Readers share views on Sen. Moran, religion, veterans
Kudos, Sen. Moran
On behalf of the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center, I wish to recognize Sen. Jerry Moran, who is an important advocate of Alzheimer’s disease research.
In 2013 and 2014, as the ranking member of the Senate Health Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees the National Institutes of Health, he advocated for significant increases in Alzheimer’s research funding.
This funding provides new hope for those working toward a cure.
Sen. Moran’s commitment to medical research is indisputable. He highlights our local research accomplishments at a national level and has assisted the KU center in outreach efforts, including bringing National Institute on Aging Director Richard Hodes to Kansas City.
Alzheimer’s disease steals the lives of its victims and of the family members and friends who care for them. It robs future generations as the financial burden caused by lack of an effective treatment exceeds $230 billion per year.
Unaddressed, this cost will grow and eventually consume an unsustainable proportion of our economy.
We must do more to combat this disease.
In this effort, Sen. Moran is a national champion. Kansans can take great pride in his leadership on this issue.
Russell Swerdlow,
M.D.
Director
University of Kansas
Alzheimer’s
Disease Center
Leawood
Religion, thinking
The current political and social debates remind me of the following quote, attributed to Texas author John Graves: “I wish I lived in a world where it was possible to be religious and think at the same time.”
Charles Barnes
Kansas City
Honoring veterans
“All gave some; some gave all” was coined by Howard Osterkamp, a Korean War veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart.
The Purple Heart is traced back to 1783 when Gen. George Washington awarded it to only three soldiers. It was then called the Badge of Military Merit.
Homer Smith, Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, sums it up this way:
“I ended up with 28 pieces of shrapnel in me,” he said. “As for the gunner, the biggest piece left of him was a boot and a foot. I gave something; he gave it all.”
Legendary words take on new meaning when you visualize how they originated.
The immeasurable debt we owe to our veterans, past and present, cannot be expressed adequately. What we can do is take an active part in preserving our freedoms to make sure these sacrifices and lives were not in vain.
Mark your calendars for a patriotic community event at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Benson Center in Clinton, Mo.
We have had several hundred attend this event in the past.
Guest speakers will be twins, authors and motivational speakers David and Jason Benham. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.
Sandra Spooner
Clinton, Mo.
Brownback’s talent
I know the perfect place for Gov. Sam Brownback after this term is expired, and Kansas would benefit from his many years of cost-cutting and trimming of the Kansas government (5-19, A2, “Brownback cuts fall hard on Medicaid, higher education”).
He would be perfect running the Kansas Board of Regents overseeing all the colleges and universities.
With tuition costs out of control for decades, perhaps he could manage to cut enough to make college affordable for more people.
Greg Klein
Olathe
Kelsey Smith Act
Once again, Congress has failed us by allowing the Kelsey Smith Act to die in the House (5-24, A4, “U.S. House rejects cellphone data bill prompted by KC area murder”).
Thankfully, this law is already in place in 22 states that believe the greater good is more important than a few privacy violations.
We are all supposed to be on the same side — do what is best for the majority, not special interests.
We haven’t seen that in decades from the GOP and certainly not from the party’s latest offerings. The country was built through many compromises, not “my way or no way.”
Nothing gets accomplished without compromising. We all lose without compromise.
I suppose there should be “rest in peace” on the tombstones, but Republicans’ inactions and bullying should haunt them for eternity.
Carol L Neill
Overland Park
This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Readers share views on Sen. Moran, religion, veterans."