their magnificent roles in ALL American’s wars from the colonial period to the present. Trump and Hegseth ordered all so-called African American and minorities’ books, histories, and photographs removed from websites and military libraries. Ok, Mr. Talgo. Black soldiers’ morale, war fighting history and participation does not matter, according to you.

Your lack of historical knowledge appears to be unlimited and you, Trump and Hegseth are bound to lead us and our soldiers to failure with your ignorance.

Bruce M Tyler, Shelbyville

Medicare Advantage

Through my role with National Federation of the Blind, I’ve worked to advance policies that promote equity and independence for blind and low-vision Americans. I am also a blind and low-vision person who uses Medicare Advantage.

Critics often reduce discussion of Medicare Advantage to a debate about cost or politics, but for people living with disabilities like me, this program is much more than that. Medicare Advantage supports access to services and equipment that allow people like me to live, work and thrive independently.

Access to high-quality care should never be another challenge our community is forced to overcome. We deserve a system that supports our ability to live healthy, independent lives. For those managing chronic illnesses or disabilities, Medicare Advantage offers predictability, affordability, and critical services that help us stay well.

Medicare Advantage has become a cornerstone of my independence. It allows people like me to manage our health, maintain our dignity, and live life on our terms. But that future depends on Congress protecting the program, not cutting it. Let’s make sure Medicare Advantage continues to serve millions of Americans and 500,000 Kentuckians every day.

Todd Stephens, Lexington

Fraud and waste

Using their battle cry that they are fighting waste, fraud and abuse, Republicans passed a bill out of the U.S. House of Representatives that President Donald Trump described as a “big, beautiful bill.” U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., voted for cuts in Medicaid and food assistance programs that may affect many of his constituents. Will he tell his constituents they lost their benefits because of their waste, fraud and abuse?

The most obvious and vulgar incident of waste, fraud and abuse is the acceptance of a “gift” Trump sought of a $400 million gold-plated plane from a foreign country - a plane that will cost millions of dollars to retrofit as a presidential plane. A plane that will leave the government and go to Trump under the guise of going to his presidential library after his term in office. Googling “Air Force One,” I found no mention of mechanical safety or other problems that would dictate immediate replacement of the two current Air Force One planes. Don’t forget, there are two new planes to serve the president currently under construction.

I recommend that our two Kentucky Senators have language included in this “big, beautiful bill” that requires that no funds from the U.S. government be used to transfer this plane from Qatar, modify this plane, store this plane, operate this plane or transfer this plane to Trump’s library.

James M. Lovell, Paris

Zelensky’s cards

So, Ukraine has destroyed up to 41 Russian bombers, refueling aircraft, and AWACS aircraft that could be used in a nuclear attack on the United States. You would think that President Donald Trump would be deliriously happy about the destruction of approximately one third of our biggest adversary’s fleet of attack aircraft, but you would be wrong. As far as I know, Trump has not uttered a word of congratulations to Ukraine on their unparalleled wartime accomplishment.

This reminds me that when Russia invaded Ukraine (not the other way around) in February of 2022, Trump actually praised Russian President Vladimir Putin calling the invasion a “stroke of genius.” I suspect that behind the scenes he is actually commiserating with Putin over the loss of his attack fleet because he (Trump) is a tool of the Kremlin! Remember when the garish old fool told Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky of Ukraine that he “had no cards to play” and that he was all but helpless in the face of Putin’s wrath?

Now we see who had the cards. The one that now looks foolish, stupid, and idiotic is the megalomaniac Trump!

Jim Porter, Danville

Up to Republicans

Our country is in trouble. We have a President with no guardrails. He has assembled around him a group of people who fail to advise him against questionable policy and action. They either lack judgement or courage or both. And Congress, which should be the “back up” guardrail, has failed and even appears to be set on weakening the power of the Judicial Branch.

I know there are reasonable Republicans out there and I am addressing this to you. You have the power to convince our Congressional members to do their job and be the guardrail desperately needed in the Trump administration.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., has declared he is running for Senate. Clearly, his focus is on getting Trump’s endorsement and Elon Musk’s money and not on his constituents. But if you have concerns about some of the actions taken by the President and lack of action by Congress, please contact Barr’s office with that message. Let him--and other members of our Congressional Delegation--know you are Republican, you typically vote Republican, and in 2026 you will be looking for congressional candidates, regardless of party, willing to have the courage to step up and take back the guardrail role.

Mary Lynn Collins, Frankfort

Trump’s tariffs

A rumor was started that Amazon was modifying their sales invoices by adding a line item for “Import Duties” to identify the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs for each item. That sounds like a good idea to me. Americans need to know how much more they are spending to subsidize Trump’s dreamed-up idea that foreign governments pay his tariffs.

Without even substantiating whether or not the rumor was true, Fox News alumna & White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared, “This is a hostile and political act by Amazon.” Trump called Amazon to complain that they should not be telling American consumers the truth about his tariff fraud. Amazon agreed to not do something they were not planning to do in the first place.

Still, Leavitt has it backwards. Imposing a massive sales tax on every purchase made by all American consumers and calling it a tariff is a “hostile and political act” by the Trump administration against every resident of the United States. And every MAGA who voted for Trump should have to pay double.

Kevin Kline, Lexington

Trump fiddling

So, we elect a man as president who has declared bankruptcy six times and who, as a convicted felon, states that he knows what is good for America and its economy as he plays a game of whack-a-mole dealing with tariffs on products from foreign countries that he himself deals with for his own benefit (e.g. MAGA hats made in China). And we sit by and watch this circus go on unabated waiting for some glimpse of sanity to prevail. It’s not going to happen.

To paraphrase “Trump fiddles while America burns.”

Bob Sutton, Springfield

Venezuelan persecution

Andry Romero fled Venezuela to escape persecution for his homosexuality and political views. When he arrived in 2024, the US was a good place to seek political and personal freedom. That is no longer true.

In March, based on unsubstantiated allegations that he had gang tattoos, the 32-year-old makeup artist was illegally deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, where he has been held incommunicado for nearly three months.

The man who claimed Andry’s tattoos were gang related is a former police officer, fired for driving his car into a house while drunk, and accused of falsifying overtime records. Yet despite serious credibility issues, this man, and the denial of due process, determined Andry’s fate.

Many of those detained or deported were in the US legally, but were still denied due process. We MUST help them. Excellent organizations are fighting hard in court against this administration’s callous cruelty and disregard for the law. Find, follow, and support them.It’s in our own best interests to help – today it’s them; tomorrow it could be us. As a popular meme says, “We’re about 3 lines into Pastor Niemöller’s “First They Came For” . . . and it’s not a very long poem.”

Ellen S. Gordon, Midway

Social Security

In order to save Social Security and put a lot of disposable income into the economy, we should lower the FICA tax to 3% for both the employer and employee and tax ALL income at those rates. This for example, would put $3,000 into the pocket of a family earning $100,000 per year. What will they do with this $3,000? Well, they’re not going to buy a yacht! What they’ll do is spend it in the local economy, like restaurants, stores, etc lifting the microeconomics of their communities.After all, the working man has been taken advantage over the centuries in order to enrich the billionaires. It’s time for payback, fairness, and equity.Who made these billionaires? The hard working people of America.

Robert Hoeller, Lexington

Edited by Liz Carey