By the time this letter appears we will know whether the U.S. government will be partially shutdown or not. Either way, it’s important to look behind the verbiage and try to find the truth about what’s really going on. This entire assault on the economy and indeed on our nation’s international reputation is the work of a few (50-60) extreme reactionary House members who are holding their fellow Republicans hostage to the threat of a Tea Party-backed primary challenge next year.
Their problem is the Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress three years ago. Having failed in their legal challenge they now insist on refusing to fund the ACA, knowing the Senate will not agree. The victims of this assault are 50 million of their fellow Americans, who cannot get or afford commercial health insurance. Please note that these same congressmen (and women) only pay for 28 percent of their government health insurance. Taxpayers get stuck paying the other 72 percent.
A well-funded extremist activist group led by the ultra-conservative Koch brothers has spread outright lies about the ACA, deliberately misleading seniors and others. Note that these cowards never let their names or their companies be identified, hiding behind a false front.
They claim that government cannot run a program like this successfully. Those who benefit from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid would beg to differ. These programs, as well as the military, air traffic control and national parks, all seem to run quite well.
If you want to find a real bureaucracy, take a look at health-care insurance companies. They tell people which doctors they can use, which drugs they will pay for and even whether they will even pay or not. Until the ACA, they could cancel your policy after years of paying premiums over a typo or innocent mistake on the original application.
If you are concerned about this radical assault on our country, call Virginia Foxx at 202-225-2071 or Richard Hudson at 202-225-3715 and let them know you won’t take it anymore!
— Jack Burke

Salisbury

Here is the deal: Congress is blackmailing us with a government shutdown if certain parties do not get their way.
Here is a novel idea: Let’s run the country like a business. In the private sector if a business shuts down, the CEO loses his job just like the worker. So let’s say, if the politicians shut down the government, we kick them out of office and let them stand in the unemployment line.
— Richard Morgan

Salisbury
Regarding the Sept. 29 article “Emails show county officials at odds”:
First of all, to the Post and Nathan Hardin, this article was very well written, clear, and took a complicated series of events and wove those disparate instances together in a way that was non-judgmental and provided everyone a clear look at what’s really happening. I’m guessing you’ll receive some type of press award for your efforts.
Now to the topic. It appears Craig Pierce has a role on the county commission similar to the one Eric Cantor has with the U.S. House, i.e., the “whip.” As humorous as that notion might be, given that there are only five members of the commission and he is Chairman Jim Sides’ minion, Pierce might well take a few PR classes, as it seems like every time he communicates he spews forth these gaffes.
And we also learned that Sides hasn’t responded to phone calls from the Post since this past spring. Sides may be going for a Guinness world record? Sides and Pierce show such a mean, petty stench for representing the entire county. It’s like what one smells on the day before your garbage pickup and you have to lift the lid to place in some new trash. Whew!
This is what Rowan County deserves? Ouch!
Pierce says this has nothing to do with retribution, and then the article quotes his emails that totally show that to be untrue. And these are the people Rowan County chooses to be their leaders?
Oremus. (Let us pray.)

— John T. Blair
Salisbury

Ever notice how the liberal news media (and many Democrats in Congress) constantly use the word “vitriol” (or “vitriolic”) to describe any view that Republicans or conservatives hold?
It’s like, “This year the catch-all word is vitriol.” In 2011, everything was “violent rhetoric.” Before that, “hate speech.” It’s like the “Two-and-a-half Men” episode where little Jake kept saying “touché.” He didn’t know its’ meaning, but it sure sounded cool.
I’d like to thank the readers who took the time to respond to my letter concerning Obamacare. I’m sure it’s just coincidence, but two letters in Saturday’s paper used the word vitriol (or vitriolic).
Another response was from a young lady who wanted to set me straight about my so-called facts. She started by saying that President Obama delayed the employer mandate not to help Democrats facing re-election, but because businesses need more time to buy insurance. But the law is three years old; how long does it take?
She said the young adults she knows will buy insurance once the exchanges start; so my claim that young people won’t be paying into the insurance pool is false But that doesn’t make sense either, because “younger Americans will likely pay more on the exchanges” (I read FactCheck.org too).
She said insurance companies will do just fine with the new regulations; yet even the New York Times reports that “many insurers are significantly limiting the choices of doctors and hospitals available to consumers.”
And contrary to the fact-checkers, President Obama did exempt Congress from Obamacare; well, a tiny piece of it anyway. It all started when Republican Chuck Grassley offered an amendment, and Congress unwittingly approved it without reading it thoroughly. It turned out that they’d either have to pay their own premiums or go on Medicaid. What vitriol! But President Obama helped fix it. Whew!
The fear was, believe it or not, a “brain drain” in Congress.
— Steve Pender

Rockwell
A big thank you to to Steve Rowland, Reed Linn and the good folks at Landis Public Works for covering the sudden loss of contracted garbage and recycling collections. When I got home from work last Monday, I knew something was wrong when I saw that the cans hadn’t been emptied. By 6 p.m., the town crews were on the move, “getting it done” before nightfall. They also collected recycling on Tuesday and handled this week’s Monday garbage collections.
In an era when government doesn’t work much of the time, the Town of Landis always comes through. I’m proud to be a resident, taxpayer and citizen of Landis.
— Ron Turbyfill

Landis