Who is the villain?

When I listened to President Trump speak at Mt. Rushmore over the July 4th weekend, he once again made comments that I found not only highly offensive, but also not true.

His comment that "children are taught in school to hate their own country and to believe the men and women who built it were not heroes but villains" is the one that most struck at my heartstrings.

As a retired teacher and administrator who spent 45 years working with students, I can guarantee that while I was teaching in the classroom and while I was principal, students were taught to love and appreciate not only our country and its history, but also the peoples of all races, colors, and creeds who are part of that history. I have no doubt that that is the case in most all classrooms in Kansas and throughout the country. When looking at the Kansas Department of Education standards for History, Government, and Social Studies there is no mention of hating ones country nor is there a list of individuals considered to be villains.

Makes one wonder what the basis for such a comment is! I am proud to have been a lifelong educator working to instill a foundation of knowledge and values into students that undoubtedly has given them the opportunity to be informed, knowledgeable, and contributing citizens in our communities, states, and country which, by the way, fits in with the standards they are being taught.

Delon Martens

Haven

Religious privilege

Under the Constitution's Establishment Clause, government cannot favor the religious beliefs of some at the expense of the rights, beliefs and health of others. Yet, 50 years after access to contraception was recognized as a constitutional right, the Catholic Church continues exploiting authority over sexuality.

The Supreme Court recently affirmed the Trump administration's rules which create a religious or moral exemption from the Affordable Care Act's contraception coverage guarantee for any employer or university that wants it. And the new rules don't require any third-party accommodation to provide workers or students with coverage for this critical care, as does the ACA.

Houses of worship are exempted from complying with the ACA's contraception benefit. And the government offers other religiously affiliated employers with religious objections to contraception an accommodation: simply sign a written notice of the objection and government would work with a third-party provider to ensure access to reproductive coverage without involving the employer. But the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious organizations said even signing the opt-out form was a burden and sued the government.

The hypocrisy of the Little Sisters and others claiming to be the injured parties in this legal battle over access to reproductive health care is that they already have the type of "church plan" insurance that allows them to exclude contraceptive care for their workers, hundreds of people who are not nuns or Catholics, and for many, who don't share their religious views on contraception.

What's at issue in this case is the difference between religious freedom and religious privilege.

Janean Lanier

Hutchinson

Voters Beware!

By now we have all had postcards in the mail or door hangers left on our doors, some filled with lies paid for by Topeka special interest groups. These big-money, special interests want politicians beholden to them, not to us the constituents.

There is more to the story being told on those postcards. Call the candidates here at their homes. Ask them for the truth. Like every election, these big-money special interest groups want us to believe half-baked truths and outright lies: whatever it takes to make us believe their lies so they can buy the election and buy our politicians.

I recently ran into a young man dropping literature for them-he was being paid by a Topeka special interest group and was from Johnson County. He had no vested interest in our communities. If these far-away Topeka special interest groups are supporting one candidate or lying about another, they are doing it so that we might elect a pawn for them.

We need to elect candidates that stand up for us. As my husband, Greg Lewis, said when he resigned from the Kansas House of Representatives due to illness, "This is not the house of special interest. This is the Peoples House; long may it serve the People and the Great State of Kansas."

In August make your vote count. Dont buy the lies. Elect candidates who will work for us and are NOT beholden to Topeka special interest groups.

Susan Lewis

St. John

Antifa Is NOT Imaginary

What do Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy all have in common? They are not real; they are imaginary.

On June 25, Democrat Senator Jerry Nadler from New York made one of the most asinine statements I have ever heard. Mr. Nadler intimated that antifa was "imaginary". In other words, Mr. Nadler would have you believe that antifa (that "peaceful", anti-Fascist mob which vandalized, looted, pillaged, and set fires to many businesses in cities throughout the United States) did NOT actually do any of these dastardly deeds.

Nadler would like to think that what American citizens saw with their own eyes on TV was a "figment of their imagination""--that they are actually dumb enough to "buy into" this outrageous statement. Really, Senator Nadler, do you honestly think that the Antifa mob threw "imaginary" bricks through storeowners' windows? Tell the store owners these bricks were "imaginary".

