As long as it’s someone else’s money, bribe away!
To the editor:
Searchlight Harry is a great deal maker with our money.
Sen. Harry Reid sees nothing wrong with giving Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., $100 million for her state's Medicaid needs.
He sees nothing wrong with forever exempting the citizens of Nebraska from paying increased taxes to cover higher Medicaid costs.
He sees nothing wrong with giving Vermont $10 million for community health centers.
I guess as long as it isn't Sen. Reid's money, he doesn't care how much it costs to get the health care bill passed.
But why should Nebraska be excluded from ever paying higher Medicaid costs while the other 49 states are not? Sen. Reid calls it compromise; I call it pure and simple bribery.
Sen. Reid should be ashamed of himself. If that's the way business is done in Congress, it should be changed.
Each bill should be debated and voted on based on its own merit -- before bribes and commitments are promised.
James J. Baumberger
LAS VEGAS
Good soldiers
To the editor:
Concerning your Dec. 21 article on World War II and Korean War vets protesting the current war: They, like everybody else, are entitled to their opinions. However, one of those opinions struck me as being particularly absurd.
I refer to the idea of sending 30,000 teachers to Afghanistan rather than 30,000 reinforcements. Supposedly this would banish ignorance and poverty and thereby do away with terrorism.
Not only is it preposterous to assume that unarmed teachers could survive in that environment, since when is it written that soldiers are unable to impart knowledge and bring about prosperity? Lots of soldiers have failed to do so. But not American soldiers. Wherever we have gone, the ability of the impacted populations to care for themselves has improved, not worsened.
In other lands, those who have had contact with American soldiers, and their descendants as well, have favorable impressions of America. This is what ensures the type of favorable cultural transformations that deny our enemies privileged sanctuary.
Let us be sure "the boys" keep up the good work.
Dave Hanley
LAS VEGAS
