Letters to the editor - Thursday (2-11-10)

'War hawk' Thomas urges wrong course in Middle East

It is time to realize Cal Thomas is definitely a "war hawk," committed to supporting munitions cartels and those in our State and Defense departments who are demanding an expansion of our two wars in the Middle East. Mr. Thomas argues that if we do not commit our forces to fight the "terrorists" in the Middle East, they will fight us in America. I disagree, because any student of recent 20th century history realizes there was no terror in our country or Europe until Palestine was seized and turned over in 1948 to the Zionist government that now controls the Middle East. America, along with Britain and France, provided the military aid and billions of dollars to David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, for his ethnic cleaning of Palestine. Palestine no longer exists, and 5 million Palestinians have been forced to flee their homeland and live in refugee camps.

President Obama has tried to stabilize the political situation in Palestine by working to establish a Palestine state and demanding the suspension of building settlements on Palestine land. The Israeli government refuses to work with President Obama and special envoy George Mitchell, refusing to negotiate issues that prevent a peaceful settlement.

Mr. Thomas believes a war with Iran is necessary, but it would be horrible to fight a third war when we should not be fighting in Afghanistan. Many admit this is a war we cannot win, but Mr. Thomas still is a good soldier for the munitions cartels, keeping it going. Think of the money wasted on war, the loss of life, the maimed and wounded. War is a horrible waste. We could use these funds to rebuild infrastructure and put the unemployed to work.

Mr. Thomas, enough of your war support. Behave, and write the true story of the greed of the munitions cartels.

— Victor Farrah

Salisbury

Health reform is needed

I support Obama's efforts to pass health care reform. A new federal study shows that health care spending rose to an estimated $2.5 trillion in 2009, or $8,047 per person, and is now projected to nearly double by 2019. Everyone in this great country deserves a chance at life; no one should ever be turned away or treated differently because they cannot afford insurance, and no one should be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Why do we Americans allow ourselves to be taken advantage of by these big insurance companies? We hold the reins, not them. Let's take a stand and fight for the health care that we all deserve! If we don't act, this growing burden will mean more lost jobs, more families pushed into bankruptcy and more crushing debt for our nation. This isn't a problem we can kick down the road for another decade or even another year.

We are incredibly close to passing real health reform. I stand with President Obama in calling on Congress to finish the job. Too many in Washington are now saying that we should delay or give up reform entirely, but Americans understand the stakes for our economy and our lives. We want action. We will never give up, and we will never cease to fight for the change that we need in our great country. What is it going to take for all of the greedy people who have everything they could ever want or need to understand that people are people and we all deserve to get treatment for our ailments, no matter what type of insurance we have or don't have?

— James Edwards

Albemarle

Checked gas prices lately?

Dear commissioners: These wonderful Rowan County gas prices, again, are 12-20 cents higher than those in counties around us. Why can't we look at doing something about it?

— J.N. Spry

Faith

Loving Ourselves

Lucille Ball said, "Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." Right now there is devastation in Haiti due to the massive earthquake that took place on January 12, 2010 and in one night the US raised $58 million for relief efforts for Haiti. This is a great and wonderful thing that the US can come together and really help out somewhere where such devastation has occurred, but where is the help at home? Although we are not suffering as much devastation as Haiti is, aren't we suppose to love ourselves before we can love another? Love encompasses more than just affection. Can we raise $58 million to help with job training programs in our own communities? What about just raising $1 million dollars for non-profit agencies to better support their clients? We need to love and support ourselves before we assist other countries "to get anything done in this world."

— Tiffany Blake

Salisbury