Letters on socialism, jury nullification, abortion, Bob Dole

Are social programs really a bad thing?

A letter combined the words “socialism” and “communism” (socialistic/communistic) and compared it to “free-market capitalism” (“Epic rivalry,” Nov. 20 Letters to the Editor). Does anyone really think that if the words are combined, people will automatically think that socialism is the same as communism or that capitalism is necessarily representative of a free market?

The letter writer then railed against communism, assuming, I suppose, that readers would mentally include socialism in that category. And conversely, he combined “free market” with “capitalism,” trying to associate the negative connotation of communism with socialism and the positive connotation of a free market with capitalism.

Actually, socialism is practiced by most of the modern successful countries, including the U.S., and is not communism. All our safety-net programs – such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits – are examples of our social programs that help us all when needed and provide for the common good. These programs have been well-accepted and work well here, as in the rest of the world.

The Scandinavian countries are socialist. The citizens of those countries are ranked as the happiest people in the world, and those countries seem to be getting along just fine. Is it really a bad thing to have the security of knowing that your basic needs will be taken care of if you cannot provide them for yourself? That you will never have to choose between food and medicine?

Juries have options

A Garden City mother who made cannabis oil to treat her Crohn’s disease is charged with three felony and two misdemeanor charges and has lost custody of her 11-year-old son (Nov. 17 Eagle). The prosecution attorney said: “It’s a black or white issue. Did she violate the law as written in the state of Kansas, or did she not? That will be up to a jury of 12 to determine that.”

The prosecutor is unequivocally incorrect. A jury has the legal right to not only determine the guilt of a defendant, but also to rule on the reasonableness of the law itself. The defendant may be guilty, but the jury can acquit because of disapproval of the law. It is called jury nullification and was intended by our nation’s founders to be an integral part of protecting our liberty from an overreaching government.

The judge will not inform the jury of this option, nor will the defense attorney – and certainly not the prosecution attorney, who could have chosen to not prosecute (called prosecutorial discretion). But you as a juror have the right to rebuke meddling legislatures that make illegal what we can or can’t do with our own body or property. Be informed.

Abortion is normal

“Abortion is not normal,” according to a letter writer (“Scandal was abortion,” Dec. 12 Letters to the Editor). Whether one likes it or not, it is quite normal.

An article that same day noted falling abortion rates. Even so, 1.1 million were performed in the most recent year for which statistics are available (“Abortion falls to record low in the U.S., CDC says,” Dec. 12 Eagle). That’s tens of millions just in the U.S., just in the years since Roe v. Wade. Add the rest of the world and all the illegal ones here and abroad over the centuries, and it is quite common – or normal, if you will.

All options open to pregnant women are normal, for that matter, and they should be able to pick whichever best suits their situation.

Do not trust

Bob Dole and people like him are why many do not trust the Republican establishment (“Bob Dole criticizes Trump, Cruz,” Dec. 9 Eagle).

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Letters on socialism, jury nullification, abortion, Bob Dole."