Letters from our Readers - December

Spirit Acres Horse Rescue Farm 

This letter is to tell you about a very special farm in Montgomery Texas that rescues horses, no animal will be refused however, and the neglected and the starved are coming now that winter begins to bring their sad and abused forms into view. There are many stories here and the need for care is urgent as well, there is a rehabilitation program and from gunshot wounds to broken legs and worn tendons and backs it is all here. The good news is as they are cared for, many are able to re enter life with new owners as adopted horses , and that is a very special program. Many horses will live their lives in the privacy of the farm as they are not well enough to be adopted, but good news again, there is a sponsorship where loving people can sponsor a horse and be with him and care for him at the farm. This is a win-win situation for the horses and their new friends. 
There are many ways to involve oneself in Spirit Acres, volunteers of all walks and abilities are welcome. We invite you to visit the farm anytime, I am attaching a email letter of a more business nature it will probably give you a better overview. Thank you for your time. 

Kat Matrician 
www.SpiritAcres.com
SpiritAcresInc@cs.com

U-n's Global Gun Ban 

The Japanese did not invade the United States mainland after the deadly destruction they inflicted on our defenses at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, because they knew American citizens owned guns and would fight to preserve their freedom and liberty as they did against England in the American Revolution back in the 18th Century. 
Two things have to happen for the United States of America to be defeated or to be taken over from within. Our allegiance to God and our society's dependence upon Judeo-Christian principles, morality, ethics and law must be neutralized and then totally eliminated. And the Second Amendment of the U. S. Constitution must be abolished, and American citizens' guns must be confiscated. 
The "separation of church and state" clause is being prostituted, even by well-intentioned Christians, and our nation's reliance upon God and His law is diminishing daily. When Israel turned its back on God, He turned His back on Israel, and the nation of Israel was defeated and forced to live in captivity and spent many years wandering in the wilderness afterwards. 
Anti-gun lobbyists and organizations have been unsuccessful in their attempts to disarm America. But now the United Nations is attempting to enact a world-wide treaty banning all civilian ownership of firearms forever. If and when this new treaty is ratified by a liberal, leftist and/or socialist Senate and signed into law by a liberal, leftist and/or socialist president, this new international gun control treaty will become legally binding on every American citizen with the full force of law behind it, immediately overriding the Second Amendment and American citizens' rights to own guns. Despite the fact that most firearms murders and atrocities like the mass slaughter of people opposing the Hussein regime in Iraq and other recent acts of genocide in Africa, Europe and other areas were committed by governments, only armies and police forces of governments will be permitted to have firearms when this new United Nations treaty goes into effect. 
Ruthless dictators, world socialist workers parties and militant Muslim extremists love it. 
If we Americans allow this new treaty to become law, even anti-gun lobbyists will hate what comes next. 
Like Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death." I for one will not give up my guns or freedom and liberty while I am alive. 

R. Tullos "Dan" Hanchey 
Ridgeland, MS 

Tommy Gage 

More articles please on Tommy Gage being the next Montgomery County Sheriff.
The county needs more information. The majority of the citizens of this county do not really understand the awful reality of the situation the current sheriff puts taxpayers, citizens and employees of that department in. Its time to say enough is enough! 

