Don't be excluded
from the dinner table
The opponents of health care reform are obviously in it for the money. Opponents of health care do not have any interest in opening up the heath care system to everyone. Opponents are willing to overpay doctors and hospitals in order to keep health care out of reach for the poor. The rich want to exclude the poor from health care in the same fashion they keep the poor from coming in a fancy restaurant and having a nice dinner.
The rich are saying that this new health care bill is bad because it will reduce payments to many practices. That is a good thing. That is exactly what we want to happen. Many practices are way overpaid and are ripping us off every time we walk through the door. It's time for doctors and hospitals to take a pay cut.
Another cry from the rich against health care is that we will be undercutting the private sector insurers. Again, that is exactly what we want to do. Why? Because the private sector insurers are ripping us off.
The morale of the story is, don't let yourself be excluded from a nice dinner at that fancy restaurant.
Greg Bierman
Carson City
There's a better
way: Scout's honor
Our country has a lot of problems that would be solved if we lived by Scouting principals. If all of our leaders were morally straight (Scout oath), trustworthy, loyal, obedient, helpful and thrifty (Scout laws) and be prepared (Scout motto), we would not be in the mess that we are in.
Young men in Scouting belong to a troop and a patrol; they don't need to belong to a gang. Young men in Scouting finish what they start. That's how you go from Tenderfoot to Eagle. They will never drop out of high school. Young men in Scouting will get their adventure from camping, outdoor activities, summer and winter, and will not be breaking the law for thrills or fun.
Young men in Scouting get a lot of leadership training such as Patrol Leader, Scribe and Troop Guide. They will be able to lead our country in the future. Young men in Scouting learn to honor nature, never leave a mess behind them (leave no trace) and, in fact, leave places better than they find them. Young men in Scouting will work on many different merit badges as they advance, which will help them grow and develop and give them understanding and help in choosing a career.
We don't need brilliant expensive new programs to solve our problems. We need to use the Scout oath and laws in all that we do to make a better country.
Travis Summers, 13
Life Scout in Troop 45
Carson City
Doesn't charity
begin at home?
Again, another holiday season in Carson is upon us. As we run around trying to get the best deal on gifts for loved ones, we hear the sound of beckoning bells, inviting us to give up the loose change we have in our pockets or purses.
Many understand the need for these donations to the half-frozen bell ringers, yet some are selectively deaf. After years of hearing these bells, I ponder why a country as great as ours needs these groups?
Honestly, I do not understand how our local/federal government can justify spending millions on services to cater to people who have chosen not to learn English, but yet Americans are homeless.
We spend millions on these services because some decide to be different from the rest of the earlier immigrants who came to our country and were proud to learn English and call themselves Americans.
Maybe I am wrong, but does not the Holy book that our Founding Fathers cherished so dearly state, "charity begins at home"?
Honestly, I am not against anyone arriving from any other country, coming here to make their lives better than what is offered in their country. I have and will always offer a friendly and open hand to these immigrating future Americans.
But what I do protest as an American, is anyone coming here and draining a support system they do not deserve and have never paid into.
Would some government official please justify how this is happening to homeless American veterans?
Donald Jackson
Carson City
U.S. health care not
the best in the world
Congressmen who claim we have the best health care in the world speak only to their own free government-provided and -run programs. We should all have it so good before we reach 65 years old.
As to the rest of country, we have the most expensive and poorly run private system with a World Health Organization ranking last of all industrialized nations.
As to those other nations with (so-called) socialized health care, I have personally used - on multiple occasions - the systems in Spain, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. I experienced little if any wait, superior care and at a cost well below U.S. rates.
The immorality of the present U.S. system is unconscionable.
John M. Cohan,
LTC USAFR Ret.
Carson City
Restaurant project
deserved funding
In this time when we truly need new businesses in the area - and especially in the Carson Mall - it is so difficult to believe that you, the Carson City Board of Supervisors, denied redevelopment funds to Doug and Jamesa Cramer for their restaurant. And yet, you give others money for a bar?
It's blatantly shameful. Have you seen the Carson Mall lately? Yes, it's great that a few new businesses have opened there recently - Paul Schat's Bakery to mention one. But with Gottschalk's gone, the parking lots are always empty and that seems to attract only transient foot traffic. One would think that the board would understand this need, but apparently not.
The Cramers are long-established Carson City business owners - and very successful ones, at that. What more could you ask for? Perhaps the board members need some further education in the meaning of redevelopment and some enlightenment on the needs of this community.
Janice Jenks
Carson City