Immigrants’ stories, KU’s budget woes and killing Obamacare

Hear his story

This is the story of a child immigrant. I took a taxi one day and struck up a conversation with the polite man who was driving. By his slight accent, I knew he had not been born in the United States, so I asked what brought him to this country. He told me he was from Cambodia, and by the end of our trip, we were both in tears.

He shared with me that he was 14 when he watched as his entire family was murdered by the Khmer Rouge just minutes after his mother told him to run. He didn’t stop running for three days and ended up in a refugee camp in Thailand. Three years later, at 17, he was sponsored and came to the United States.

Our president should educate himself about Vietnam wartime refugees.

Traci Frerichs

Overland Park

Look westward

The Dec. 14 front-page story, “KU employees blindsided by extent of layoffs to address budget crisis,” said the University of Kansas is facing $20 million in budget cuts that will eliminate 150 faculty and staff positions. The article went on to mention KU is still giving $1.5 million a year to its athletic program.

That $1.5 million could fund many faculty and staff positions. It makes one wonder how Kansas State University can operate its athletic program without university funding. Why can’t KU follow suit for the sake of education?

Larry Bilotta

Kansas City

Cost realities

Given the federal judge’s ruling in Texas that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, the Republicans are finally getting their way: repealing Obamacare. (Dec. 15, 5A, “Federal judge in Texas rules Obama health-care law unconstitutional”) However, they have been trying this for eight years, and each time with no success. The main problem is that they still don’t have a replacement plan.

I don’t think you can call their plan “Trumpcare.” Rather, I call the Republicans’ plan “I Don’t Care.”

Simply, they want to go back to the days before Obamacare when pre-existing conditions were not covered by regular health insurance. If you had such a condition, you were put into a high-risk plan.

As a participant in Kansas’ high-risk plan, I started attending the plan’s board of directors meetings because my premium was so high. I found that the plan lost $17 million in 2011, so the only way the insurance company could make money was for the state to provide tax credits to offset the losses.

Bottom line: High-risk pools are very expensive, and they don’t work. So before you take away Obamacare, think about how much more expensive health insurance premiums will be for most Americans.

Dan Kass

Mission

Too much attention

I don’t believe President Donald Trump when he calls the press “the enemy of the people,” but it appears that The Star’s stance is to be the enemy of the Christian church.

Switching from its favored target of the Catholic Church to the Baptist denomination, The Star ran Sunday’s front-page feature, “Spirit of fear.” It went beyond exposing abuse by including an insolent mock-stained-glass illustration depicting a man with a flaming Bible in one hand and his other hand on a woman.

The story should be told but not overblown with one-inch headline letters and taking up most of the front page on the paper’s day of highest circulation, as though it were major breaking news.

David Lane

Belton

Familiar feeling

Being a Chiefs fan is like riding the old Finnish Fling at Worlds of Fun: You know sooner or later that the bottom will drop out.

As a lifelong Chiefs fan, former season ticket holder and even a Huddle Club member at the old Municipal Stadium, I know disappointment, like all of us.

Tony Moravac

Independence

Happy thoughts

Alas, Mary Poppins has made my day.

It wasn’t until Page 8A of Monday’s Star that I found anything approaching news of a relatively happy nature. What with all these murders, abuse scandals, homelessness, problems at the border with Mexico and Rudy Giuliani’s attack on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, at last I got a smile on my face.

Seeing the article about the movie “Mary Poppins Returns” brought me that smile. (“Spit spot! Blunt is practically perfect Mary Poppins”) Yes, in spite of many distressing current affairs, there is a simple movie that might bring some joy to my fellow readers.

More positive news, please.

Joan O’Donnell