Name Withheld

Trauma Crisis

Hospital emergency departments generally have a room reserved for talking to the relatives of trauma victims. During my 25 years as a paramedic for the Houston area, I have accidentally wandered into these rooms a few times and found individuals dealing with one of the most important issues they will face in their life, the death of a friend or relative. They sit quietly sobbing, hugging friends, or silently staring at walls.
Most of these individuals began the day thinking about raises, taking care of a traffic ticket, or wondering if they will have enough time to shave or take a shower and make it to work on time. Few foresee tackling a situation that will change their lives and provide an abundance of bad memories. The general population relates to shootings, stabbings, and motor-vehicle accidents as something that entertains them in the movies or on television, not something that could happen in their world.
Public indifference toward the ongoing trauma crisis in the Harris County area and an unwillingness to fund better trauma care forces paramedics to bypass three or four hospitals before locating a hospital capable of handling a patient with injuries from a major traffic accident. Many patients do not survive the long trip.
During the early 1990's I performed CPR on a patient in the back of my ambulance and was turned away from a large hospital overloaded with emergency department patients. An ER nurse on the other end of the emergency radio channel asked me to divert to a second hospital. When I contacted the second hospital with patient information they said they had a shortage of staff and beds and asked me to divert to a third hospital. Imagine the frustration paramedics feel when they must struggle to keep a patient alive and locate a hospital capable of handling their patient.
Recently a group from an affluent South Montgomery County neighborhood turned out in large numbers at a community meeting to push for correcting a major problem in their community, patches of dead grass on their golf course. The dead grass was something visible and tangible the community could rail against and call for solutions. The emergency department quiet room will always remain dark and unnoticed by most hospital visitors.
A visitor to Virginia watching smoke pour from a coal mine fire that began during the Civil War asked a Virginian how they could live with such a strange site. The Virginian responded, “Something that lasts a long time does not seem strange.” 
Harris County and the surrounding communities have never had adequate numbers of trauma centers. There are two level 1 trauma centers in Houston and both are in the Texas Medical Center. The Houston area may have come to expect a high numbers of trauma deaths outside the 610 Loop. This is far from the truth; trauma victims from areas such as Humble, The Woodlands and Pasadena do not have to die. 
Trauma studies have shown patients are usually salvageable if surgery is begun within one hour from the time of the accident. The medical community refers to this hour as the “Golden Hour.”
A person striking a steering wheel and bleeding into the chest cavity will lose blood volume; cells not receiving oxygen-rich blood die. This situation must be corrected within the first hour by surgery or the person will die.
The average person sees hospitals throughout the county and is probably unaware that few are prepared to handle major trauma at any hour. An emergency department willing to hire physicians and support staff on a 24-hour basis for major trauma would probably be deluged with ambulance patients. Most of the injured will not have insurance. 
A survey of 839 hospitals with trauma centers found 68% of them lost money last year (The economic status of trauma centers on the eve of health care reform, Eastman AB, Bishop GS, Walsh JC, Richardson JD, Rice CL, Department of Surgery, Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, CA 92038-0028).
Other hospitals site a shortage of trauma nurses as reasons for not opening trauma centers. According to Texas Department of Health statistics, approximately 20% of all trauma paramedics choose not to renew their certification each year. They find themselves too old to carry patients down stairs or out of burning buildings and choose to retire or leave EMS. Though licensed paramedics now have associate degrees like RNs and extensive trauma training, they are overlooked as a solution to the trauma center staffing shortage.
Every day Houston television news carries the grim result of a community that has chosen to accept unnecessary deaths by refusing to fund trauma centers. Viewers sit back relaxing over an evening meal, shaking their head sadly when a camera crew shows the wreckage of a car with the news another teenage will miss graduation because of a tragic accident.
The public and government must accept the fact there is a trauma crisis and it must be handled through funding of more trauma centers.

Jim Becka
Licensed Paramedic, M.Ed.

Right Wing Media Wins Again . . . 

Thank you soooo much, Donald Kaul, for a "Right-On" article. It never ceases to amaze me how the Right Wingers scream patriotism and freedom of speech but ONLY if that "speech" is in accordance with their "speech." If it doesn't, we are labeled "Un-American" and are chastised for speaking your opinion. ....AND, if the person's address happens to be in California, anywhere near LA, they are thoroughly thrashed, belittled for being in show business and a boycott is begun against their career. THAT, friends, is not freedom. 
The mass telephoning/e-mailing and double-telephoning/e-mailing tactic has been used over the last few years to censor what they don't agree with . . . or fear . . . as with the scratched Reagan show. Meanwhile, those of us in the silent majority go on with our lives trying to make a living with what's left of our economy. 

