Open Forum

President Obama promised Planned Parenthood (July 9, 2007) that the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. He hasn't done it yet, but it will happen soon. This would eliminate every restriction on abortions nationwide.

How does that affect the average citizen? Thirty percent of U.S. health care facilities are operated by the Catholic church. After FOCA is signed into law by the president, liberal lawyers will force faith-based hospitals to perform abortions. Some Catholic hospitals have already stated they will shut down rather than kill an unborn child (MCCL Newsletter February 2009). The bishops won't close health care facilities until liberal lawyers force the issue. That way, Barack Obama will be appropriately blamed for hospital closings. Do you have a faith-based hospital in your town?

John Holley

Ironton

JOHN HOLLEY, a longtime contributor to Open Forum, died Saturday. He wrote this letter to the editor on Friday.

Nystrom comments draw fire

We take offense to comments made by Crow Wing County Commissioner Nystrom at a county board meeting on Feb. 10, 2009. During a debate over the sheriff's department raising fees for processing a handgun permit application, Commissioner Nystrom stated she did not agree that the 59,000 residents of Crow Wing County should be subsidizing the cost of processing permits for 1,200 people. Well, we have news for you commissioner: the 59,000 residents of this county subsidize county government through taxes, part of which is intended to pay for services.

Commissioner Nystrom also referred to this issue as the handgun permit program. It is not a program commissioner, it is our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and re-affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2008.

If you want to go to a fee for services system, let's do it. We suggest you analyze every program and every service, offered by Crow Wing County. You will certainly find areas of overlap, duplication, and inefficiency. Perhaps some areas of government could be privatized and some eliminated, further taking the burden off the 59,000 residents. Let's start by taking a hard look at the county board members pay and per diem, which is truly subsidized by the 59,000 residents of Crow Wing County.

Dale Walz and Tom Lund

Brainerd

Limbaugh criticism critiqued

In regard to Pull the plug on LImbaugh:

You have hit on many topics, so I'll just pick a couple to respond to. You said and I quote. Your statement is inaccurate. When you went to school and the teacher said do your homework, unless you saw the Limbaugh interview on Fox News, you or whoever you were quoting took it out of context.

I see you are a good American, so you believe in the First Amendment (or just for some people). You really believe the last eight years have been a failure. You must take your head out of the sand and smell the roses.

I suppose you blame Bush for the housing problems and the bank failures also. As far as the handpicked call-ins on Rush's program, I don't think the 20 million listeners a day would agree with you.

George Brancato

Pillager