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Page 8, The Brick Times, July 14, 2018
OPINIONS & COMMENTARY Letters To The Editor Remembering Different Good Old Days Gosh, the good old days sound nice. Leaving doors unlocked 24/7, having polite people hold the door, or apologizing when they bumped you. Of course, being only 72, I don’t remember leaving doors unlocked. Here’s what I do remember: I remember when a man who worked a forty-hour week had enough money that his wife could stay at home and raise the children. His union made sure that he got overtime pay for working more than a forty-hour week, health care (for himself and his family), healthy and safe working conditions, a two-week vacation every year, paid holidays, and a pension, even in a minimum wage job. I remember when a high school diploma was a guarantee of a job. I remember when those who went to college could work all summer to pay their tuition and have a part time job to pay living expenses. I remember when teenagers got jobs to buy luxuries like cars, instead of working to supplement the family income. I remember when men stayed with their families instead abandoning families. I remember when divorce was a rarity, instead of being 50 percent of all marriages. I remember when a Pres-
ident of the United States was elected by the majority of the people, instead of the electoral college. I remember when his wife was a lady, and the president’s children were not part of the administration. I remember when people would not vote for a man who has a record of groping women, or considered it his right, as sponsor, to walk into dressing rooms of unclad beauty contestants without knocking. I remember when no one would vote for a man who had dodged the draft, five times, in a time of war. I remember when a president did not spend 20 percent of his time playing golf and did not make a profit off those golfing trips by charging hotel fees, in his own hotels, for staffers and security people. I remember when infants were not ripped from their mothers’ arms and given up for adoption when their mothers were convicted for the “crime” of asking to be given refuge from criminal gangs in their country of origin. I remember when we gave political asylum to people, especially women and children, fleeing corr upt governments, dr ug lords, and rebels. I remember beer sales at the ball park stopped until the anthem fi nished. I remember when people, especially the president, knew the words. I remember when people had enough respect for the flag that they
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did not wear it as bikinis, tee shirts, caps, or pants. I remember when it was not flown on the wrong side of the pickup truck, or ragged, or dragging the ground, or used as a picnic blanket, beach towel, or advertising campaign. I remember when civics teachers were allowed to teach more of the Constitution than just the 2nd amendment, and only half of that. I remember when kids were allowed to know what their rights were. I remember when white supremacists were not allowed to spew their lies and hate. I remember when they held their rallies in the dark, with their faces covered, because decent people were ashamed of them. I remember when political correctness was just good manners, and name calling was bad manners. I remember when Congress members and Senators represented the people, not just rich donors, foreign interests, and the NRA. I remember when presidents gave up their own business interests to avoid conflict of interests. I remember when a Speaker of the House did not stall bills in committee but allowed them to come to the floor for a vote. I remember when congress did not start interminable wars. I remember when a Supreme Court nominee was allowed a hearing, even when he was not a right-wing republican. I remember when no politician ever proposed cuts to Social Security and VA. I remember when a president (Richard Nixon) tried to protect clean air and water. I remember when the Congress spent nearly $80 million on an investigation of whether the president had sex with a legal, consenting adult, unlike the groperin-chief, and members of his family and staff, who are being investigated for treason, five of whom have already pled guilty, while sixteen others have been indicted. I can remember when the smartest kid in Sky-
Letters To ofThe Editor pre-existing conditions. line School, Solana Beach California, was an illegal immigrant, who went on to become a math teacher. Today, she would have been deported, and all that talent would have been wasted. That same school and time went on to produce two nurses, one Marine KIA in Vietnam, three Vietnam veterans, one priest, a cop, and a plumbing contractor - all of whom came here illegally, but all of whom were decent, productive citizens. Not one of them became involved with drugs or gangs. In fact, there are more gang members who were born here, of American parents, than there are members who are immigrants, and even the that biggest of bogeymen, MS-13, was actually born in the USA (San Francisco). I remember when presidents did what was best for the country, not just what was best for the corporations that bought them. I remember when they sent young men off to war knowing what those young men were facing, because they had been there, not fivetime draft dodgers who hid behind daddy’s money. I remember presidents who had dignity, not buffoonery. I remember presidents who had strength instead of bluster, spoke truth instead of stupid lies, and made us proud before our allies and strong before our enemies. They relied on integrity, not useless walls. I remember when I was proud to be an American and proud to wear the uniform of the U.S. Army, a uniform that the present occupant of the White House was too chicken to wear. Myrna F. Arnold Whiting
First, They Came For The Health Care Before ACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or nicknamed Obamacare) 52 million people were uninsurable because
Calling On Conservative Voters In November
62 percent of bankruptcies in the U.S. were medically related. The Trump Administration continues to unravel the ACA piece by piece. Next to go is protection for pre-existing conditions. Unable to repeal ACA, Trump utilized another tactic. Tucked inside his tax bill, the individual mandate was repealed. People had protested the mandate feeling they were paying for something they didn’t need. We should base our laws on facts, not feelings. The fact that the individual mandate was eradicated results in deconstructing financial support needed to keep ACA viable. In June, Trump began his attack on the pre-existing clause in the ACA. The Department of Justice followed by declaring it is now unconstitutional because the individual mandate has been removed. Have we so soon forgotten how expensive and how many fatalities ensued for Americans who had no health insurance? The ACA is popular because it provides protection for those who have pre-existing conditions. It provides essential health benefits which require insurers to cover; annual physicals, doctor services, in-patient and out-patient hospital care, prescription drugs, pregnancy, child birth, mental health and dental coverage for children. In place of ACA, Trump has proposed cheap, junk plans allowing companies to offer the insured virtually no coverage. Trump’s admitted line is that if you say a lie often enough people will soon believe it as truth. Stand up America! Protest! Trump and his cronies are working to remove another ACA benefit. They’ll stop at nothing.
League of Women Voters Lotte Scharfman is credited with coining the phrase, “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Scharfman, a refugee of Nazi Germany, was the League’s president until her death in 1970. She stated that in order for Democracy to “work” you have to participate, you cannot simply be an observer. As the saying goes Americans will cross an ocean to fight a war, but not cross the street to vote, a right that so many have shed their blood and tears. A low voter turnout is again predicted for this year’s November’s midterm elections. Being a no show at the polls is the same as surrendering your vote to a neighbor who may not share your values. If you are concerned with the direction of our government now is the time to vote for candidates that defend the police, law and order and family values and reject those that advocate to legalize recreational marijuana, open borders, sanctuary cities, drivers licenses for illegal aliens, taxpayer-funded tuition for undocumented immigrants, higher gas and sales tax, abortion on demand, disrespecting our flag and removing religion from our public discourse. Voter turnout decides elections. Go to the polls in November and vote for the lawmakers that will exercise fiscal discipline by lowering our highest in the nation property taxes and fully restore the Homestead credit, a benefit that the disabled and seniors on fixed income need to maintain and keep them in their homes.
Jo Meinhart Waretown
Art Mooney Little Egg Harbor
Do you have something you want everyone to know? Write a letter to make yourself heard.