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Tiahrt turned back on those in need
How do Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and other members of Congress sleep? They know that we've needed health care reform for years. And now that we have the opportunity, they turn their back on those who desperately need insurance. Perhaps the people in Congress should have lost that benefit long ago and receive it again only when they have passed health care for all the people. Maybe they should still lose it.
Please stop whining about socialism. We already have Medicaid and Medicare, and we have plenty of corporate welfare. Look at the people who got bailed out at our expense and never have to pay it back.
I do hope that people who vote in the next election will remember those who always side with their lobbyist buddies and those who do the right thing. I know I will. Otherwise, we deserve more of the same.
PHILIP OLIPHANT
Wichita
Racial rot
I am truly surprised The Eagle published such bigoted racial rot as that in "We can't take back what we don't own" (Nov. 7 Letters to the Editor).
So rich white people own and run this country? I would venture to say that the African-American, Hispanic and Native Hawaiian members of Congress would have to disagree. What about the entertainment industry? Do Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry get kicked to the curb because rich whites own and run that? How about sports? Are Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods and Shaquille O'Neal considered minor figures not worthy of recognition? What about our justice system? I'd like to see that argument placed before the likes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonya Sotomayor.
Do rich white people solely run the business sector as well? Hardly. And if memory serves me, our own president and his wife were millionaires before the election that put them in the White House.
To say that rich white men own and run the country is not only a reflection of ignorance about the reality of life in our country, it is a reflection of how poorly our educational system has tackled the problems of racism and enlightenment about true-life situations.
MARK CURLESS
Whitewater
First preference
Never has it been so obvious that the fittest and the richest in these United States are given first preference over the rest of the country as with the H1N1 vaccine.
Some of the Wall Street giants have received the swine flu vaccine for their "at-risk employees" while the rest of the country is still waiting for theirs. These are the same businesspeople who have driven us to the brink of disaster.
Morgan Stanley should be applauded for turning over its entire supply of 1,000 doses of the vaccine to local hospitals when it learned it received shipments before area hospitals.
Also, there was an article about the Europeans' "socialized" health service (Nov. 7 Eagle). Instead of having the long lines for their H1N1 vaccine, their vaccine is distributed by invitation. They were able to set up their vaccine campaign to ensure that the priority groups would get their shots first. Maybe we can learn something here, if we just listen.
Yes, we need to take our country back, but not necessarily from the people we are targeting.
DEL LOPEZ
Wichita
Use unemployed
Jury duty is something most of us hate doing because it interrupts work schedules, day care schedules and any other plans we have made. I received my first letter to do my patriotic duty this week and it made me wonder. If the government knows I have student loans with it and can tell when I drop out and would have to start paying back those loans, and if Big Brother knows that I'm paying taxes on my regular income, why send me a letter for jury duty? Why not send a letter to one of the thousands of unemployed? A trial can only be judged upon the evidence, so it would not be an unfair sample of random people — just people who have no real incentive to end the trial early through quick judgment.
JOHN W. PINE
Mulvane
Root of woes
A recent Opinion Line comment blamed overpopulation for the dismal economy. Correct. Overpopulation of our planet is the root cause of all Earth's woes — crumbling infrastructures, polluted air and water, disappearing wilderness, extinction of many species of wildlife, famine, pandemics, demand without supply, too few jobs and so on.
Too many people are multiplying without considering the future and their ability to provide, rear and educate, and are setting the example for those new lives to rely on welfare to survive. We have too many people occupying disappearing space and drawing down on diminishing water, air and food supplies.
Perhaps this self-destruction is all a part of God's plan for humanity. If so, we are well on our way to annihilation of our species.
NORMA JONES
Pratt
Gift of life
Last weekend in Kansas City, my mother-in-law received a transplanted liver from a donor in Wichita. The donor and family receive our immeasurable thanks and gratitude. You have given life to a wife, mother and grandmother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you grieve the loss of your loved one.
DAVID BEAL
San Jose, Calif.