Bea Rouse 
Montgomery, TX

Why I hate George W. Bush, part#6978

It is mildly interesting that Rep. Kevin Brady claims to be so offended by Sen. John Kerry’s direct and adroitly on-point comments about Mr. Bush’s war in the most recent edition of Rolling Stone magazine. Those comments were to the effect that, when Sen. Kerry voted to fund this ill-considered endeavor, he didn’t realize how badly Bush and his acolytes would “f**k it up.”
First of all, if Brady feels a politically motivated need to publicly evince righteous indignation, I suggest that the simple use of words, appropriately strong under the circumstances, wholly fails to provide the requisite justification. As a constituent, I really wish he’d at least try to focus on the real problems: the current administration, with unprecedented arrogance and a shockingly cavalier swagger utilized to thumb its nose at our long-term allies, lies to the American people and the international community about the imminent threat of non-existent “weapons of mass destruction” and fabricates a nuclear connection in Africa. Then, to please God, Daddy or Halliburton, he starts a war without either justification or an exit strategy, resulting in the daily loss of our valiant American troops which may go on indefinitely. Also, civilian casualties in Iraq are now estimated at between 7900 and 9800, which I hope means more to the readers of this letter than it obviously does to the man now occupying the White House. 
But what’s especially noteworthy is that, however wounded Brady claims to be by this alleged disrespect to the Bushies, the White House itself—after an initial outcry for an apology-- has now turned completely mute on the subject. Why would that be?
I suggest it’s because Bush himself can hardly claim to be offended by such language, and has now-- thanks to the plethora of historical information available via the internet—been busted on that point. For example, we might remember when his microphone was left open during a campaign stop in 2000 and Bush was heard to refer to New York Times reporter Adam Clymer, when speaking to Dick Cheney, as a “major league asshole.” Then there was the time in 1988, at the Republican national convention, when a reporter for the Hartford Courant asked the future President of the United States what he and his father, the other President Bush, talked about when they weren’t talking about politics. The answer provided by this great moral leader of our land, this self-styled deeply religious, prototypically Christian American President: “Pussy.”
The bottom line is this: the level of incompetence of this administration is exceeded only by its hypocrisy.
It’s time to stop majoring on minors, and address the real shortcomings, and ethical failings, of this sorry administration in Washington. We The People decide who holds this job, after all, and it should be painfully obvious at this point that it shouldn’t be George W. Bush or anyone remotely associated with him.
And, by the way, John Kerry was right. By virtue of his strength, courage and intellectual honestly, he is my new hero.

Nancy M. McCoy
Willis, TX

How do I find The Bulletin?

Hello Mark, We haven't met and only this year have I become acquainted with The Bulletin other than years ago when I placed some ads in it. My name is Kyle Harding and want to thank you for your excellent recent articles regarding local political news, especially concerning MCHD. Your latest article "Illness and Illegals" was right on target. My question is "How can we get better distribution of the Bulletin?" I live in Forest Hills, which is between Conroe and the Woodlands and I have a difficult time finding it nearby. They are apparently sometimes quickly removed from the Conroe library and there are so few stores where they can be found. How about Wal-mart, Kroger's, Randall's, or gas stations nearby? Do they refuse to let you leave them? I'm curious because we need your voice. 
Thanks for listening. 

Kyle 

(Publisher: For our readers that have trouble finding The Bulletin... Thanks for asking Kyle. We have to pay about $50 per month per location to be in the big grocery stores and then we have to be on the rack with all the shopper publications. 
We did get kicked out of one restaurant in The Woodlands last year. About 100 people per week used to pick up The Bulletin at Willie's. The RLC likes to bully people into not distributing the paper because they are attempting to dictate your community standards, and any publication that tells the truth does not help them obtain the goal of total censorship. If you don't believe us just ask any librarian. They also tell us that RLC members steal stacks of them from the rack in the library to further censor the news. 
The good news is that over 500 stores, restaurants, and clubs distribute The Bulletin. If you are having trouble finding it in your area please email me at publisher@thebulletin.com and I'll be happy to attach a list of distribution points that are close and convenient. 
Thanks for reading The Bulletin and please patronize the businesses that distribute our publication, and our advertisers. They are the ones that make it possible to produce the real local stories every week. ...Mike Ladyman)

Thank you for your Courage

This is a powerful piece Mark but with very disturbing implications. 
Osama and his friends must be having one hell of a laugh. Every action like the one carried out against Mr. Norris, far from being a victory against global terrorism, its simply another notch on their 9-11 success list of additional unintended consequences. 
Law abiding citizens are being punished for the failures of Government agents and agencies who failed to protect them in the first place. 
It's laughable if it really weren't so tragic. I'm not American but I just feel sick and saddened by it all. 
Thanks for your courage in highlighting this outrage against a law abiding citizen, not just of America, but of the world. 

