LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Morons on both sides

The ongoing health-care debate has made me embarrassed to call myself an American. Those on the right drone endlessly about “Obamacare,” which they claim is turning America into a socialist state. Meanwhile, those on the left act as though the reform actually fixes our nation’s odious health-care system.

It makes me think that our schools must be even worse than all those surveys indicate, because the vast majority of our citizens on both sides are apparently morons.

I don’t know if it is constitutional for the government to require us to buy health insurance. If our government actually worked, this issue would never have been raised. Those on the right claim health-care reform is a huge government takeover. If only this were true. As I see it, reform is nothing more than a huge giveaway to the insurance and drug industries, which have spent millions to ensure that those in Congress do what is best for those industries instead of what is best for us.

The current right-wing activist Supreme Court will almost certainly strike down some or all of the reform, leaving us with a hodgepodge of laws making our embarrassment of a health-care system even worse than it was to begin with. The right will claim victory, the left will cry foul and we’ll be more divided than ever.

The only solution is a single-payer system. Until we as a society decide that some things, like health care, should not be motivated by profit, we’ll have the system we deserve.

TODD HALL

North Little Rock

Please,try to get along

The investigation into racial epithets on a Little Rock police officer’s social-media site is interesting in a couple of ways to me.

First, the impact of an officer’s social-media page to prompt an internal investigation—I agree that the comments were improper, but where is the separation between public and private life?

Secondly, the president of the Little Rock chapter of the Black Police Officers Association said that multiple members were offended by what was on the social page.

Well, I’m offended that there is a Black Police Officers Association. What are the requirements to be a member? Is it the color of one’s skin?

There are no easy answers when it comes to race, but having special groups based on color is driving a wedge, not bringing the races together.

We’ve come a long way in race relations and have a long way to go, but can’t we just all try to get along?

MARK REYNOLDS

Hensley

Imposing their beliefs

Much has been said about President Barack Obama’s policy on insurance coverage for birth control, and on Republicans’ reactions to it. Republicans feel his policy is an attack on the religious beliefs of an employer whose religion forbids the use of any type of birth control. They hold that an employer should not have to pay for something that goes against their beliefs.

While freedom of religion is one of the foundation blocks of our country, can a secular government, or even an insurance company, design a national health plan that would comply with every employer’s religious beliefs? When you consider just how many different religions there are in this country, do we want an employer to dictate what type of medical coverage you can have? No! Many common medical procedures such as blood transfusion, organ transplants, circumcisions and even routine medications are forbidden by some faiths. Trying to tie someone’s medical coverage to their employer’s beliefs is just wrong.

Isn’t it time to recognize that we live in a secular nation that leaves us all free to practice our religion/beliefs and not have another belief imposed upon us?

BILL FARRELL

Bella Vista

For whom road tolls

Here are my thoughts on what will happen regarding placement of a toll road between North Little Rock and Memphis. First, the state will spend a few hundred thousand dollars for a feasibility study. Next, a new department will be formed and a dozen new people will be hired, phones, Internet, new vehicles (don’t forget these people will need to travel), health and retirement benefits. Cost: $3 million. Next, the state will appropriate $10-15 million to modify the roadway and install toll booths. Let’s not forget an administrative office, new furnishings and parking near the middle of the toll route, another $10-15 million. Another $10-15 million for more office space, furnishings, restrooms and break rooms and parking near each of the toll booths. Next, another $15 million to hire an additional two or three dozen personnel to staff the toll booths, with benefits and retirement.

Doing all the above in a couple years, where are we? We’ve got four dozen new employees (including a director, two attorneys, three accountants, a superintendent and supervisors), and all this with an annual budget of only $5 million. That’s $50-60 million on construction activities and hiring a bunch of people and not one dollar in tolls. Yep, that sounds exactly like what will happen.

The state might want to review New Jersey’s history with governmentrun toll roads. They actually tried to sell their toll roads to eliminate budget deficits being caused by the toll-road authority.

ANDY JACOBS

Pottsville

With a definite slant

The editorials are now reaching the level of the rest of the paper’s slanted news, in my opinion. The recent editorial about Rush Limbaugh and Sandra Fluke was over the top, and although Bill Maher was mentioned, I don’t recall reading any critical comments from the paper about his lewd comments about Sarah Palin.

Rush uses the absurd to make many of his points and admitted and apologized for his over-the-top comments in this case. I believe he and the Wall Street Journal are some of the few places one can go to get some analysis that is not completely biased by the mainstream media, including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. As I see it, the paper is a part of an industry that is a danger to our country because we cannot get real information and analysis without a complete liberal bias.

The only reason I continue to take this lousy paper is because my wife likes the crossword puzzles.

Shame on you!

HERB DEHART

Hot Springs Village

We did it to ourselves

Arkansas has such a way of belittling itself. Now it is saying to the world that we have in our capital city an airport named Hill-Billy. How we do honor the slick of our country.

Shame, shame, shame! We should have voted.

KIT NICKERSON

Hot Springs Village