Challenge issued to media about health care and billionaires
As a 79-year old woman who has had Type 1 insulin-dependent for over 61 years, I am afraid. Is the price of insulin at risk? What if I have to go to a nursing home? I have friends who need Medicaid. I am afraid for them. I am afraid for children who are hungry. Fear is not my usual state. A lot of people I know ought to be afraid but will have no clue what has happened until it hits them.
The media can help in many ways. First, shout loudly and clearly: Health care should be right, not a privilege. In the wealthiest country in the world, it is outrageous that young families have to declare bankruptcy due to high medical costs. I haven’t had to do that, but my own drug costs have caused me financial stress.
Second, let the public know about the billionaires. Provide details about their incomes and areas where their influence is harmful to “normal” people. SCOTUS and elected officials have been bought and paid for. Whatever happened to the words in the Declaration of Independence — “We the people hold these truths to be self-evident … that all men (people?) are created equal”?
“Money is speech” nullified those words upon which our country was founded.
Third, let’s stop vilifying poor people. The people I know who are poor tend to be disabled or working low-income jobs. The minimum wage should be increased and, thereafter, indexed.
Fourth, the media must speak in one voice: This president is killing our country. Expose him. The truth must be told. Set media standards. Call it truth in advertising. The right-wing news networks aren’t right-wing at all. They lie. Opinions are one thing. Facts are facts, whether conservative or liberal. Political campaigns should be held to the same standards.
Terry Larson, Topeka
Sen. Jerry Moran is ignoring opportunities to speak to Kansans
It has now been 100 days since Leading Kansas invited Sen. Jerry Moran to a town hall. Despite multiple follow-ups and a willingness to work with his office on the terms of a meeting, we’ve received nothing but silence. His colleagues, Sen. Roger Marshall and Rep. Ron Estes, have likewise gone quiet.
That silence is dangerous.
President Trump is defying the very laws Congress has passed — most recently announcing plans to withhold $7 billion in public school funding, including after-school programs. That’s not leadership. That’s lawlessness. And if Congress refuses to push back, the people lose their voice entirely.
Back in March, Sens. Moran and Marshall voted to fund programs like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Now, the Rescissions Act of 2025 asks them to ratify Trump’s decision to ignore those very votes. So which is it? Did they not know what they were voting for? Have they changed their minds? Or are they simply following orders?
The people of Kansas deserve answers — and the representation we were promised. When our lawmakers refuse to lead or even listen, it’s not just a dereliction of duty. It’s an abdication of democracy.
Katy Tyndell, Wichita