D.B. Mullan

Orchids 

What an appalling story and an indictment of just how far this country has fallen in fairness to its citizens. We ought to be ashamed of our government as it stands today. We've chosen instead to go throughout the world waging unjust wars, bullying those who do not agree with us and simply behaving badly.
It is no wonder why so many hate us - we cannot even be fair to our own. The Fish and Wildlife gestapos should be fired for incompetence and for wasting resources and monies harassing innocent citizens. 
Shame on us for allowing our government to behave in such a manner.

Ann Dunnigan 

"Right Wing Media Wins Again" 

So, is there truly a liberally biased media? Offered into evidence is Kaul's article. Therein lies the evidence, prima facia. Suggested correction ... remedial studies in contemporary American history. 

Cliff Beavers

Nation of Laws

Let me start with the fact we are a nation of laws. This does not mean that any government agency regardless whether its local, state, or national can choose which laws are to be enforced. When I was in school I was always tought that the legislature made the laws and it was up to the executive branch to enforce those laws. In more advanced classes I was tought the concept of breach of public duty, which means that if any agency or employee of that agency fails to enforce the enacted laws it is failing in it's obligation to the public it serves. 
Now at some point, the legislature enacted a law making a specific species of orchid illegal to posses or grow, it is now up to law enforment to investigate any person, regardless of age, sex, religion, or national origin it reasonably believes is breaking that law. The point I am trying to make here is if law enforcment beilieves that a properly enacted law has been broken, it is that agencys duty to investigate. 
Now that the civics lesson is over I want to address the publics view of law enforcment. I understand that the only exposure most people ever get to any form of law enforcment is when they are stopped for a traffic violation, or what they see on television. Television is not real, even the show cops is not a true representation of what law enforcment deals with every day. In short, we deal with the people who scare the daylights out of you and forces you to lock your doors and windows at night. Unlike television, we don't get paid to get killed, when we are shot, we dont get up for another take. When we get shot, our spouses get a flagged draped coffin, a small life insurance policy, and then told how gratefull the community was to there spouse for sacrificing their life. Also unlike television, we don't know what is on the other side of a door when we serve a search warrant that had to be signed by a sitting judge. The short point of this, is we wear bullett proof vest, so that if we do get shot, we still have a small chance of going home to our spouse. 
So the next time you wish to call law enforcment big brother, jack booted thugs, or any number of other insulting names, remember, that warrant we served, was based on a law your representive help to enact, and signed by a judge who was either appointed by a person you elected, or in the case of Texas, elected by YOU. 

J. House

(Mark Williams’ Reply: The law itself is not what is at question in the story, but rather the FWS' unsavory tactics and their use of private e-mails to dubiously obtain a warrant for George Norris' house. 
Law enforcement agencies also have the bad habit of calling the FWS to get them into places without a warrant, as the FWS never needs one. 
The fact that the FWS couldn't identify the plants mentioned in the warrant doesn't particularly help their case--or their credibility. 
With all due respect, if it were your door getting kicked in, I think you would feel differently... )

Hospital Sweet Deal 

I have watched this hospital district operate for about 20 some years and everything they do 
stinks. Are there no honest citizens in Montgomery County?

