Letters: Abortion vote, veterans shortchanged, jailhouse blues
Vote on abortion
No matter how you feel about abortion, the constitutional amendment on the Aug. 2 primary ballot is extremely important.
That being the case, we all need to vote. Most primaries are about picking candidates for the general election in the fall. Much more than that, this vote will determine whether women will continue to have access to an abortion for decades to come.
Thankfully, we still have the freedom to vote by mail. This year, though, as I will be out of town, I have already requested my absentee ballot at ksvotes.org.
Our county clerk validated this site as trustworthy, and I signed up to get my ballot so I can vote NO on the proposed Constitutional amendment on the primary ballot.
The Kansas Legislature made the head-scratching decision to put something this important on the primary ballot, rather than at the general election where the vote would so much better represent the will of the people.
Now, it’s up to all of us to vote in strong enough numbers to keep a small minority of voters from deciding the fate of this amendment. It’s up to us now to vote NO.
Ken Grotewiel, Lawrence, was a state representative from Wichita 1983-1994
Biden appointee
A minor article on the ninth page of the June 22 Eagle perfectly explains why America is in the condition it is in.
The article announces that President Biden is naming a Native American, Marilynn Malerba to the post of the U.S. treasurer.
What qualifications does Malerba have to qualify her for this position? Well, she is the lifetime chief of the Mohegan Indian tribe and has worked as a registered nurse along with other various tribal roles.
That qualifies her to lead the treasury of a nation with a $25 trillion economy? Hardly.
No, Malerba is being appointed for the sole reason that she is a Native American, consistent with other appointments of the Biden Administration.
Joe Biden doesn’t care if someone is qualified for a job, only if they are the right race, gender, sexual orientation or whatever demographic he is trying to please at the moment.
The result is a stunning level of incompetence at the highest levels of our federal government.
Chuck Jones, Wichita
Vets underpaid
Our disabled veterans are grossly undercompensated.
In 2022 a totally disabled veteran with no dependents is compensated at the ridiculous rate of $39,984.72 dollars annually.
The National Average Wage Index — NAWI — for 2020 was $55,628.60 a year and the median income for 2020 was $67,521.00.
The rate of compensation to disabled veterans is kept deliberately low to keep taxes low on our wealthy elites.
Disabled veterans have been asking various Administrations and Congresses for fair compensation since the end of WWI in 1918!
The basic reason for their gross undercompensation situation is because they are only compensated for projected loss of wages due to their disabilities. They are not compensated for their low quality of life.
I ask Congress to pass legislation now to compensate them fairly, especially the totally and permanently disabled among them who should be paid at least at the level of the NAWI.
This is now a national security problem. Once there is full realization among our youth that serious injury or illness in the armed forces almost guarantees a lifetime of near poverty, the armed forces will collapse.
Jade Christian, Manhattan
Jailhouse woes
Sedgwick County Jail is so overcrowded with people who don’t belong, there are inmates sleeping on floors with mice and two- to three-inch long cockroaches..
Also, I was deprived of my prescription anti-depressant and two blood-pressure medications.
When I complained, I was rousted in the middle of the night and sent out-of-county.
Christine Zuern, Derby
Putin vs. Biden
Putin takes his shirt off and goes out riding horses.
Biden falls off his bike.
Russell Shonk, Wichita
