High hopes for greatness

I am a veteran and I have always been proud to be an American. I grew up on Fort Benning Road and saw a lot of WWII veterans going by my house.

The reason I am writing this letter is the election of Donald J. Trump. I have supported him since the beginning. Many of my friends encouraged others to support him. He reminds me of a lot of great leaders from the past to include George Patton, who is my lifetime hero.

Another is Winston Churchill who it is said not only saved the British Empire but the entire English-speaking peoples. When England was bombed so severely by Hitler, who bombed the cities instead of airbases, the bombing killed 43,000 and wounded 139,000. Hitler made 2.5 million Brits homeless. He was pleaded with, to surrender in 1940 at the height of this invasion.

Many had distaste for “Winnie” during this period. Some wanted him to negotiate surrender. He never considered this: “Nations which went down fighting rose again, but those who surrendered were finished.”

President Trump is this kind of person and I feel that he, like many early founders, will give it all for our great country. I feel like President Trump will be one of the greatest Presidents that this country has ever produced. God Bless the USA.

Ugly truths

President Trump signed an executive order banning entry to the United States from these seven majority-Muslim countries: Iran, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan.

Conspicuous in their absence, are these three Muslim countries with which Trump does business: Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Saudi Arabia was home for 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11.

Saudis aren’t banned from entering the United States, but war-weary Syrians are.

Mr. Trump, what are your alternative facts?

Limited government?

This will raise some hackles. It may be uncomfortable to read and think about. But it may open some eyes, too.

I’m a trained in biology and it bothers me that people can’t make a distinction between an ovum, a zygote, an embryo, a fetus, and a baby. The fact that names have been assigned to these stages of development implies there are qualitative differences. The negative connotation assigned to abortion has much to do with confusing these stages and assuming cognition to tissue devoid of any nervous tissue, i.e., there is no brain at some of these stages. No thinking/feeling going on.

So some people subscribe to this notion of a gradual progression of development of a fetus becoming more and more fully human (whatever that really means) and finally arriving at “personhood.” And that allows them to accept abortion under certain circumstances.

What bothers me most is the intrusion of outsiders into this most personal area. The decision to terminate a pregnancy should be primarily between the woman and her health care providers. If people want less government intrusion, this surely is one area where less government is warranted. Let’s agree to disagree and if you feel you must carry an unwanted fetus to term, one with serious birth defects or the result of rape or incest, go right ahead, but don’t impose your standards on another.

Let the debate begin.

‘Access’?

Do not be fooled by the rhetoric coming out of some of the congressional leadership and specifically Rep Price, nominee for HHS Secretary, and Speaker Ryan. When you hear them say “access to coverage” think about unaffordable premiums. Access clearly does not mean that all taxpayers will have healthcare insurance … or truly be able to pay for offered policies.

Although there are cost issues with the ACA (Obamacare), there will be much greater cost increases if it is repealed with no coverage assistance. Currently, 85% of those enrolled in the ACA get significant assistance.

In every plan coming out of Congress, these subsidies are abolished and replaced with mechanisms whereby citizens put away their own money to pay for premiums. That is fine for the wealthy. However, without the ACA subsidies, working people simply can’t afford health insurance under these proposals. Especially the elderly who will pay 5 times as much as younger people under Speaker Ryan’s proposals.

And, if no replacement is put forth, 18 million of our citizens will immediately lose coverage, rising to 32 million over time, per the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

If we take the politics out of this situation, the solution is clear: expand Medicare over time to cover all Americans. Both Obama and Trump have stated as much. The obstacle is the insurance and pharmacy lobbies.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 11:27 AM with the headline "High hopes for greatness."