What's good for the taxpayer should be good enough for the public employee

What's good for the taxpayer should be good enough for the public employee
EDITOR:
I am covered under the Medicare system in place in America. I pay $78.20 each month for this coverage. If I want more coverage, I am free to purchase it from the income I receive from Social Security and my Teamster pension. If I had family members not covered by Medicare, I could also purchase coverage for them from these same funds.
The taxpayers have decreed that this is a fair and equitable system. Why then don't we apply this policy to public employees across the board? Anyone whose income is derived from the taxpayer-filled trough should receive these same coverages as part of their compensation. If they want to continue their golden, now platinum, family coverage, they should be free to purchase it from their generous compensation.
My contribution to the basic coverage supplied by Medicare is over 7 percent of my Social Security. People who have their snouts firmly planted in the public trough object whenever it is even suggested they contribute a small percentage to the great coverage they and their dependents are provided at the expense of people like myself who can't afford this coverage for ourselves.
This thinking is just another proof of the attitude of entitlement felt by the politically connected who are lucky enough to wallow in this hallowed trough.
Contrary to what the losing candidate for president said, we cannot afford this coverage for everyone in the country. However, if the public employees paid as the common people do, we could provide coverage for a great many people who are now deprived under the current "Have and Have Not" system without bankrupting the country.
ROBERT HUSTED
New Springfield
Casino gambling would spark rebirth of Youngstown
EDITOR:
Once again I'm hearing talk of bringing a casino to the Valley. I think it's a fantastic idea. Just think of the jobs it would create and the money it would bring in. Put it downtown near the convocation center and it would bring people, money, jobs and businesses that we desperately need.
I know the governor and others are against bringing gambling to Ohio. I challenge any one of them to drive to Mountaineer Park and look at the license plates in the parking lot. Most are from Ohio and a lot of them are from the Mahoning Valley. Not to mention the daily bus trips that go not only to Mountaineer but to Michigan, New York, Canada and Indiana to gamble. Let's wise up and keep the money here.
There are church leaders who are against this. Then we need to do away with games of chance at festivals, bingo, Las Vegas nights and the Ohio Lottery. That's all gambling.
I enjoy going to Mountaineer once in awhile along with a lot of other people I know. I'd much rather save the gas and spend the money here. This Valley has lost far too many jobs in recent years. Think of all the possibilities with an establishment like Mountaineer Park downtown. Not just a casino, but shops, restaurants, even a hotel. It's time to wake up from your dream. People are going to gamble and most will do it responsibly. We're not all gambling addicts. If you want to rebuild downtown then what better way to start?
GWEN CHAIBI
Youngstown
Real life horror stories arein the works in world's labs
EDITOR:
There is a little known fact never mentioned in the secular news media but recently reported in the January 2005 issue of National Geographic. It is the proliferation of animal-human hybrids (chimeras) taking place worldwide in major scientific universities.
A chimera is a hybrid creature that is part human, part animal. Greek mythology represents it as a monster having a lion's head, goat's body and serpent's tail.
Chinese scientists for several years have successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs.
Mayo Clinic has created pigs with human blood flowing through their bodies while at Stanford, they are developing mice with human brains. In fact, a scientist from Case had stated that they were participating in this type of experiment with mice -- and that was 10 years ago! Rationale for these horrors are use for drug testing and "spare parts" in humans while the real reason is science and power gone mad. Man thinking he can improve on God's creation and natural order -- is that not what Lucifer deemed?
In the 90's, several prolifers took part in a local radio talk show educating people on abortion, the coming endorsement of euthanasia, fetal stem cell experiments, cloning and this very subject of chimeras. Mention of all these issues was met with ridicule and disbelief, but now as Terri Schiave clings to life in Florida while her husband seeks to remove all food and hydration; as people clamor for not just the killing of tiny embryos but creating them for experiments and then disposal, a new horror emerges. Currently there are no federal guidelines regarding this abuse of biomedical science.
Before this world becomes fodder for a real life scenario that only horror novelists would love, please contact the president, National Institute of Health and your state senators and representatives to initiate a bill banning these unholy experiments -- before God's wrath is visited upon us all.
MARTI RUNYAN
Girard
Let's hope that history is not repeating itself
EDITOR:
The Bush administration took us to war in the Middle East under the guise of finding weapons of mass destruction, saving our country from Saddam Hussein and to put an end to the Al-Qaida terrorist network. Since the Bush administration failed to find these weapons, Hussein was found alone and dirty in a hole, eating Twinkies, and Al-Qaida seems to be still thriving, they have decided this war is about the Iraqi people discovering democracy. According to all reports coming out of the Middle East, the Iraqis turned out in record numbers and at great risk to themselves to cast their votes for freedom and equality. Good for them.
While, back in the states, thanks again to this administration, we have lost sight of most of our freedoms. The Patriot Act has stripped us of our right of privacy, the Supreme Court has decided search without probable cause is justified, and the Bill of Rights and our Constitution are becoming just a memory of days past. In my opinion, under these circumstances, the terrorists have won the war they waged by these losses. Our freedom was precious, albeit, not appreciated by most and taken for granted by many.
A recent survey done in 544 high schools across our country found that most students knew nothing about the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, especially when it came to the freedom of speech. Is our government concerned about the education of our young people or do they prefer a not-so intelligent society?
I do truly hope the Iraqi people are not facing these same problems 230 years from now.
DAVID P. GAIBIS Sr.
New Castle, Pa.