Liberal Mouthpiece?
Hi ... I’m not a Louisville native — moved here several years ago — and I have a brother who just moved here from Chicago two months ago. Question: Is this paper strictly a liberal mouthpiece? I’m a conservative from Illinois (Obama land), and given your local paper, this, etc., I find myself to be in unwelcome territories. Hey! Try featuring another perspective … we spend money, too, and you are obviously a bright bunch of people at LEO. Don’t be like the typical liberal who says they “accept all viewpoints” and, in reality, accept none other than their own.
Thanks for listening! I’m really a nice person. :)
Marian Johnson, Prospect
Unions Want $
I’d like to respond to Tom Louderback’s Nov. 20 letter about McConnell’s call for a national right-to-work law. Louderback says it would force unions to work for free. But what the unions want is to force workers to pay them whether or not the workers think they get value from union representation.
A couple years ago, the Jefferson County School Board approved a contract with the union representing classified personnel. The contract included a provision requiring that all personnel pay union dues. Thus we all essentially became members of the union. Those who “joined” got voting rights and paid a little more dues than the rest of us, who became what amounted to non-voting members. If I had thought the union benefited me, I would have joined. But the union was probably a detriment for me and, in my case, allowed the board to pay me less than what I could have gotten otherwise.
The real reason the unions want everyone to pay is that they are a business and want more revenue. As a monopoly, they generate more revenue through political activity, not by out-competing other firms with better products or services.
If the school board was to offer contracts that said those not joining the union would be paid a certain amount less, say twice the amount of dues, I would be OK with that. But what the unions want is my money.
That’s a big part of why I left the school system.
Rich Mills, Shawnee
Superstorm Fasting
The night before the international climate negotiations of the United Nations began in Warsaw, Poland, Typhoon Haiyan, a superstorm that many are calling the most powerful typhoon ever to hit land, smashed into the Philippines, destroying communities and killing thousands. Last week, extremely powerful and early tornadoes tore across the Midwest United States, leaving behind death and devastation.
The connection between our fundamentally altered climate and the increase in the severity and number of extreme weather events is abundantly clear to delegate Nadarev Saño, who is representing the Philippines at this year’s climate negotiations. Calling the climate crisis “madness,” Saño has pledged to fast until the conference delivers concrete action to address climate disruption. In an effort to show solidarity with Saño and those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, thousands of youth, including members of the Sierra Student Coalition, are also fasting until the end of the conference.
It’s time to acknowledge the “madness” of the climate crisis affecting not only the Philippines, but also right here in Kentuckians’ backyards. Secretary of State John Kerry should show that the U.S. is ready to lead so that superstorms don’t become the new normal in the commonwealth or anywhere else.
Tyler Offerman, Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, Lexington
