Letters: Readers discuss Trump’s Russia success, pain management and Kris Kobach
Russian continuum
Every American president tries to reset our relationship with Russia.
Remember then-President Barack Obama telling former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility” to deal with missile-defense policy?
Or then-President George W. Bush saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was someone Americans could trust: “I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. … I was able to get a sense of his soul”?
Did President Donald Trump sell the farm? Hardly.
It’s been bought and sold so much before and after the Cold War that it’s almost comical. All the way back to the Russian Revolution, it’s been a rough ride. A brief honeymoon when the countries were allies during World War II and another after the fall of the U.S.S.R. have been the only bright spots.
In recent times, Putin perceived Obama as weak and took Crimea back, invaded eastern Ukraine and poked his nose into Syria when Obama failed to enforce the “red line.”
Every president makes mistakes with Russia. That’s a given.
So far, Trump’s State Department has sold Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia and has bombed Russian ally Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian forces.
Is this a return to the Cold War? Who knows?
Putin is afraid of NATO, and that’s a good thing.
James P. Aktinson
Kansas City, Kan.
Political plaything
Here’s a suggestion for whoever makes those Trumpy Bears I’ve seen advertised on TV. Why not add an audio chip to your product?
Push Trumpy Bear’s button, and he yells, “No collusion! No collusion!” Or if you want a little more variety, you could add a few other Trumpy favorites such as “Witch hunt!” and “Fake news!”
Instead of a push button, maybe you’d want to activate Trumpy Bear’s voice chip by tugging on his big red necktie.
Better yet, use a voice-activated chip and program it to sound off whenever it detects the word “Russia,” just like the president and his supporters.
There are all sorts of possibilities.
I wouldn’t buy the thing myself, but maybe the guy in the commercial who likes to take Trumpy Bear along on his motorcycle would enjoy it.
Connie Weaver
Kansas City
Cry for help
With the help of Social Security, my son has secured a doctor in Memphis to treat him for pain management. This is more than 1,000 miles from his home. He is totally disabled on a limited income.
He has been on opiates since a truck accident in 2003 crushed half his body. He has been hospitalized three times for withdrawal because he cannot get his needed drugs.
We have been advised that politicians are requiring doctors to report once a month when they prescribe opiates and are threatened with losing their licenses if they don’t.
Since when do politicians and insurance companies have the knowledge to tell doctors what to prescribe?
Without pain medicine, my son cannot get out of bed. He is on Medicare and has secondary insurance. He is going on 60, having worked all his life.
He is being discriminated against. He needs a doctor and treatment in Missouri, closer to home. He has no quality of life without his prescribed meds. He is not a druggie.
There are millions being treated in this manner.
Shirley Hook
Independence
Self-dealing?
Thank you to The Star and ProPublica for their good work concerning Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s self-serving work on behalf of cities around the nation that he duped into hiring him and paying him legal fees. (Aug. 2, 1A, “Towns Kobach helped lost big as he powered his own political rise”)
Not only did Kobach enrich himself, but by having his fees paid to his LLC, I wonder if Kobach avoided Kansas taxes on that income during the period when LLCs were exempt under state tax law. If so, those additional taxes could have helped the state pay off the fines and expenses Kobach incurred in federal court.
Kent Johnson
Overland Park