Name Withheld

Tommy Gage

In your article titled “Tommy Gage Wants to be your Sheriff” you made mention that 13 people were punished for attending the Tommy Gage fundraiser. However, the wrath of Guy Williams goes so much deeper than that. To punish the alleged ringleader, an entire patrol district was disbanded and over 100 deputies and patrol personnel were transferred. This was all done in the name of a cost saving measure to save on fuel use. How can you reduce from 4-patrol district to 3 patrol districts, which essentially increase each patrol area by 33 percent and save money on fuel cost?
Also take note that the patrol district eliminated was in the west end of the county. This is the area of the county that Tommy Gage lives and garnishes huge support. I guess Guy figures that if they don’t vote for him then he doesn’t have to protect them. How long will residents in Magnolia have to wait for the Sheriff’s Department to respond? Guy, how long is acceptable? 15 minutes? One or two hours? Deputies tell me that some calls are holding for up to four and five hours. So I guess it is okay for my wife to sit at home for four hours in fear after calling the Sheriff’s Department so that Guy can “Save You Money.”
Only six deputies remain assigned to the west end of the County where once there were 18 officers. Since the Magnolia area was absorbed into the same district that The Woodlands is in you can guess where majority of the personnel have been moved. It is simple Smoke and Mirrors to give the illusion that there is more patrol coverage in the South County area. Why?
Because The Woodlands votes; that’s why. I don’t believe that The Woodlands will fall for it. It is a simple case of too little too late. For the past year and a half the Town Center Improvement District has been actively trying to get out of their contract with Guy Williams because of his lack of concern to their public safety needs. 
Every time you turn around there is another allegation of misconduct or impropriety from the Sheriff or his administration. Where there is smoke there is fire. There have been numerous sexual improprieties as well as the most recent is narcotics violations. Not to mention missing funds.
Is this the legacy the Sheriff wants to leave? Is this the acceptable standard that we the citizens of Montgomery County are willing to allow for a man who we have entrusted with our safety? I say not. I say let’s hold him to the same standard that he holds us. No more excuses. No more chances. It is time to seek new leadership for the Sheriff’s Department.

Name Withheld
Conroe, Texas

Conroe area residents have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season
.
New medicines created in America over the past decade have spurred wondrous advances in the treatment of the world’s worst afflictions— cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV/AIDS.
In Montgomery County alone according to Texas Department of Health 2001 statistics, 753 residents died from cardiovascular diseases, and 515 died from cancer, the two worst killers. Even one death is too much.
More than 300 new drugs, biologics and vaccines developed by innovative U.S. pharmaceutical companies moved from research labs into the marketplace in that time, restoring health and enhancing the quality of life for millions worldwide. In 2002, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) member companies invested $32 billion to develop new medicines. 
Pharmaceutical advances have enabled patients with debilitating illnesses, who once faced major surgeries and lengthy hospital stays, to be treated effectively with medicine. And in fact, prescription medicines are far less costly than surgery or hospital stays, accounting for just ten cents of every U.S. healthcare dollar.
Throughout the decade, pharmaceutical companies shifted research to more complex diseases, while facing a more challenging regulatory environment. The result of these growing demands on drug development has been an escalation of the costs – to an average of $897 million in 2003, according to the Tufts University’s Center for the Study of Drug Development. That’s up from $802 million in 2001.
U.S. pharmaceutical companies are just starting to reap the harvest of their massive R&D investment. By the end of 2002, they were readying 28 percent more medicines for FDA approval than a decade ago and had 1,000 new medicines in development. 
We expect even greater accomplishments in the next decade. But we cannot achieve these results on our own. 
Developing medicines is only part of our challenge. Providing consumers access to medicines is equally important. We hope that seniors will have better insurance coverage for their medicines with the recent addition of Medicare drug coverage by Congress. We hope that state Medicaid programs will allow access to novel medications rather than impose greater bureaucratic hurdles. And we hope that the U.S. government will defend the intellectual property protections of U.S. manufacturers against unscrupulous foreign manufacturers who are intent on stealing our innovation—often with the support of their own government for doing so.
With these things in place we can continue to do what we do best—developing the new medicines that improve, extend and save lives.

Alan F. Holmer
President
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

Freedom isn't Free

America has enjoyed freedoms many only dream about, but along with such freedoms come responsibilities. Many brave Americans have died defending this great nation from foreign enemies, but could it be there are those working right under our noses to eliminate our precious freedoms?
I'm sure our founding fathers could never have imagined the world in which we now live. Yet they placed into the constitution checks and balances to prevent tyranny. If, however, we allow elected officials and judges to change the constitution by simply ignoring historical facts and the true desire of its authors we could fall prey to the very thing we hope to defend ourselves against. The answer isn't found in armed conflict. 
We can affect change by simply using our Freedom of speech and assembly. We are the watchmen of our generation. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder with those before us to preserve our national heritage. 
(1) