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Letters
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- Written by: Deb Baumann
During the time my parents were raising five children on a shoestring budget, we kids shared rooms, shared clothes, shared toys, and no one could stretch a food dollar farther than my mom. But, by golly, we never lacked health care. Regular checkups at the doctor, regular dental visits, and whenever one of us rambunctious sports-obsessed kids broke a bone or required emergency care or hospitalization, we got it. My parents never worried about paying the medical bills. Heck, they never even SAW a medical bill.
Our family enjoyed full dental and medical benefits, courtesy of the US government.
Where did this wonder of socialized medicine occur? Right here in the US of A. I was a military brat.
Recently I was talking to a friend about an emergency surgery and hospital stay. When she told me how much it cost her, I was shocked.
"I thought you had health insurance!" I exclaimed.
"We do," she replied.
But even someone paying for health insurance can still face financial catastrophe, when illness or accident strike.
I have a better understanding of what my coworkers used to say, during the year I lived and worked in Canada: "How can you Americans live like that? Never knowing when the day will come that an accident or medical diagnosis could ruin your life financially?"
My Canadian coworkers were full of sympathy for us poor Americans, held hostage as we are by a bloated, arrogant, anti-competitive insurance industry.
Across America today, rude mobs are disrupting town halls, making intelligent dialogue impossible, screaming "We don't want socialized medicine!" They have been whipped into this hysteria by deliberate misinformation and outright lies, a millions-of-dollars-a-day campaign of deception financed by the insurance industry.
Insurance companies do not want Americans to have a choice. ANY choice will result in less profit for the Insurance Industry. ANY competition will challenge insurers to lower their own rates and provide better service (Heaven forbid!)
Even scarier for the insurance industry, if the public option is implemented and it proves to be successful … Well, you can see how much the insurance industry could lose. They may have to get real jobs. Instead of continuing their present status as parasitic bloodsuckers who devour one-third of all health care dollars spent in America, while providing nothing in the way of actual, useful, necessary services.
The insurance industry has held Americans financially hostage for too long. Don't believe the lies and deception campaign designed to derail what is best for Americans.
The insurance industry is spending obscenely huge amounts of money to defeat real health care reform. And not because they have OUR best interests at heart.
Deb Baumann lives in Upper Lake.
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- Written by: Ed Benner
Congress is once again going after the benefits we earned serving our country. Modifications to Tricare for Life (TFL) and Tricare are right up there near the top of options to pay for health care reform.
The following is a link to the Congressional Book of Options, which describe what they want to take away from us: http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925 . That link should also be of benefit to those on Medicare.
Use a show of force by besieging Congress with e-mail, faxes and phone calls. Every response is a step towards keeping what we earned.
Ed Benner, US Air Force retired, lives in Clearlake.
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- Written by: David W. Smith
Now that the trial in the power boat vs. sailboat is over, what's next?
In that terrible accident, there was a loss of life. Will someone be held accountable?
A few years ago, I lost someone, at the hands of another. Unfortunately, California legislation protected that person, and the statute of limitations has all but run out.
Will this case be swept under the rug and the statute of limitations be allowed to run out? Can anyone answer these questions?
I ask again: What's next?
Dave Smith lives in Nice.
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- Written by: Aileen Krewson
With your positive well wishes and support, Jerry and I are trying to put all of this behind us and move on. Needless to say there were no arrests ... as there was nothing for them to find. In fact, we have not heard a word from these "Feds" since June 5, the day of the "raid." Sadly, we've not been successful in opening the shop, My Sister's Attic, since that day, though we have tried. It has become an emotional issue for us so we've decided to close it down.
We have retained an attorney in San Francisco, referred to us by the American Civil Liberties Union, and will be striving to attain his fees. We cannot say too much in regards to the "case" at this time. But we are confident that we will prevail and prayerfully keep this from happening to other innocent people!
We can tell you that we have also put our home on the market as Aileen is having a difficult time feeling safe there, since it was our home they "raided" first. Yes, you are reading it correctly. Fourteen federal agents with guns drawn came to our door with a battering ram at 8:30 a.m., held a gun to our cocker spaniel because she barked as they jerked me outside into the front yard while in my pajamas and proceeded to frisk me. I was held hostage in our kitchen, not being allowed to use the phone (Jerry had just left for work prior to their arrival and had no idea what was going on), while they continued to go through everything in our entire home, garage, game room, yard even downloaded both our computers … nothing left unturned. Low and behold … there was not one thing found that they apparently expected to find and we're supposed to just close our eyes and pretend it didn't happen. Well we can't!
As much as we hate to, this is the part where we have to ask for your help! No, we don't have a "can" with our picture on it, nor have we started a "bank fund" ... But what we are doing is trying to raise the $8,000 attorney fees with the biggest yard sale ever! The entire shop is now in our yard … plus the contents of two other storage areas. We are asking you to come, buy some cool stuff CHEAP! There is something for everyone! By doing that, you get something for your buck and we get the funds we need to stop these people from ever doing this again.
The sale will go on daily from today through Sunday, 9 a.m. until ?? or at least 5:30. It is located on the corner of Government and First Street in Upper Lake. Sunday we will have donuts and coffee for you to show our gratitude. Thank you again, so very much.
Aileen Krewson lives in Upper Lake.