Do you really think that the lootings and fires that were set by antifa rioters were "imaginary". Tell the store owners (many who had invested years of sweat and labor into making their businesses successful, only to have their livelihoods destroyed in one night) that the lootings and fires were "imaginary". Senator Nadler, you are insulting the intelligence of the American people if you think they are "buying" any of this nonsense.

If there is one thing that I wish was "imaginary", Senator Nadler, it is you! Unfortunately, Senator Nadler is "real", as is the radical left-wing drivel spewing out of his mouth.

Ron Etchison

Ellsworth

Vote Berger

In his role as President of Hutchinson Community College, I was always impressed with how Dr. Ed Berger leveraged limited resources to achieve great results. When he decided to run for the Kansas Senate four years ago, I was pleased because the Brownback administration had clearly gone off the rails and we needed elected officials like Ed Berger to step up and clean up the mess. Ed and his colleagues have had to make some tough votes to bring Kansas back to financial soundness. They have done that.

Now Eds opponent, who has not bothered to vote in many previous elections, seems to want to take us back to the "Brownback Years." Apparently, he doesnt know that experiment failed and Kansas is still digging its way out of the economic hole it created.

I hope you will join me in voting for a man of real integrity, Ed Berger.

Patty Kerr

Hutchinson

Presidential Election Could Be a Game Changer

The upcoming presidential election on November 3rd is the most important election in American history since 1860 and 1864. This is because our very existence as a constitutional republic created by our U.S. Constitution in 1789 is at stake.

The progressive (actually regressive) left-wing Democrat Party wants the United States government to change to a socialist/Marxist government. They attack our very U. S. Constitution as out-dated and old-fashioned created by 56 white men, some who owned slaves. Thus, they say it is a racist document. This is nonsense!

The history of the Democrat Party reveals that it has always been racist. They were supporters of slavery before and during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865). After the Civil War they established the Ku Klux Klan and segregation to keep newly freed former slaves from voting. This is in our history books that the Democrat Party wishes to hide. They want to destroy our history by rewriting it. Part of this destruction of our nations history is seen by the rioters who have destroyed statues of past Americans.

The Democrats resort to intimidation of people through violent groups such as antifa (which get lots of financial support from anti-American government multi-billionaire George Soros) as well as Black Lives Matter, an organization whose background is heavily pro-Marxist in its ideology. As a matter of fact, its three co-founders are extremely pro-Marxist in their comments. Thus, weve got to save our country and its freedoms by defeating the Democrats in November.

Don Etchison

Haven

Vote Dower

Please join us in voting for Tad Dower for District Court Judge. Tads time spent as Municipal Court Judge in Hutchinson has given him the experience to be a fair and thoughtful judge. And Tads many years as a local attorney in private practice has given him a keen understanding of all facets of legal issues involved in the type of cases he would contemplate in District Court. Integrity, honest, fair, and thoughtful are all words that describe Tad.

Anne and Tom Sellers

Hutchinson

Berger is for education

When Ed Berger ran for our State Senate 4 years ago I didnt know him personally. I knew of him from his days as Hutchinson Community College President. After spending 10 plus years in Kansas classrooms I saw Ed as the best choice to help get Education back on track in Kansas. Ive been more than pleased with the job Ed has done for Kansas. Ive got to know Ed personally as he visits our town cafe regularly and we had him address our Lions Club. I want to encourage all voters to vote to re-elect Ed Berger to the Kansas Senate.

Alan Albers

Cunningham

Critical to re-elect

The most important resource in Kansas is our children; they are our future. As a public school teacher, I have spent years advocating for students. It is critical that we re-elect Dr. Ed Berger to the state legislature.

Following my year of service as the Kansas Teacher of the Year, I have learned just how important it is to have representatives in Topeka that understand the unique needs of our schools and the communities they serve. Ed Berger does that. He listens to my experiences and concerns as an educator. He always responds quickly to my questions about how new bills and policies will affect local schools.

Dr. Berger shows balance and fairness in his voting record towards public schools which is needed to sustain our local communities. Please support Dr. Berger with your vote; District 34 will continue to benefit from his leadership and experience.

Samantha Neill

Buhler

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Letters to the editor - News - Leavenworth Times