Letters to the Editor - Sept. 22, 2012

I will march today! People seem to forget why we are at war. The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan were planned by the Bush crew before 9/11. Remember the elaborate lie created by Rove, Rumsfeld and Cheney? Faking documents with stolen Italian stationary? Swearing to congress there were WMDs and invasion was the only answer? Well, years later we are still there. Nobody remembers the trickery that got us there. NOBODY can sum up a real excuse in one sentence... why are we occupying these countries (and 146 other sovereign nations worldwide for that matter)? It has nothing to do with war on terrorists, our freedoms, our protection or any of the lame reasons people struggle to come up with to rationalize the vague justification we are sold. The majority of U.S. citizens did not want to invade and do not want to remain. The vast majority of earthlings are opposed to our aggression. Who wants these wars? WAR PROFITEERS!
All wars are fought for one reason: There is money to be made! END WAR PROFIT and the occupations would end by the weekend, no capitalist would support a war that drains their bank accounts rather than add to them.

And the saber-rattling and beat of the war drums continues. Now the chicken hawk Republicans who dodged Vietnam and never wore the uniform of this country (content to let others fight and die) want to invade and bomb Iran. Don't let them do it! We must get out of the middle-East once and for all. And the hell with the Wall Street banksters and war profiteers. NO MORE WAR FOR OIL AND EMPIRE!

I agree with Mr. Bernards, it is apparent that Mr. Romney cares not a bit for the individual struggling to makes ends meet in this horrific economy, this must be a terribly boring story to him yet he has commented twice now how he does not worry about these so call "victims". He states that he doesn't worry about them because there are programs in place to take care of these "victims". If our neighbors can't find work, they can hardly be expected to pay their taxes that keep these programs active in the first place. Please, somewhere, there has to be a candidate who care about these individuals, I know of one person, and I'm voting for our President Obama.

I am also in agreement with montag & newpines, no more wars, no more wars, and one more time, no more wars. Our American soldiers are far too valuable to all of us, they are truly our nation's treasures, I don't want to lose anymore of them, they can make us proud on our own soil.

@ Montag, I'm curious, what "chicken hawk" republicans are you referencing who are wanting to go to war with Iran? Your lack of knowledge on this subject is unbelievable! I know Senator McCain is pressing for "red lines" to be given to Iran in order to stop their quest for nuclear weapons, but SURELY you know Senator McCain not only served in Vietnam, he was held captive for months. I watch the news daily and have not heard one politician calling for bombing Iran. Hell, even our President has said he will do anything in his power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, including military force. Last I heard, he is a Democrat and has not wore our military uniform either. Stop the partisan politics when it comes to war. Both parties have dirty hands when advocating to go to war.

@ Mr. Bernard's, I have heard your argument before. My counter argument is president Obama had a virtual filibuster proof Congress for his first two years. The Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and the White House for two years. The back room dealings he and other prominent Democrats made to pass the health care law so pissed off the American public, the Tea Party came to existence. That my friend is when the 2010 mid term elections resulted in the Republicans picking up over sixty seats in the House. I believe the current Republican House and the filibuster enabled Senate are doing just what they were sent to do! Stop this President from spending anymore money. In four years he has not passed one budget. Not one vote from either party on his last submission, and has added over six trillion to our national debt. I could go on, but I'm sure you have heard my argument also. We'll just have to vote and let the chips fall where they may. I do have a concern though if President Obama is re-elected! Look what he will inherit!!!

@retiredbs - thank you for your great comments! People are ignorant or don't realize that the Democrats were in power the final two years of Bush's administration and probably are not even aware that this administration has never had a budget. Further, for all the talk about the wars it's amazing that we have a so called President that seems more interested in hanging with celebrities than doing his job. I fear for our troops and it seems that when he ran he promised to bring the troops home. Neither side is perfect but this country can't sustain what's been going on these past three years. I don't know why more people are not angry with what is happening in this country. Do they even realize that the House has nearly thirty jobs bills sitting on Reid's desk that they will not vote on? When Obama complains about partisan politics he needs to point the finger at himself because he's a perfect example of someone who has been playing a one sided game his whole term. Remember when he said the Republicans can come along but they have to sit in the back? That's a real grown up statement. And then today they announced that Congress is taking a break until November! Unreal. Fire Obama!

newpines, montag and MacMini all got the same memo.

newpines,

It is highly speculative that the Bush administration planned to occupy Afghanistan 'before' 9/11. And how could one prove that?

As far as Iraq, my speculation is Bush II was seething about the death contract put on his father by Saddam Hussein. Under that premise, invading Iraq was fostered by revenge, with the cover of fighting terrorism, but Saddam was the real target.

Jean Mead makes a good point -- and misses another. The political ads are not only vicious, the content is usually B.S., if not outright false. A recent example is Bill Clinton blaming the Rs for banking deregulations (and they want more, he states), so vote for Obama. What Bill fails to mention is that he was president when the banking restrictions known as Glass-Steagall were partially repealed. So he signs it into law, and then steps aside to point fingers across the isle. That's what our two-party political system has become -- blame everything on the opposition and hope nobody notices the truth.

We should just tax anyone who has a job and give it to lazy people who refuse to work. I mean come on just because I have to take a drug test to work doesnt mean they need to take one to recieve free money. Thats not fair. Also not fair they may miss they're soaps if they have to look for work. Who doesnt like supporting 500 lb lady with 4 kids 4 dads and a drug addict boyfrined?

Quite right....and hell with those lazy ass disabled vets.....and those retired deadbeats on social security..just because they paid in for decades doesn't mean we tax payers owe them anything.....

