To the editor:
Re “armed. And ready to teach kindergarten” (July 31, front page):
As a parent of school-age children and a common-sense American citizen, I am deeply disturbed by this article. A school of ill-trained, perhaps ill-prepared and cowardly teachers, administrators and janitors swiftly mobilized to do what Uvalde’s approximately 400 law enforcement officers armed with automatic high-capacity rifles could not. Creating a response force seems pretty farcical and misguided.
It’s almost as if the proverb “good guys with guns” is a new tactic being deployed to act when trained officials blatantly and tragically fail.
Evidence suggests that such tactics are extremely rare in mass shootings. So, again, instead of ignoring elephants in the room (hundreds of millions of guns, lax gun laws, the NRA lobby) and enacting safeguards for innocent people, we’re going to keep quiet. Give the teacher her 24-hour qualifications and qualifications. Glocks essentially become pea shooters against lunatics armed with automatic weapons unless in the hands of a skilled weapons handler.
The insane gun laws that allow such frequent mass shootings are now shrouded in stupid and poorly thought out “solutions” in this once great country.
Timothy Painter
Media, P.A.
To the editor:
As a retired elementary school teacher, I was left with a mixture of disbelief and horror after reading this article! Teachers are allowed to carry and possibly use loaded weapons. What is wrong with our country?
The classroom is a place where a safe and comfortable learning environment is required. Can we create the atmosphere we want for our children by having educators prepare them for filming?
Barbara Segal
Berkeley, California
To the editor:
Until these semi-automatic weapons are completely banned and disappear from the streets, not the terrified teachers who feel they must learn to handle guns for their own safety and the safety of the children they care for. , why don’t teachers simply refuse to go to school?
Teachers taught via Zoom during one epidemic. They can do it again during this current plague.
Lisbeth S. Freed
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Giving firearms to civilians with minimal training and experience is becoming a national disaster. The lives of our children, young people, teachers and administrators need to be more thoughtful and sensitive to the epidemic of school shootings. A policy of shooting from the hip, not reckless.
Victor Kaliman
Kings Park, New York
The author is a former teacher and principal.
Analyzing Russia and the Man Who Controls It
To the editor:
Peter Pomerantsev on “Putin Performs for Russia, Set in Ukraine” (Sunday Opinion, July 31):
Mr. Pomerantsev’s excellent analysis of President Vladimir Putin’s manipulation of Russia’s “cycle of humiliation and aggression” brings to mind the saying of the Russian people: “Don’t bring rubbish out of the hut.”
Russians never admit or commemorate self-harm because they refuse to show their failures and shortcomings to the outside world. We believe there is a risk that such vulnerabilities can be exploited.
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, continues to be vilified in Russian society for adopting glasnost. Glasnost enabled public debate and scrutiny of Russia’s failures for years, traditionalists opposed.
Melvin A. Goodman
Bethesda, Maryland
The author is a former Russia analyst for the CIA, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.
To the editor:
When will the media label Vladimir Putin as the Hitler of the 21st century?
CJ Hoppin
Peaks Island, Maine
Republican governors: see the record
To the editor:
In “Republican Governors Are Quietly Getting Results” (Sunday Opinion, July 31), Liz Mair analyzes economic data by picking economic data she says favors Republican-run states. , seeking to prove the capabilities of the Republican Party. But Democrats can likewise point to data that supports the capabilities of Democratic governments.
Just an example. Of the states with the highest death rates from Covid, the top six are led by Republican governors.
A governor’s effectiveness is measured by much more than just curated data.
Richie Feder
Philadelphia
To the editor:
This essay presents an interesting contrast to the previous day’s close-up article, “Ragged Safety Net Is Weaker in States That Banortion.” Liz Mare’s most trusted Republican governors, her three—Greg Abbott, Doug Ducey, and Asa Hutchinson—preside over states with some of the worst records in the country for things like child poverty and maternal mortality.
Was the price paid for tax cuts and other policies they implemented worth it?
Ellen S. Hirsch
New York
To the editor:
Regarding “‘The Final Straw’: Floods Wash Out Coal Country Heavyweights, Kentucky” (news article, Aug. 5):
It breaks my heart to read this story about the Kentuckians. Death, destruction and lack of resources are a living nightmare.
It is insidious that coal production, which had a negative impact on people’s health and the surrounding countryside, contributed to the erratic climate causing such heavy rains and severe flooding. Unfortunately, these climate changes will continue to destabilize communities if global warming is allowed to worsen.
In eastern Kentucky, lives and livelihoods need to be saved. Beyond cleanup, these people need jobs, housing, medical services, and good schools.
Our fellow Americans need help, and we as a nation must answer their call. And we must pass legislation to mitigate the climate crisis. There are so many things I want to do, but with this I can do it!
Sally Courtright
Albany, New York
I am a retired science teacher.
Mixed Martial Arts: Is This A “Sport”?
To the editor:
Re “The Fight Doctors” (Science Times, Aug. 2):
Senator John McCain, speaking out against the expansion of mixed martial arts, described their bout as the equivalent of a “human cockfight.” The current ubiquity of this “sport” is another sign of our society’s moral decline.
Doug Brin
brooklyn