Letters on Jan. 6 Commission, recruiting doctors, brain injuries and culinary school

January 6 Commission

So the Powers that Be want to establish a commission to determine the truth about the so-called attack on the Capitol building on Jan. 6. I think I can answer the question and save millions of dollars and solve a very big problem. And believe me I’m no genius.

You see I believe the fault is mine and yours: we are both the problem and the solution. The problem is we lack self governance. The solution is self governance.

Of course self governance is learned and must be taught. That means it starts at birth, taught by parents (train up a child in the way he should go).

Self governance is nothing more than self control. Controlling ones thoughts and actions and more importantly one’s reactions.

As Kirk Cameron has so clearly said ”our nation was started by men who realized we had to self govern or we would be governed by others”. Others tend to want to find blame, which is always in others. The old adage is true; when you point a finger at someone, there are three pointing at you.

Lack of self governance caused Jan 6 ruckus, before, after and since.

Recruiting doctors

I read with interest the column written by Mr. Jacob Appel (“Despite growing need, it is too hard to become a doctor today,” May 19 opinion page). I agree with him to some extent. But there are ways to become a doctor.

First, college students have to work hard and get good score on the Medical College Admission Test. If they get a good score they can get admission to a medical school.

But even that may not solve the problem of shortage of doctors. The next best thing would be to recruit doctors from other countries and areas such as India and the Middle East. In the United States, 26% of the doctors practicing are from foreign countries. In Wichita, there are many doctors from India, Lebanon and other countries. I am glad President Joe Biden relaxed the rules for visas for professional people.

Brain injuries

The NFL’s brain injury compensation based on prior cognitive level is not justified by the scientific evidence. I say this having been a clinical psychologist specializing in neuropsychology and an NIMH grantee in 1969 of a three-year grant on high level cognitive skills of disabled patients with significant static brain damage four or more years post injury.

It is not the relative cognitive level prior to the damage but it is the amount of loss that should determine the level of compensation. Actually a good case can be made that a significant loss of brain function in a person of previously lower level cognitive assets is much more devastating to this person’s current adaptive ability than that same loss in a person who initially had more gifted cognitive assets.

Culinary school

The old, long-ago abandoned Henry’s building is getting a new tenant and this seasoned resident is ecstatic for the new WSU Tech culinary school. Henry’s and Innes were long ago bastions of commerce downtown and the upcoming smells of decadent delights will soon surround the downtown area. Bravo!!!