Letters: Wichita readers sound off on Trump acquittal, Alzheimer’s disease, COVID

Marshall was wrong

A contributor stated in a recent letter that Sen. Roger Marshall’s vote to acquit former President Trump “was exactly what those who sent him to Washington wanted him to do.”

That is incorrect. He was sent to Washington to protect and defend the Constitution, which he failed to do. Sen. Marshall is not a leader; he is a follower. After the events of Jan. 6, when every senator and congressman was literally running for his or her life, Marshall still voted to overturn the election results. They were spineless cowards who were so afraid of Donald Trump that they were willing to throw our Constitution out the window, thumb their noses at democracy and award him a victory that he did not win. Then, days later, these same people voted to acquit Mr. Trump even though they knew that he was guilty of inciting a riot that resulted in deaths and dozens of injuries.

My grandfather fought in World War I and lost an arm. Two of my uncles served in World War II, and another uncle fought in Vietnam. These brave men are heroes who believed in our country and democracy. They didn’t put their lives on the line so that a group of people who lack the courage to do the right thing could attempt to throw all of that away for a wannabe dictator. I would suggest to anyone who doesn’t support democracy that you might consider moving somewhere where you will be happier — North Korea, China, Russia or even Turkey. Just remember that they don’t appreciate criticism of their government.

Alzheimer’s disease

The Alzheimer’s Association “2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures” report was released last week and illustrates the burden of Alzheimer’s in our country and state is continuing to grow. An estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s dementia, including 55,000 in Kansas. Many family and friends are serving as Alzheimer’s caregivers, including 85,000 in Kansas providing a total of 95 million hours of unpaid care valued at nearly $1.4 million. The costs are unsustainable.

For the fifth consecutive year the cost of caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s is surpassing a quarter of a trillion dollars. Despite these enormous numbers, to me, Alzheimer’s disease is personal.

I was my mother’s unpaid caregiver for five years, keeping her at home instead of placing her in a care facility. I retired early to care for Mom, as we feared the cost of professional care would quickly outstrip her savings. This is not only a fatal disease, but one both financially and emotionally costly.

The report underscores the urgency of our country to further its investment in Alzheimer’s research that will advance treatments that can reverse these trends. I encourage you to support research for Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Learn more at alz.org.

Fight COVID globally

In response to the recent news story about Sen. Roger Marshall being “bullish on COVID vaccines” (Wichita Eagle, Feb. 26): There is more to be done to defeat COVID. We applaud Sen. Marshall’s leadership in advocating for all Kansans to be vaccinated and reaching herd immunity. However, herd immunity won’t be effective unless we stop COVID from mutating in other countries.

Kansas recently recorded the new infectious strain from the U.K., and thankfully the current vaccine is effective against it. This won’t be the case for all foreign strains. Pandemics are, by definition, global and would need a global response. So far, only 0.2% of the U.S.’s response to the COVID crisis has been focused on global needs. If we are going to beat this virus, Sen. Marshall should ensure there is support for bipartisan global health priorities in the upcoming COVID relief bill they will vote on.

We urge Sen. Marshall to support global anti-hunger and malnutrition efforts along with the Global Fund to fight COVID. This will ensure that COVID doesn’t mutate again, harm the progress we have made towards ending malnutrition and COVID globally.