Bush turns a blind eye to insurance needs of kids

Bush turns a blind eye
to insurance needs of kids

EDITOR:

President Bush’s veto of the S-CHIP bill has caused considerable controversy. Looking at the bill, I don’t see any negative side to it. The cost of the bill, $7 billion a year, is nothing compared to other bills.

It would insure an additional 10 million children. Congress wanted to raise cigarette taxes to fund this bill. This is a great idea. Hopefully, this will encourage more people to quit smoking. Therefore, we have a healthier society, driving health costs down. Giving low- cost insurance to families also allows these families to spend more, putting money back into the economy. This bill sounds good the whole way around.

Bush, however, turns a blind eye to all this. He tries to call it an excessive governmental intrusion into health care. Bush also thinks the cost is too high. Yet he has no problem asking for $190 billion for his overseas fiasco, or 27 times the cost of the S-CHIP Program.

Therefore, a child gets a catastrophic disease, is hospitalized, and dies. Without insurance on the child, the parents sell their home to pay the hospital bills and bury the child. But we need that $200 billion for Iraq.

I wonder how much money defense contractors contributed to Bush’s elections? What was it that Bush called himself in the 2000 elections? A kinder conservative – yeah! That was it. Bush should tell that to a child with leukemia who has no health insurance.

ROBERT W. McKAY

Grove City, Pa.

Al-Qaida, Democrats share
identical Christmas wish list

EDITOR:

Christmas is approaching, and it’s time to compose that wish list to send to Santa. So what will al-Qaida ask for this year? I think it’s obvious: 1) America’s surrender in Iraq; 2) the pulling of American troops out of Iraq; and 3) freedom for al-Qaida to plan attacks on the American homeland without interference from the American military and intelligence services.

And what will the Democrats ask Santa for this year? Again, it’s fairly obvious: 1) America’s surrender in Iraq; 2) the pulling of American troops out of Iraq; and 3) freedom for al-Qaida to plan attacks on the American homeland without interference from the American military and intelligence services. It’s getting harder and harder to draw distinctions between the philosophies of al-Qaida and the Democrats.

Unfortunately, if the Democrats get their wish, it won’t be coal that America gets in its Christmas stocking this year; it will more likely be a severed head or a roadside bomb. But don’t be frightened or disheartened because Democrats won’t get their wish. Despite the fact they have abandoned our fighting youth by refusing to provide the military with the financial support it needs, our troops are being victorious and have almost driven al-Qaida out of Iraq.

Now we must take action to complete the victory by endeavoring to drive the Democrats completely out of Washington. But let’s face it. We will never really be truly rid of Islamic religious extremists as we will never truly be rid of Democrat political extremists. All we can do is keep our collective foot on their throats and never give them room to breathe.

JOSEPH K. WALTENBAUGH

New Castle