Open Forum: Let's let freedom ring

During the 2008 campaign Michelle Obama stated that for the first time in her life she could finally be proud to be an American.

For 80 years I have always been proud, loved and felt lucky to be an American but things are changing and not for the better.

Congress has forgotten its role. Never before have we had so much discontent with our elected officials.

I feel they have no empathy for those of us who have worked hard, supported our country, paid our taxes and raised our families on middle class incomes.

Big and bigger government is not the answer.

Please do not put us in a socialistic mode that we can never recover from.

Let us be free to make our own choices, speak what we want, worship where we want and continue to live with the freedoms our forefathers fought and died for.

Helen K. Swore-Blatz

Crosslake

True health care reform

I am not opposed to health care reform that is true health care reform but:

I believe all American citizens should be able to have affordable health care but because I disagree with me paying for illegal aliens (Sect. 152) to have free health care so that they can send their hard earned money "back home," I am being called a hate monger.

I believe that people with "special needs" should be able to receive health care rather than being "restricted" as proposed in (Sect. 1177) of the Obama Plan but again I am being called a hate monger for this.

I believe in the dignity and sanctity of life for seniors and am opposed to having a government "advanced care consultant" given the right to issue an order for the end-of-life (Sect. 1233). Now who is the hate monger?

I am opposed to government marriage and family therapy, allowing a bureaucrat to decide who, and when I will marry and when, if, and how many children we may have (Sect. 1308) even to the ordering of compulsory abortions (Sect. 1713). And I'm being called the hate monger?

It seems that some people are only interested in "what will the government give me" right now and have no concern for either their future or for future generations. The estimated start-up cost, as proposed in (Sect. 2002 and 3111) of $120 billion and as with most government programs it will probably double and then continue as an entitlement program to be added to the national debt forever.

I ask that you read the proposed bill before you criticize or "name call" those who oppose your point of view.

Loyal Hyatt

Baxter

GOP engaged in warfare

Just when I think I can't "misunderestimate" the depths the GOP is willing to sink to in order to protect the insurance company profits I find that I'm wrong again.

Terrorizing the elderly with lies about euthanasia boards? Come on now. Have you no morality left at all?

The GOP is engaged in all out warfare against the middle and lower classes and it must stop. Instead of constructive suggestions they offer more of the same unaffordable solutions.

The insurance companies have executed a divide and conquer strategy where they slice the population into the tiniest pool in order to boost premiums and empty our wallets. This corrupts the very definition of insurance. There should be one pool that covers all American citizens and no pre-existing condition denials. That would be real insurance.

The GOP is offering more of the same divide and conquer games by grudgingly allowing small businesses to combine their pools to create a slightly larger pool. This will do almost nothing to keep premium prices down and do everything to keep the record insurance company profits and "campaign contributions" flowing. The public insurance option is the only way to put competition into the marketplace. If the GOP truly believed in the market as they profess they would support this common sense idea.

This is just one more example why we desperately need 100 percent public financing of elections and term limits. I don't believe this country will ever get back on track until we get those two things.

John Reynolds

Merrifield