U.S. should stop buying Russian oil to halt Putin’s war

Joe Biden has an opportunity to slow down and even stop Putin’s war on Ukraine.

First, open the Keystone Pipeline. Second, expand offshore oil exploration.

President Trump’s energy policies allowed this country to be oil-independent and an oil exporter.

This country’s buying of billions of dollars a year of oil from Russia is insane!

THOMAS GAMBESKI, CANTON

Putin must be taught that military might is not the answer

I believe the United States, if not the world, is learning about people of disputable character. Character involves integrity, decency, fairness and respect. What we see of the Russian leader is quite a contrast when we consider our president and those of other countries.

Mr. Putin has shown that he and his military lack control. Moreover, Mr. Putin’s tactics are contrary to our constitution and belief in human rights: life, liberty, freedom, safety and happiness.

The United States has learned from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan that military might is not the answer to a better day. I believe countries must find a way to teach this to Mr. Putin and the Russian military before we realize again that war/conflict causes more harm to civilians. Peace is for all people, and Mr. Putin and the Russian military must be held to criminal responsibility for the harms being perpetrated.

LOUIS COHEN, WOODSTOCK

High cost of insulin makes life with diabetes even harder

Being a diabetic in America can be summed up in two words: anxiety and tiredness. I am constantly tired and anxious both from diabetes and the cost of everything to treat it, from insulin to glucose monitors.

President Joe Biden’s highlighting the extreme cost of insulin prices during the State of the Union address made me remember college, when I actively rationed insulin due to an insurance issue. How many diabetics, myself included, passively ration, constantly changing our behaviors throughout life to ensure we always have insulin on hand because it is so expensive.

Living with diabetes is hard enough. Pharmaceutical companies’ price-gouging and insurance companies dictating my treatment make life with diabetes even harder. We must do better. I urge my representatives to support President Biden’s plan to cap insulin co-pays as a necessary first step to help diabetics.

BROOKS BELLMAN, ATLANTA

Women need more access to health care, not less

I find it ironic that most white Republican males in the Georgia Senate want to “protect women” with the passage of SB456, the “Women’s Health and Safety Act,” a bill requiring an in-person doctors’ visit to get a pill to terminate a pregnancy.

Actually, this bill does exactly the opposite of protecting women. In fact, it makes it harder for a woman to get access to health care, especially in rural areas where there are little to no obstetricians or gynecologists. Women are 14 times more likely to die from pregnancy than abortions.

If these men really wanted to protect women, they would make it easier for them to get healthcare through telemedicine (which the FDA has approved), expand Medicaid, provide funding for childcare, work to eliminate child poverty, reduce maternal mortality, reduce the cost of prescription drugs and provide parental leave. This is what will “protect women.”

DEEDEE MURPHY, ATLANTA

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Credit: Reed Williams/AJC