To the Editor:
Re “Medicaid Cuts Would Gut My Rural Hospital,” by Kevin Stansbury (Opinion guest essay, May 3):
Mr. Stansbury makes a strong point. The rural hospital is obliged to take care of the critically ill whether or not Medicaid is funded in Washington. His little facility may go belly up if it is not.
I am a practicing physician in the middle of America’s largest metropolitan area. Thanks to Medicaid funding, few of my patients are unable to see a doctor at least once a year for a complete physical examination.
This funding permits detection and management of chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. That alone is a critical factor in saving costs to society down the road.
Such simple considerations as his and mine should be sufficient to persuade lawmakers not to cut Medicaid to the states. Continuing to do so would be a good example of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
Robert S. April
New York
To the Editor:
Kevin Stansbury worries about the future of his Colorado hospital, Lincoln Health, and many other rural health facilities nationwide.
The vast majority of rural counties in the U.S. voted for Donald Trump in 2024, Lincoln County by nearly 5 to 1.
If the county’s hospital is ravaged by cuts to Medicaid, if there will be no federal education money for the county’s schools or scholarships for its kids, if there are no toys for the nonrich this Christmas, if the county’s seniors lose local nursing care and medical transport, then Lincoln County’s voters will have gotten exactly what they overwhelmingly voted for.
David Hoffman
Austin, Texas
No Trump Third Term
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Cannot Serve a Third Term. Period” (editorial, May 11):
On April 3, I went to the floor of the United States Senate to ask for unanimous consent to pass my resolution simply stating: “That it is the sense of the Senate that Donald Trump is ineligible in any future elections to be elected vice president or president, or to serve as president beyond the conclusion of his current term.”
Senator Rick Scott of Florida objected — without offering a word of explanation why — and that blocked the resolution’s passage. Senate Republicans are now on record as unwilling and unable to stand up to Donald Trump on something as constitutionally undisputed as the president’s term limits under the 12th and 22d Amendments.
Edward J. Markey
Washington
The writer is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts.
A Display of Faith
To the Editor:
Re “E.P.A. Jewish Celebration Has Jewish Critics” (news article, May 13):
Criticizing Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, for a proud and public display of his faith because one disagrees with his policies and politics is a dangerous and disingenuous conflation of two unrelated issues.
At a time when antisemitism is rampant and far too many Jews feel the need to hide or play down their religious identity, we should be celebrating public figures who openly embrace their Judaism, not vilifying them because of public policy divergences.
N. Aaron Troodler
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
Loud Music in Public
To the Editor:
Re “It’s One of the Things I Always Hated About Cities. And I’ve Decided It’s Just Fine,” by John McWhorter (Opinion, nytimes.com, May 1):
I usually delight in Dr. McWhorter’s contrarian essays; they’re like espresso shots for the intellect. But this one left me grinding my teeth and Googling noise-canceling monasteries.
Recasting loud public music as a form of cultural expression may sound noble, but the idea collapses under the weight of lived reality.
I teach at a polytechnic (and have taught at a university, too), and my students — many from beautifully communal cultures — often play music without headphones or chat on speakerphone. Yes, connection is lovely. But so is not having your nervous system hijacked by someone else’s playlist.
Volume without consent isn’t celebration. It’s disruption. If someone blasted Guns N’ Roses or Toto outside your hospital window, would we still call it sharing joy?
Dr. McWhorter is right. Not all noise is malicious. But reframing it to something benign, even admirable, erases those who rely on quiet to cope: the anxious, the grieving, the neurodivergent or simply the tired. In a pluralist city, respect for shared space isn’t elitist. It’s basic decency.
Love music. Absolutely. Just keep it in your earbuds.
Kristen H. McLeod
Regina, Saskatchewan
