Cost of wars
It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s the wars. For nearly 10 years, the U.S. has been waging wars and all the while we have been cutting taxes.
The extent of civilian sacrifice and support has been the displaying of car magnets and lapel pins.
Our persistence in refusing to raise taxes has resulted in a record budget deficit that threatens to reduce benefits from paid-in social programs, renege on earned pension payments, and be the ruin of our economy.
The biting irony of this irresponsible behavior is that we are, arguably, no safer from enemy attack or reprisal than we were 10 years ago; the preservation of freedoms and our way of life, the purported reason for the wars, has been downgraded in this period primarily by the actions of our own government; and the political party that engineered this debacle has just regained majority in the House of Representatives.
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Chester Baran, Gary, Ind.
Memories from Korea
My position in Korea with the 25th Infantry Division was to serve as the point man on patrols through the hills and rice paddies. On July 27, 1953, our company was relieved by another unit and sent back to a rest area.
We were being treated to an evening movie, “Singin’ In The Rain,” when suddenly the big guns up on the demilitarized zone went silent.
Our platoon commander then came to inform us of the negotiated ceasefire.
Amazingly, 57 years later, there is no peace agreement.
However, I do feel that most Korean war vets will agree that we served our country well and saved South Korea from extinction.
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Norm Scherrer, Burlington
, Wis.
Memories of WWII
I could not agree more with the letter writer who recently said that the firefighters who lost their lives should not have been sent into an abandoned building in case there were squatters inside. The paper states that indeed there were homeless people inside who started the fire (a small one, no doubt to keep warm), but I think they would have had enough time to escape either before the firefighters came or soon thereafter.
Be all this as it may, it brought back to my memory that when I was in the infantry in the Second World War, in the Battle of the Bulge, our squad came upon a large barn that was burning on one end. The weather, as we all know, did not remind us of Palm Beach, Fla., so to warm up a bit, we entered the barn on the opposite end of the fire, joining with several pigs, who if they did not escape would become roast pork (which didn’t sound bad at the time). We sat down on bales of hay until we were warm and a bit thawed out, and then continued with the task at hand.
So in a sense we were squatters; there were no firefighters to put out the fire, we don’t know how the fire started (it was probably war-related) and, although we sat on the hay, we did not really “hit the hay,” as the saying goes.
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George Hoeksema, South Holland
Call it what it is
Truth in advertising demands that the Republicans’ Repeal ObamaCare Bill should be renamed the Insurers and Lobbyists Welfare Bill.
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Fred Reklau, Winfield
Move forward
For the first time since being a voting adult, I am terrified. I cannot believe the current situation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Health care repeal, removal of financial regulations and the cutting of the wealthy and corporate taxes are what the new group proposes.
We need to move forward in this country. The current House leadership was around years ago when it had its chance at reform. Sadly, we are starting over from its failed regime.
Our country needs to move forward in the direction that President Barack Obama, almost singlehandedly, has paved.
I urge lawmakers: Please be guided by wisdom and concern for the populace.
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John Deitche, Tinley Park
Better times
In “Letter to Santa” (Voice of the People, Dec. 24), letter writer Mil Misic wrote a touching account of her life from the Great Depression until present time. She ended with asking for America to be returned to an earlier time.
I was a pre-World War II baby and I don’t want America returned to an earlier time. I grew up when black people were not allowed to attend school or movies or eat in restaurants with white people. I moved farther South in 1957 and saw the “white” and “colored” drinking fountains and black people consigned to the back of the bus.
We had the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. I was brought up to respect everyone, but many only respected those who were like them.
Also I welcome the Transportation Security Administration screenings that keep us safer.
I am proud that we have an African-American president. I am proud of how far my country has come. I am proud that today’s seniors no longer have to depend on relatives to take them in or support them.
I am a proud American.
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Barbara J. Kellar, Elburn
Heroes among us
After reading the obituaries, it saddens me how we fail to celebrate the lives of fellow humanitarians who have invested and sacrificed their whole lives to better a now passive and empathic society. From Nobel Prize winners to doctors providing care to the poor and needy, these people have given society so much and, in return, received a small notice with a few lines in the corner of the obituary page.
Unfortunately the untimely deaths of Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith made headlines for days.
This makes you think: What are our priorities in life and what kind of role models are our children following? That little scientist weathering his life away in a lab to find the cure for cancer or researching DNA, his or her quest to better or save society, will not receive a fraction of the recognition he or she deserves.
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Diane Shaar, Tinley Park
Changing lives
I wanted to thank reporter Colleen Mastony and the Tribune for her stories regarding the “homeless twins” (News, Dec. 19, 28, 30). When I read the first article, I was moved and appreciated Mastony bringing the story to the world’s attention. I prayed (and suspected) that someone would step up and offer support and/or shelter to these two unfortunate individuals. I was thrilled to see her follow-up article regarding the overwhelming offers to help. It reconfirmed the belief of human compassion and kindness. I still wonder about their families and how could we, as an advanced society, allow this to happen in the first place.
What I wanted to express to Mastony is my congratulations and appreciation! Her stories showed the power of the press. While I believe too many people no longer take the time to read the paper and keep themselves informed about what is going on around them, I did find comfort in learning that enough still read and care. Reporters like her can and do change people’s lives.
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Steve Manns, Chicago
