Friday, November 20, 2009
Liberals also support our brave soldiers
Letters to the Editor
Recent letters to the editor
- Letters: A home-school mom pays taxes, too
- Pick of the day: Home-schoolers reject public schools
- Pick of the day: Passing the buck won't stop abuse
- Letters archive
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Liberals also support our brave soldiers
Re: "Troop salute was a staged photo-op," Nov. 18 letter:
George W. Bush and his staff arranged plenty of military photo-ops during their time. Remember "Mission Accomplished"? The reason we didn't see much of Bush grieving with families may be because he didn't want to advertise the true cost of his wars. During Bush's tenure, media photos of caskets returning home from the unnecessary Iraq war were not allowed.
I'm one of those liberals that Steve Bell decries. I assure him that I don't despise the military. I'm mother to two sons and aunt to two nephews on active duty in the U.S. military. As a military family, we feel support from our liberal Democrat friends. And I'm comforted that we now have a Democratic president who will not lightly commit American lives.
Our military men and women represent the best of America. Bush and his supporters will have to live with the fact that he sent brave, young soldiers off to fight his unnecessary war.
I'm curious to know what Bell does to support our troops. As part of a military family, I need to communicate that waving the flag and self-serving rhetoric just don't count.
Health reform opinion misled
Your Nov. 10 editorial "Flawed health reform," on the anti-abortion provision in the House-passed version of the health care reform bill, cited data from the Guttmacher Institute indicating that 13 percent of abortions are billed directly to insurance companies. The statistic is correct, but it was presented in a way that suggests to the reader that the loss of private insurance coverage for abortion would have little impact since women's current use of it is so infrequent.
This is not an accurate implication. First, our study looked at all women who obtained abortions, including women on Medicaid, in which abortion coverage is prohibited in all but the most extreme circumstances, and those who are uninsured. If one looked only at privately insured women, the percentage of procedures billed directly to insurance companies would be substantially higher.
Perhaps even more important, the 13 percent does not include those women who pay out of pocket at the time of the procedure and then obtain reimbursement from their insurer. This is common throughout the health care system when a medical provider does not participate in a patient's insurance plan.
Executive Vice President and Vice President for Public Policy Guttmacher Institute
We need to fix our own economy
Re: "We don't need to aid every country," Nov. 10 letter:
It seems the U.S. is trying to fix every other country's problems and not our own. The government should think about the fact that our economy is failing and our society is in trouble. Money should go to our country rather than to other countries to patch up their economy while depleting ours and sending us further into debt.
Age 15
Franklin County High School
Church has a friend in media
Those of us who appreciate Greene Memorial United Methodist Church and its unique ministries were thrilled to see the 150th anniversary of Roanoke's old downtown church as headline news Nov. 16 ("Planted by God, nurtured by faith").
The Roanoke Times from its origin has been a friend to the area's congregations, especially those who deal with the challenges and needs of downtown locations. The newspaper has made major contributions to the strength and service of our unusually vigorous group of churches in the heart of the city. They have all been a major component in the culture and quality of life that we cherish here in the valley.
As the city continues its progress toward revitalization, the friendship between congregations and media is a major plus.
Pastor emeritus Greene Memorial Church
Religion's at root of most conflicts
A Nov. 14 letter, "Anti-Christian beliefs fuel Muslims' hatred," which appears to portray all of the Muslim faith as terrorists, concludes with the statement: "this country was founded by Christians seeking religious freedoms."
I suggest the writer knows nothing of the history of those founders. In New England alone, the so-called Christian Puritans who came to America because of religious persecution by the Anglican Church dealt harshly with those who did not embrace their religious beliefs. Any dissension was met with flogging, imprisonment, even hanging. The history of warfare shows that most conflicts had a root cause of religions.
A verse in the lyrics of John Lennon's "Imagine" sums up nicely what a better world would look like. "Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living in peace."
Glad that people saved the pets
Re: "Animals rescued after fire at pet store," Nov. 15 news story:
I'd like to send thanks to the employees who had a heart and didn't follow protocol and to all the other people who helped evacuate the animals at the PetSmart Valley View in Roanoke after a fire broke out there Saturday.
I use the grooming salon around six times a year, and you can't imagine the stress and fear I have gone through thinking about what if it had been my dog, Tiki, locked in the cages after getting a bath, and I had told her that everything would be all right and I would see her in a couple of hours.
I am so glad there were people who love animals as much as me and would risk their lives to save an animal. Animals give us love 24/7. Thank you so much for saving man's best friend, our feline friends and the many other animals that were rescued. Angels were watching over them that day.
Negative focus on
Addison Middle
It was very disappointing that your article, "Principal doesn't drag out promise," on Addison Middle School in the Nov. 15 paper included so much negative publicity that had nothing to do with the good news that Addison Middle School was accredited for passing the SOL tests.
It would be great if we could have read an article that gave credit to Principal Robert Johnson and the Addison Middle School staff and children for their great achievement.
