Letters to the editor: Kavanaugh, Botanical Garden, Medicaid expansion, Kendra Kenyon, screen time, Janice McGeachin, Trump

Brett Kavanaugh

I just don’t understand how the same senators, who claim to love this country, that didn’t allow President Obama’s nomination of a judge to the same court, can sleep at night, knowing that they may confirm Trump’s nominee. Their claim at the time was that Obama was at the end of his presidency. They claimed that he shouldn’t be allowed to nominate a judge who would shape the court for generations to come. Trump is under investigation. Is he really the man that you want to shape the court for generations to come? Can you really say, in your heart of hearts, that this is the man that should possibly change the course of this nation? Trump has no moral compass. He lies every other word. I wish that both sides of the aisle would learn to put country before party and work together. I wish that all of our senators would learn from the late John McCain. I didn’t always agree with his views, but he loved his country. He worked across the aisle. He was the only adult in the room.

Visit Idaho Botanical Garden

We at the Idaho Botanical Garden wish to thank station KTVB and especially Brian Holmes and the field camera crew for their recent report on our early preparations for Christmas.

But don’t feel like you have to wait for eggnog season or even pumpkin latte time to visit the garden. Although all the Christmas lights are not up yet, there is still a lot of beauty to behold here. Plants still in bloom include Hummingbird Trumpet, Roses, Asters and many more. Upcoming events include: Scarecrow Stroll (all month of October — vote for your favorite straw sculpture) and Harvest Festival (weekend of Oct.5-7).

We are located at 2355 Old Penitentiary Road and are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. So come out and visit us while the weather is still nice. You’ll be glad you did.

Medicaid expansion

Idahoans need Medicaid expansion. As a doctor, I’m heartbroken when my patients can’t get the health care they need to be productive.

One young man was hospitalized with life threatening diabetes because he didn’t take his insulin. It was too expensive. He had been hired as a dishwasher but his health insurance didn’t start for six months. He lost that job because he was in the hospital for several days. He was trying to work, but was stuck.

Medicaid expansion gives patients like this a chance to work. They are trapped by their health without health insurance. Vote to support Prop 2.

Elect Kendra Kenyon

I support Kendra Kenyon for a seat on the Ada County Board of County Commissioners. Kendra has the education and career experience to lead Ada County in this time of unprecedented growth.

Much of this growth is happening in unincorporated Ada County. Little consideration has been given to the infrastructure impact of this growth. Roads and streets will be negatively impacted by growth, as planning and funding of necessary improvements have not been implemented by agencies such as ITD and ACHD. This will require planning and coordination by these agencies, as well as the county, cities, COMPASS and others.

Residents of Ada County risk losing their quality of life due to congested and unsafe roadways — not to mention due to an 1,800 home subdivision proposed by Boise Hunter Homes in rural Ada County, larger than 86 percent of any municipality in Idaho and displacing farmland, wildlife habitat and open space.

As a resident of unincorporated Ada County, I am also deeply concerned about the sustainability of the aquifer. We are all on well water out here, with long-standing irrigation water rights. How do we know that this aquifer can sustain 1,800 new homes without impacting our water rights?

Screen and computer violence

It has been said we have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear and hearts that do not understand. One thing many of us cannot see and understand is the terrible effect screen and computer violence is having on our rising generation.

Social scientists have demonstrated again and again the true teacher of our youth is not our public schools, but social media. During an average year a child (age 6-11) will watch TV 1,340 hours while attending school a mere 980 hours. By age 18, a child will have watched 22,000 hours of TV but only attended school just 12,000 hours. That doesn’t include cell phones. So really who is our children’s teacher?

Robert Maynard Hutchins said: “We do not need to burn all the great books to destroy western civilization. All we need to do is leave them unread for one generation.”

One proactive mom, with boys 8, 6, and 4, told her husband that they were raising a brood of non-readers; and that TV and social media were the culprits. “It’s not what they watch or how much they watch that worries me,” she said. “It’s that they can’t or don’t read.”

Elect Janice McGeachin

California is in big trouble. Acres of forests and communities are burning up because government restricts water, prevents property owners fireproofing their landscaping, prohibits fire fighting efforts and materials, etc. Whole towns, like Ojai, have been threatened. Many California officials blame drought, or “climate change,” but much of California, being naturally dry, through good management has been kept green ... until regulations interfered.

Listen to people running for office. Listen to their ideas. Some think the answer to every problem is a government program.

Government interference causes many more problems than it solves, always imposing unexpected consequences. People who get into office and implement government programs will mire Idaho in regulations like California. People who like more government should go someplace like California, not try changing Idaho. Let’s stay away from candidates proposing more government control and keep Idaho Idaho for people who love Idaho.

Janice McGeachin is the candidate for lieutenant governor who will work to keep California-style regulations from creeping into Idaho. Defending veterans’ rights, property rights, the right of the unborn to live and Second Amendment rights; the rights of Idahoans to make our own decisions are among Janice’s attributes we need in our next lieutenant governor.

Donald Trump

Regarding President Trump:

It does not matter if you support or do not support our current president.

After observing his actions and demeanor since taking office I have come to a single simple conclusion.

We are all food animals to him and nothing more.

Something he and his party have forgotten in this case — We, the cattle, can vote.