LETTERS: ObamaCare opponents ill-informed

To the editor:

In reading Bob Sperling’s letter (“Reid and ObamaCare,” Thursday Review-Journal), I’m amused by people who continue to speak on topics of which they’re not fully informed.

During the health care debates, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa offered an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would require Congress to purchase its insurance from the exchanges, set up by the law. Sen. Grassley’s move was done for no other reason than to derail the legislation, hoping to siphon off a few Democratic votes. Democrats, in a show of unity for the legislation, let the amendment pass. Congress heretofore had received essentially the same socialized health care benefits as military personnel and would end up paying more if members and staffers had to purchase health care through insurance companies.

As implementation of the law drew near, Congress requested that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seek an exemption from the Republican amendment, so that members and staffers could receive subsidies toward the health care exchanges, and President Barack Obama approved the request. Once approved, it became a new GOP rallying cry: “Obama exempts Congress from this terrible legislation, should exempt everyone!”

The Republican Party, reaching out to the hearts and minds of people who have neither.

RICK REYNOLDS

LAS VEGAS

Sun adds value to R-J

To the editor:

One of the most pleasant things for me living in Las Vegas over the past 10 years is the two hometown newspapers. Most readers probably don’t realize that the conservatively slanted Review-Journal is a rarity among newspapers. Up and down the Pacific Coast, the papers lean very much to the left, as does most of the national media.

The sensible Review-Journal, with reliably conservative columnists and editorials, suits my personal biases nicely, but the perspective of the Sun and its reliably leftist columnists adds interest and gives insight to the national political scene.

Now it seems this pleasant combination is threatened by money issues (Friday Review-Journal). I’d suggest that the Review-Journal do some soul-searching and admit that the Sun adds value to the whole publication. And I’d like to see the Sun give some thought to a way to continue the relationship, even if the result doesn’t look like the current publication. Just from a business perspective, both papers should recognize that together, they’re better than either one would be alone.

ED DORNLAS

LAS VEGAS

TSA ruins air travel

To the editor:

Las Vegas would have far more visitors if it weren’t for the unnecessary harassment of the Transportation and Security Administration on each and every flight (“Make the TSA just go away,” Review-Journal editorial, Sept. 15). It’s totally unnecessary. The U.S. government could have easily conducted background checks and issued clearance cards for 99 percent of our citizens, but there was big money to be made with all of the equipment and personnel needed to search every single passenger on every single flight, which will now apparently go on forever.

All of us are chumps. We pay money to our government via taxes, so that the government can search us each time we fly, using the most expensive method for keeping us safe when we travel by air. Meanwhile, those who sell the necessary equipment and services to the government are becoming wealthy beyond measure. We can’t count on Congress to stand up to big-money lobbyists. I would suggest a nationwide travelers strike, but that won’t happen, because flying is necessary for so many of us.

So we’ll just keep paying to be humiliated and hassled every time we fly. Like cattle in a stockyard, there’s nothing we can do to change our plight.

ALBERT G. MARQUIS

LAS VEGAS