Meet for health care

If you would like affordable and obtainable health insurance, there will be a public meeting of the Oregon Health Fund Board from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, 333 N.W. 35th St., Corvallis. They will report on their progress and would like public input. Oregonians can make affordable health care a reality.

Rhea Avery, Albany Archimedes Group

A change from what?

What are the changes that Americans are said to be demanding? A recent Newsweek Poll revealed that 67 percent of those polled were unhappy with the direction the country was heading. Let’s take a look at what they may be unhappy about. Is it the fact that we have abundant electricity and clean water 24/7? Could they be unhappy that many have air conditioning in the summer and adequate heat in their homes in the winter? Or is it that 95.4 percent of workers have jobs and 70 percent own their own home? Maybe it is that our grocery stores contain an abundance of food. Or is it that we have clean and safe motels along our country’s highways?

Maybe they are unhappy because there are trained and dedicated emergency workers who will show up promptly and provide medical, fire and police services when we need them. How about the religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. that are the envy of the rest of the world? I could go on and on counting the good things that we take for granted in this country because we truly are blessed.

Obama is promising change you can believe in. What kind of change is it that he is going to give us and is it what we really believe in or want?

Lou Copes, Corvallis

What Obama offers us

The bitterness as demonstrated by Larry Crompton and his recent letter offends me. To think that anyone would vote for a candidate because he is black or a woman shows a lack of reverence for our political process.

Barack Obama is a combination of white and black parents. He leads us toward the hope that we can have a better country and life.

He has a plan that encourages economic development that realizes that there are no immediate fixes for our dependence on foreign oil. Together we can generate alternative energy sources that will allow us in time to free our bond to foreign oil. His plan will be made in the open and not behind closed doors. He believes the tax breaks provided to companies who move off shore for business and tax evasion should be taxed more heavily; this in turn will allow a tax break for the middle class.

Barack Obama has stood up on foreign policy and stated that negotiation is an important piece in surviving in our difficult world today. Yet he encouraged troop expansion in Afghanistan long before the Republicans accepted the fact that this was the development grounds of al-Qaida.

Barack Obama has set new standards for education and that he will work to assure all students have the opportunity for success. The Republican No Child Left Behind Act has cut funding to our schools and has eliminated many programs for children with special needs.

Health care for all is a primary focus of his campaign and he has stated that it will take time and some sacrifices from all of us. He has stated that he will defend and protect our Constitution.

I suggest that we as voters become involved and informed on the candidates. What do we want for our country? These are the things I will look for when selecting my candidate.

Linda Berndt, Albany

Don’t blame Obama

I have noticed there are letters defending Sarah Palin and the fact she has an unwed pregnant daughter. What has become evident to me is Obama is being blamed for attacking Palin on this non-issue.

Obama, from the very beginning, has said Palin’s family is off limits. I have seen no letters condemning Palin or her family by Democrats.

The only letters I see are from Republicans who want this to be an issue. It is not. What it is is diverting attention from the real issues such as the economy and the war in Iraq.

Terry Rohse, Tangent

Vets need health care

Taken from Military.com for Sept. 1, 2008: According to a recent study, 1.8 million military veterans in the U.S. neither have health insurance nor receive ongoing care at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Our government is not giving the veterans what was promised when we entered the service to defend our nation. They are breaking a signed contract. When we signed our enlistment papers we signed a contract with the U.S. government and were guaranteed to have medical coverage from the Veterans Administration. The VA has priority groups 1 through 8. As of Jan. 17, 2003, the VA suspended new enrollment of veterans assigned to priority group 8.

For the last seven years the VA has been under-budgeted for its operational expenses and veterans have been turned away from entering the VA system. The 110th Congress is the first Congress to get the full budget for the VA operations.

Elden B. Huntling, Lebanon

What about the residents?

In every article I have read regarding Lowe’s becoming another enormous store in our city, nobody has questioned the phrase “There is an apartment building built in the 1970s and a single dwelling home, both of which will be torn down.” What about those people?

Obviously apartment dwellers aren’t going to get a cash payment for giving up their homes so that we can have a Lowe’s, so where are they to go?

I’m sure the home’s owner won’t get much for his property, but even if he does, it won’t help those tenants who will be tossed out. It just seems to be a given.

Kathy Krumm, Tangent

How blessed we are

Election season is in full swing. Both candidates have accepted their parties’ nominations, and the campaigning continues in earnest. How blessed we are to live in a country where political transitions are carried out democratically.

I would encourage all people of faith to pray. We live in critical times. As we choose our next leader, may conscience take precedence over party line. We need to be Americans first and foremost.

The tragic events of 9/11 brought us together as never before. Well may we remember the heroes as well as those whose lives were lost. My hope is that we’ll be drawn together again, united as a nation and strong in our resolve.

God in his mercy has kept us safe thus far from another terrorist devastation. May he keep us from complacency. In the words of a modern hymn: “It’s time to pray, it’s time to pray; America, it’s time to pray.”

Joseph Novak, Albany