The problem is most of the programs have been abused/mismanaged. Even Social Security, as important as it has been, has promised more than it should have. Up until this month, retirees received considerably more than they put into the program. That will be forever changing from now on.

Veteran's benefits have also been abused. Many vets are receiving undeserved benefits which is unfortunate because it takes away from those deserving benefits. I don't know how many vets have told me that I should be applying for benefits because of being exposed to continuous levels (getting shot at almost daily) of Vietnam combat.

Even PERS (in Oregon) has been terribly mismanaged and has promised considerably more that is economically feasible. The problems are bad, and getting worse.

Obviously, some are better suited for being shot at than others.

That is very true. An astute observation on your part.

Thank you..

My mother is elderly and my father, a WWII vet died this year. The last few years I have witnessed first hand the abuse of medicare and the VA by our local hospitals and clinics. Once they know the bill's covered by the government the milking party begins. What the deadbeats in this country costs the taxpayers doesn't hold a candle to the medical abuse. I bet if my parents knew they cost the tax payers $180,000.00 this last year my mom would croak on the spot and my dad would roll over in his grave.

Take a look at this federal budget pie chart it'll make your jaw drop...

Health and Human Services: 2.3%
Social Security: 21.05%
Interest on National Debt: 8.5%
US Dept. of Defense: 16.85%

MEDICARE: 13.34%

I bet the ones who rape the tax payers are the same ones who complain about paying their taxes and justify their actions by claiming they pay their "fair share"...

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dpie%2Bchart%2Bof%2Bfederal%2Bbudget&w=160&h=115&imgurl=www.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpie%2Bchart%2Bof%2Bfederal%2Bbudget%26id%3D066218E8799557FD3F3B00469C2034CE2217ED80%23focal%3D584f5b2c3085689768d8fb3b734d229e%26amp%3Bfurl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fcman.cx%252fblog%252fwp-content%252fuploads%252f2011%252f01%252fFederal_FY2009sp1.jpg&size=&name=search&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpie%2Bchart%2Bof%2Bfederal%2Bbudget%26id%3D066218E8799557FD3F3B00469C2034CE2217ED80%23focal%3D584f5b2c3085689768d8fb3b734d229e%26amp%3Bfurl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fcman.cx%252fblog%252fwp-content%252fuploads%252f2011%252f01%252fFederal_FY2009sp1.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpie%2Bchart%2Bof%2Bfederal%2Bbudget%26id%3D066218E8799557FD3F3B00469C2034CE2217ED80%23focal%3D584f5b2c3085689768d8fb3b734d229e%26amp%3Bfurl%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fcman.cx%252fblog%252fwp-content%252fuploads%252f2011%252f01%252fFederal_FY2009sp1.jpg&p=pie+chart+of+federal+budget&type=&no=1&tt=115&oid=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3Di.4875656191935793&tit=Pie+Chart+Showing+Federal+Spending+in+FY2009+Source%3A+Congressional+...&sigr=17in8acpk&sigi=17b0rkppk&sigb=1255getel&fr=yfp-t-701-s

Wow!
Sorry! I didn't know that URL was that big when I posted it... I don't think that link will work. I went to Yahoo and typed in "Pie chart of federal budget". It's the first image.

So, in your opinion, how much of that $180,000.00 spent just this year alone on your father could be justified..or..even considered within the boundaries of reason?

By the way, I just asked my wife if I had enough money in my account to pay the co-payment for my medications this month. Her reply was..."You'll be able to pay that on the coming 3rd of October."

Drug: Trazodone HCL 100mg TAB Days: 90 QTY: 180 CoPay; $24.00

Drug: Sertraline HCL 100mg TAB Days: 60 QTY: 60 CoPay; $16.00

Drug: Hydrocodone 5mg/Acetaminophen 325mg Tab Days: 30 QTY: 60

Vietnam era. USMC

Duty:

Marine Barracks Correspondence Clerk
Security Company, Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA.

Reason for joining the Marine Corps:

A communist had once made my mother cry back when I was a 5th grader.

Dances With Redwoods,

Somewhere between 1/3 -1/2 would be reasonable. Just a few months before my 87 year old dad passed away they gave him a pacemaker when he was obviously dying and his heart wasn't a problem. My mom got an infected sore on her ankle and the wound care was $40,000. Some of it is reasonable but a lot of it is $100 bandaids and $50 cotton balls kind of abuse.

I hope you didn't misunderstand me to imply that our vets don't deserve the best care money can buy. My only point is that the medical field is milking the tax payer.

I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, thanks for serving.

How does one define reasonable compensation for a band aid in this day and age, when so many hands are involved in its application?

A few years back my wife had an EKG performed on her in an emergency room setting, and the cost of the paper print-out was fiftysomething dollars. After reading that particular on the billing invoice I'd thought to myself 'Couldn't those results have been viewed by the attending physician by computer monitor, thereby lessening the overall cost of the procedure?'

Medical Malpractice lawsuits have certainly played a large role in facilitating much redundancy, as well, SilenceDoGood.

Are there people that deserve VA medical care more than I do? Most certainly, Kona ;)

I was not refering to "vets". NO WHERE DID I SAY THAT. I was refering to fat lazy able bodied people that suck off the system, do drugs and dont work. I dont mind giving back to vets or the elderly. They paid into the system as you stated. I dont like paying for lazy people who wont work. The people who are buying a carton of smokes and junk food for theyre children. I am talking about illegals who have NEVER paid in. Im talking about people who are so high they cant work.