Letters to the Editor: Win This War Or Get Out Now
Win This War Or Get Out Now
Editor, Times-Dispatch: As the father of a soldier fighting in Afghanistan, I am compelled to write on this long, ongoing war. From the latest report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, it appears that unless a concerted effort is made to send reinforcements -- and lots of them -- soon, our efforts in that desolate country will be for naught.
If our president and secretary of defense decide not to reinforce, then we can expect only a longer and more costly unending conflict that will continue to slowly drain our country's resources -- in both financial terms and the lives of young service members.
Now we hear that our esteemed secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, disagrees with McChrystal in his assessment of the situation. I had no idea she was so well-versed in military tactics and strategy. President Barack Obama appears to be waffling from his earlier statements that Afghanistan is the good war while Iraq is the bad war. I am sick and tired of politicians playing with the lives of my son and his comrades.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur said, in the days of my youth, "In war, there is no substitute for victory." A football team doesn't go into a game with the aim of losing or attaining a tie, it plays to win. Fight this war to win -- or get out now.
Howard Bartholf.
Henrico.
We Can Fight Against Rush to Health Reform
Editor, Times-Dispatch: With the economy rapidly tanking, President Barack Obama has turned his attention to health care as a way to revive the economy. His solution is to change the current health care system into a one-payer system controlled by the government, similar to those in Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden.
Canadians currently have a waiting list of four to 12 weeks for gynecological surgery, 12 to 18 weeks for cataract removal, a tonsillectomy is three to 36 weeks, and neurosurgery involves a fiveto 30-week wait. Canadians are fortunate to be able to go south and have medical procedures done in the U.S. The Canadian government spends more than $1 billion each year for health care in the United States. Patients in Great Britain are dying while waiting for treatment. There are as many as 25,000 unnecessary cancer deaths a year there.
In Sweden, the government is denying patients access to advanced drugs because of the cost -- even if patients offer to pay for the medicine themselves. In Uppsale, Sweden, a city of 200,000 people, there is only one specialist in mammography. Sweden's national cancer foundation reports that in a few years Swedish women will not have access to mammography.
It is ironic that as Obama rushes to government-run health care, Canada is reforming its system in the opposite direction. In Canada, as the public-sector health care has deteriorated, private-sector health care is growing.
How can we fight back? This November voters can vote Republican and elect the conservative agenda of Bob McDonnell for governor, Bill Bolling for lieutenant governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for attorney general.
Barry Bank.
South Boston.
Horrorcore Editorial Offered Little
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Regarding your editorial "Horror": I have a bone or two to pick. I had never heard of horrorcore before reading the stories about the murders in Farmville. I work in two high schools, and have a teenage son, so I have a little bit of familiarity with current music.
The "You call that noise music?" tone is not very original -- I'm pretty sure they said the same kind of thing about Elvis and the Beatles. The freedom-of-speech-versus-stuffthat-is-corruptingouryouth-must-be-regulated debate is an old argument. I think it more likely that lost souls gravitate toward ever more outré sensation, rather than that innocent youths are driven to murder by listening to violent, degenerate music.
Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III was damaged by more than horrorcore -- that was just a symptom. If he had enjoyed Miley Cyrus he still would have disintegrated at some point.
Jan G. Budryk.
Richmond.
Reader Reactions
Amen. I came here to post the same response, but you said it better than I ever could.
Mr. Banks appears to have been away from all news reports for many months or simply turns only to Fox and drugman Limbaugh.
President Obama has not proposed any formal new health care delivery system plan. He has asked Congress to come up with affordable health care for all Americans. There are plans under review in Congress, narrowed to two primary, one from the House and one from the Senate. A final version is still work-in-process. No bill is single payer, as are our military hospitals and Veterans Administration facilities. So, rest easy. Our insurers will still be able to rape many of us by charging current average of $1,115/mo for premiums to rise to $2,500/mo in ten years and deny 1 of 5 procedures prescribed by our doctors (rationing-for-profits), and make multi-billions of $’s beyond normal for simple function of money-changing. So far, it does not appear there will be any form of addressing how much is too much our system will continue to cost us. Insurers will still be able to increase premiums 4X’s faster than average income increases, increase deductibles and copays, and increase their denial rates for procedures and meds (rationing-for-profits). The GOP is determined to keep that freedom-for-more-profits.
Also, contrary to what Walter E. Williams says about Sweden and mammograms, 90% of Swedes detected for breast cancer beat the disease. That is a higher survival rate than in our USA. Comparing our too costly system and overall basic quality with Sweden and most other advanced nations is not wise. Overall, we lose. There are reasons of 30+ other major advanced nations, not one has citizens demanding changing their system to ours. Be leery of those who want to hoodwink you to look “over there” or “up there” and not focus on our own crippling system. We have a far weighty problem than Canada, Sweden, U.K. other others, when it comes to how we delivery health care to all our citizens. One reason one million Californians a year go to Mexico for less costly, but quality health care treatment, per 2009 UCLA Medical School study.
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