Send e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; or mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters forwarded from other sources or those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
In 2008, a national political campaign used the words hope and change to achieve victory in the election. Almost a year later, it appears that we are on the verge of seeing those words have true meaning.
No, I am not talking about the promises made by the candidate, but the reaction to the policies his administration wants to implement. The passionate outcry at town hall meetings across the nation is a sign that there is hope for America after all.
For too long, citizens have elected leaders on promises, only to have them go to Washington and act contrary to voters' desires. Voters seem to be upset about this, but have never really done anything about it. The next election comes and they vote for the same leaders, who then go back and do the same things.
Ask a politician to clarify his stand on an issue and you might hear how "complex" the issue is. I can not decide if complex means I am not smart enough to understand or I do not need to know the truth. I believe it means that they want me to mind my own business and let Washington do as it wants. Sadly, the citizens of this once-great nation have been doing just that for many years.
In recent weeks, the Spirit of 1776 has started to blow through town halls across the country. Americans have once again voiced their beliefs and desires. Taxpayers had a nearly $1 trillion bailout shoved down their throats overnight because our leaders said it had to be done. No one had time to read it, including those who voted for it.
Now, the Washington elite is offering us a second helping of something we do not want to swallow. This is in the form of health care reform, over 1,000 pages of things not read. It seems, however, that some of us are reading it and we do not like what we see.
This new reform contains some frightening things. Everyone will be issued a national identification card for health care and assigned a number. Nonresident (illegal) aliens are exempt from this tax, meaning taxpaying citizens will pay for them. The government will assess your ability to pay and set your payment amounts. All of your medical records will be accessible by computer, including computers that are missing or stolen.
My favorite line is on page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as a tax." Yes, that is really in the bill. It is no wonder to me that the supporters of this bill want to rush it through. They are afraid we might find out that it is not so complex after all. The only complexity is that this is run and controlled by politicians.
I look back with pride at the contributions that my grandparents' generation made to this nation. I wonder what my grandchildren will look back to our generation and think of? Trillions of dollars in debt? The elitist members of Congress must use our desires, and not their own agendas, to guide their votes. If they refuse to adhere to the will of the people then they must step aside.
David Bruce
Gainesville
Our health care reality doesn't match the rhetoric
I have needed several days, several deep breaths, and a little refresher from my recent college sociology class notes to whip up a cool-headed, rational response to the likes of Sarah Palin and her recent toe-curling message on health care reform, and the countless disturbances erupting at town halls over the same issue.
If Palin wants attention brought to anything that could be classified as death panels, she and others ought to consider the findings of author McCamy Taylor, posted on www.democraticunderground.com last Nov. 11.
Taylor's research enlightens us to, among other things, a Commonwealth Fund study that shows that the U.S. ranked last among 19 industrialized nations in tackling the problem of preventable deaths. The authors estimate that 100,000 lives per year could be saved if the United State copied the (cheaper) health care practices of some of these other countries. Taylor goes on to cite a CDC report which found that the U.S. ranked 29th lowest in the world of infant mortality.
The only death panel accounted for here is one implemented by the harsher side of nature, which we can and must learn to combat as a united people willing to swallow a little nationalistic pride and make like other countries for the sake of protecting one another's right to life. (sound familiar?)
But I regretfully fear that insecure right-wingers simply will not relent because, at the expense of the truth and the well-being of fellow Americans, they would rather vent their steam whilst oppressing others.
This must stop. There is no other way to say it.
Al Daniel
Gainesville
Deal proven to be honest
Obviously, Joan King does not know Nathan Deal. Her article was a pathetic try to bring doubt to his character.
Nathan is one of the most honest, dedicated and accessible politicians I have ever known. Of course, he had to raise money to get in office, but I can guarantee it was all gotten honestly and fairly.
I suggest Ms. King go to her office and talk to him instead of casting doubt about something she obviously knows nothing about. Nathan stood up on May 1 in the middle of Gainesville and announced his candidacy for governor (and he is not the incumbent).
Myra Taylor
Gainesville