Lexington’s ‘No Kings’ was courteous, well-behaved, imaginative, and peaceful | Opinion

No Kings

NO KINGS! NO VIOLENCE! For the first time in my 72 years, I exercised my rights guaranteed under the First Amendment to peacefully congregate and petition the government for redress of grievances when I attended the “No Kings” rally in downtown Lexington.

The event was well attended and numbered in the thousands, taking up the entire courthouse square and spilling out onto the bordering streets for several blocks in 3 directions. The crowd was courteous, well-behaved, imaginative, quiet, peaceful, and elderly. Many folks made signs, all of them expressing their objections to Trump administration policies and practices, which they carried with care. Speakers addressed the crowd, and I caught the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

If U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., or Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., had attended, they would have personally concluded that this event had been a gathering of patriots carrying “Old Glory” and peacefully complaining about the conduct of their government.

Political protest is a part of the very fabric of our revolution from England, and the First Amendment is first for a reason. It is first because it is the most important. I think I will do it again. It felt good.

D. Craig Dance, Lexington

Santos pardon

So, a convicted felon pardons another convicted felon because the latter convicted felon always votes Republican. You can’t make this stuff up. I would have never thought this country would have spiraled down to this level.

Bob Sutton, Springfield

Failed business launches political campaign

Nate Morris looks like a perfect candidate for Kentucky Senator with the Make America Greedy Again voters. He started a business named Rubicon selling proprietary software to help clients cut costs by reducing the “waste streams” in their businesses. Essentially a digital trash company. He attracted a lot of early investors, who invested a lot of money.

The concept was not successful. However, Morris paid himself ridiculously high compensation for overseeing a company that never made a profit. Now he is extremely wealthy, while his investors lost everything.

This is the exact same business model used by President Donald Trump, who also paid himself handsomely to run a series of businesses that never made a profit and went bankrupt. Then somehow the investors he cheated let him get away with it. Trump has parlayed that experience into a position where he is now bankrupting the U.S. government.

Nate Morris can bring the same level of incompetence to the government of Kentucky.

Kevin Kline, Lexington

Wildfire pollution

Recently, the Herald-Leader ran an important story about western wildfires and global warming, covering the science of how forest fires contribute to climate and health problems. Obviously, Kentucky is not the west, but around half our state consists of forests, and in any event the risk and problems do not stop at state lines. Currently, there is legislation in Congress, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA, S. 1462), which addresses the wildfire problem by using existing methods of thinning and controlled burns.

FOFA has passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate. It is a refreshingly bipartisan bill these days, sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, Alex Padilla, D-Ca., John Hickenlooper, D-Col., and Tim Sheehy, R-Mont. Now is the time to tell Kentucky’s U.S. Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, both Republican, to support this bill, especially McConnell since he is a member of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry committee. There is a spectrum of groups supporting this bill, including environmental groups such as the Audubon Society, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Forest fire risk has doubled over the last 30 years, and fires are more destructive and expensive. The status quo is not working anymore.

John Webster, Lexington

Kirk roads

It will be a huge mistake if Florida state lawmakers pass a bill requiring all of Florida’s public state universities and colleges to rename one roadway on their campuses after the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Party of Trump and Turning Point USA are portraying Kirk as a righteous martyr. From 2015 to 2024, Kirk used God (Jesus) and Holy Scripture to win votes for a totally inept, corrupt, immoral, greedy, white supremacist, conservative, autocratic politician — President Donald Trump.

God is not fooled when we use God (Jesus) to promote our selfish pursuits of taking our country down the wide road of white Christian Nationalism. God doesn’t choose our political leaders. In a democracy, we the people elect them.

It is wrong to lionize Charlie Kirk. Will the Republican Party use Kirk’s assassination as a way to win them votes in the 2026 midterms?

Kirk should not have been assassinated. It was an evil act that took his life. No one should celebrate his death. Everyone can pray for and empathize with Kirk’s wife and two young children. May we do so.

Paul L. Whiteley Sr., Louisville

Don’t vote Republican

Upcoming midterm elections provide the best solution to address the greatest governmental and constitutional crisis of my lifetime. I am disheartened that more citizens are not concerned about what is happening in our country. The bottom line is this: you cannot vote for a Republican. They have squandered their time as a super majority.

If Republicans are elected, this is what will happen:

• The balance of power, a cornerstone of our democracy, will be eroded, as the executive branch overreaches.
• Our government will continue to use our military against its citizens, like an authoritarian nation, not a democratic republic.
• Health care will become too expensive for many, and Medicaid will see drastic cuts, AFTER midterm elections.
• Masked agents will continue to arrest people while they are sleeping or at work. (If you are arresting criminals, masks are not necessary.)
• The executive branch will continue to threaten and intimidate any who pose opposition.
• Policies to preserve the environment will be relaxed or eliminated. Attempts to bring back coal will continue, even if it increases your electricity bill.

Then this won’t be America anymore. Your silence grants permission.

William Farnau, Lexington

The definition of insanity

Why do voters believe that continually sending the same individuals back to office to represent them will lead to different results?

Charles Myers, Lexington

Will adults please stand up?

When are the adults showing up in Washington again? Hopefully, we can agree that the children we see dressed in suits, ties, heels and adult clothing parading around the halls of Congress pretending to be adults, have exhausted our collective patience. The lying, posturing and exaggeration we are used to, but this recent preoccupation with potty humor, bodily fluids, and four-letter expletives is so middle-schoolish that we are outraged, disgusted and just done! We don’t pay your salaries to be exposed to this level of immaturity and foolishness. This level of disrespect toward American voters is absurd. If this kind of behavior is your idea of fun, testosterone measuring, or proof of pack support, the real grownups who deal with paying bills, feeding families, educating people and solving life’s problems disagree. Grow up or better yet, go home and let mature people tackle the problems that you ignore.

Janice Russell, Lexington

Edited by Liz Carey