Letters: Readers discuss misunderstood Chavez, school choice and hypocritical senators
U.S. failure
Both the Trump and Obama administrations ignored the building authoritarianism in Venezuela and blew it in our own backyard. Now we have Cuban and Russian troops and intelligence propping up the brutal and ruthless regime of presidential imposter Nicolas Maduro.
What a shame he served as vice president under former President Hugo Chavez, who was wrongly accused of being the next Fidel Castro. Chavez was overwhelmingly elected and proclaimed a folk hero after he tried to overthrow the government himself.
I was a missionary there for 15 years. I saw it. Chavez immediately got to work putting the military on the streets to combat the high crime. He started infrastructure projects — building sewers and bridges, and bringing electricity and transportation to the poorest slums.
Maduro forgot where he came from. The inevitable bloodbath under his dictatorship has just begun. The blood will be on the United States’ hands for our years of failure to act.
David G. Smith
Kansas City
Different approach
I believe everyone learns differently. As a teacher, I see this play out every day in my lessons with my students. That’s why it’s important for families to have options for their children’s education.
During my career, I’ve worked to accommodate the individual needs of each student. I’ve also come to recognize that not all schools can effectively offer a personalized education for each student. When we try to fit students into molds, it becomes obvious that not all students learn the same way. I believe it’s time for this outdated practice to change.
That’s why I’m a big advocate for school choice. As an elementary school teacher for Kansas Virtual Academy, I’ve heard firsthand from parents that having a choice in their children’s education has had a positive impact on their families, including those with children who are advanced learners.
The ability for parents to choose where their children attend school means more students can receive the personalized attention they need. That’s why I urge Kansas to protect school choice so all families can choose the education options that support their needs.
Heather Grimes
Olathe
Not much plan
The Kansas Legislature completed the 2019 session without expanding Medicaid. This was after Gov. Laura Kelly allowed a bill clearing the way for unregulated health insurance plans to become law. She did that as a good-faith gesture in hopes that the state Senate would pass Medicaid expansion.
I was a health actuary for more than 40 years, working for insurance companies (serving as chief actuary for one) and as a consultant.
This new legislation allows the Kansas Farm Bureau to sell plans that do not cover pre-existing conditions. The coverage they provide is exempt from regulation and protection by the Kansas Insurance Department.
Similar association plans in the past were notorious for being undercapitalized. Many went bankrupt and could not pay claims. The Farm Bureau estimates 11,000 to 42,000 members will purchase these plans. If the plans are properly capitalized, they need a contingency reserve or surplus of $5 million to $18 million. Does the Farm Bureau have that level of unassigned assets? Without that surplus, in five years, the plans would be looking at insolvency.
This legislation does state that the plans “may” be reinsured, but that reinsurance will not be cheap. All I can say to a Farm Bureau member considering this plan: Buyer beware.
Thomas Handley
Overland Park
In their words
I am so disappointed by the ongoing cowardice of our senators who appear to have been muzzled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In 1998, then-Rep. Roy Blunt said: “There is clear evidence that President (Bill) Clinton committed perjury on two or more occasions, and urged others to obstruct justice. … Oaths taken in the American system of government are serious commitments to truth and the rule of law. Violating these oaths or causing others to impede the investigation into such acts are serious matters that meet the standard for impeachment.”
Also that year, then-Rep. Jerry Moran said of Clinton: “The untruthful actions of the president are not mere technical violations of federal law; rather, the president’s lies, obfuscation and overt acts to obstruct justice are serious and felonious, and they tear at the essential foundation of our judicial system.”
Remember, all this was about having sex with an intern and lying about it — not what the current president and his campaign are accused of.
The Mueller report details 10 attempts by President Donald Trump to obstruct justice. And yet only one Republican senator has spoken out against the actions of this president: Sen. Mitt Romney. From the rest of our brave senators, we have heard nothing.
McConnell just wants to move on so this assault on our Constitution will remain for historians to study. The silence of the majority of our Republican senators and their lack of independence will be examined forever.
Sue Thompson
Mission