Party before country
How can so many supposedly intelligent and knowledgeable adults be elected to Congress, spend so much time there, and accomplish so little in the way of response to the country's needs?
We have heard Donald Trump proclaim loudly for the past year that he would "repeal and replace the total disaster known as Obamacare" immediately upon taking over the White House. He promised to make available without delay a health-care plan which would be much less expensive and better than Obamacare. His supporting cast--Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and their fellow Republicans who control Congress--continues to slog fearlessly through the swamp, but seems to be getting further from any resolution of the problem.
It seems only appropriate to mention that not a single negative Democratic vote stands in the way of their success. Nor have the Republicans allowed any Democrat to take part in the process.
We are six months into the Trump administration, and Trump and friends are now promoting allowing the Affordable Care Act to remain in effect while hoping for and abetting its failure, fully aware of the harmful consequences which will befall America. Admittedly, it seems worse to allow them to pass any version of a health-care law they have yet devised.
At what point does total abject partisanship have a chance to become less important to the GOP than recalling and facing their constituents' needs, or recalling the oaths they took upon assuming office to uphold and perform the goals outlined in the preamble to the Constitution?
DENNIS A. BERRY
Bryant
No way to lead nation
John Brummett is correct: Ignorance and arrogance are no way to lead a nation. Trump is like a runaway race-car driver who will do anything to get a victory. In this case, his health-care bill will probably hurt many more than Obamacare did.
The Trump Organization is not humble. I doubt if they can claim to be Christian.
Lastly, it's a shame the Democrats couldn't get information from Trump's taxes and business dealings. They shouldn't have had to go to the Ukrainian embassy to get info on him.
I think the whole thing was rigged against Clinton from the start.
Russia is not our friend.
STEVE WHEELER
North Little Rock
A devastation déjà vu
The photo of Mosul reminded me of a Bill Mauldin cartoon from World War II. Two GIs are standing in the ruins of a French village. One says, "we sure liberated the hell out of this place."
Why did we bomb to get rid of snipers? What happened to strafing?
J.E. CALDWELL
Stuttgart
Could create bridges
Everyone is complaining about the coarsening of the polity. Some of this is due to singular points of view that populate one media channel or another or one newspaper or another. Yahoo News is such a site.
It is has just been purchased by Verizon, a great telecommunications company. It could accomplish a great national service if it provided non-editorialized news and also had a clearly marked editorial section with a wide range of opinions. A reasonable model is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A divided country sets up dangers for itself. A true communication company will create bridges.
CHARLES VERMONT
Prescott
Plague upon our land
John Brummett's column about a UALR football team reminded me of a fantasy novel idea.
It begins with a Razorbacks football game where nearly all spectators are family, friends, groupies, coaches and administrators of the teams and marching bands. The others are folks who come to work on their tan or just to get out of the house on a Saturday afternoon. We learn that the phenomenon occurs in college stadiums nationwide.
Motorcycle helmets fly off the shelves. Cigarette, alcohol and sugary soda sales plummet. Gun stores are shuttered and high-heeled shoe factories shut down.
Alas, a plague of sanity is visited upon the USA.
Local governments tackle local issues as if they were, well, local issues. Citizens clamor to pay taxes to solve the problems that result in high crime rates in clearly defined neighborhoods. Rounding up bad actors is midway down the to-do list.
We provide appropriate housing and health services for homeless citizens. We provide early childhood education and day care for working mothers.
Energy companies replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. We shift new highway construction money to mass transit.
Nobody cares who loves whom or how.
Congress nearly unanimously affirms that the Affordable Care Act is one of its most important accomplishments, along with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Members work on making them all better, like a loving extended family nearly free of dysfunction. No dysfunction would be too weird.
Feel free to use this for your own novel. I'll buy it.
HOWELL MEDDERS
Fayetteville
Getting out of a mess
Unfortunately the Republicans who are trying to repeal and replace this monstrosity called Obamacare are now in a no-win situation. I have compared their situation to the old story of Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby. The more he fought, the more he got stuck in the tar baby. Once the "goodies" are handed out, it is almost impossible to take them back.
It should never have happened in the first place because any logical person knows the government cannot take care of everyone from cradle to grave. It sounds warm, fuzzy and loving, and we do want to care for the needy as much as possible (in the past, volunteer groups on a local level have done that), but depending on the government to take care of everyone will suck the country dry. That has been proved in other countries that have tried to do it. Quality of care goes down the drain.
If Congress does what it needs to do, there will be and already are screams of discrimination that will haunt them at the polls. Even the people who say they want it repealed do not want their particular "goody" taken away. How is Congress supposed to please everybody and stop the financial bleeding at the same time? Impossible!
So what is the answer? If we are going to get health care back to a sustainable, reasonable situation, interstate competition among insurance companies must be allowed to take its course. It can make care available at a reasonable cost, allow individuals to get the coverage they want, and allow companies to survive. If insurance companies do not make a profit, they cannot survive. That is what business is.
Give each state control over its health-care problems. Solving problems like this is better handled at a smaller level where they are more in touch with the needs in their area.
But as I have said, there is no answer that will please everyone. The "tar baby" lies in wait for those who are trying to fix the problem. Democrats got us into this mess, and getting out looks dire.
BARBARA DODGE
West Memphis
Editorial on 07/20/2017