Readers comment on the Texas school shooting, providing health care to immigrants and more
Solve this problem
My Gainesville Sun was again delivered to me Wednesday morning, like clockwork — a day without it, and coffee, too, is like a day without sunshine. The first thing I saw was the headline: “18 kids, 3 adults dead.” Then I thought, this is beyond ridiculous, so when is it going to end?
I just got through reading the late Larry King’s book “Truth Be Told,” wherein he proposed that folks with the brightest minds sit down together to develop a solution to the Middle East conflict. Those same folks can solve this problem as well.
I’m not proposing to infringe on anyone’s constitutional rights to bear arms. But certain politicians can’t seem to get it through their thick skulls that the growing number of victims of mass shootings had their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness taken from them. We could be the next victims if the status quo is kept and nothing is done to fix this problem.
The aforementioned politicians have demonstrated, by their refusal to address this problem, that they won’t be among those who have the brightest minds needed to solve this problem. We must vote accordingly. I pray that God will guide a convening of the brightest minds needed to solve this problem once and for all.
Marc Wilson, Gainesville
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Provide free care
Equal Access Clinic (EAC), established by the University of Florida, is the largest student-run network of free health care clinics in the U.S. Our goal is to provide care for high-risk patient populations including undocumented, uninsured or underinsured patients.
Although EAC can provide general services, such as primary and gynecological care, referral to the charity program WeCare allows these patients to attain specialty services and imaging. This program is well-intentioned but is limited in practicality because non-U.S. citizens do not qualify for WeCare.
According to the Pew Research Center, 775,000 of the Florida population are unauthorized immigrants. Furthermore, the Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion Initiative states that 25% of the immigrant population voices concerns over difficulty accessing health care services. Overall, this represents a major gap in health equity in the state and our local community.
With the prevalence of non-U.S. citizens in our community and the limitations of WeCare, we recommend more specialties offer free or discounted services. We call on medical providers and the community as a whole to comprehend the gravity of this issue and expand physician offerings of charity and pro-bono clinics. This would allow more high-risk patients to receive crucial health care services.
Jin Choi, Tatiana Doroskin and Emma Leon, medical students, UF College of Medicine
Putin parallels
Ever since he descended the escalator, it’s been clear that Donald Trump and the Republicans crave the same kind of power Vladimir Putin has. From the beginning Trump, declaring his great admiration for Putin, sought to establish a similar type of authoritarian control of government and thought by undermining the norms and practices of democracy to create an alternative structure guaranteeing his hold on power.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent laws disrespecting LGBTQ persons, and banning critical race theory, although essentially unused in primary and secondary schools, reflect his commitment to the reproduction of the ignorance and bigotry against people and ideas not deemed sufficiently “mainstream.” Such laws parallel Putin’s policies of shutting down every alternative source of information to keep Russians in ignorance about the invasion of Ukraine.
At national levels, Putin, Trump and DeSantis obviously differ in the extent of their reach, but the societies they wish to enable will be similar, if not identical: authoritarian, oligarchical, bigoted and corrupt.
Tony Oliver-Smith, Gainesville
Debunked documentary
The “outrage" of so-called patriots in this area about the Dinesh D'Souza faux-documentary “2000 Mules” borders on comical. D'Souza himself says his film proves nothing. He flings out so-called data, numbers and maps, and the gullible suck it down like they are in Jonestown.
His "facts" have all been debunked. Even his maps are wrong but the right doesn't care. Their cries of voter fraud will follow them until the next election — and, depending on the outcome, after. Trump has already called for Dr. Oz to declare victory so he can yell "fraud' if he loses.
What should outrage people? That right-wing conspiracy group True the Vote was able to purchase and track data of scores of cellphone users. D'Souza adds fuel to the fire that Trump started. Unfortunately, we have a new eternal flame. It is on the grave of a once-republic government.
Leslie Skeans, Hawthorne
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Readers comment on development at 13th and University, inflation and more
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters on Texas school shooting, health care, DeSantis, D'Souza, more
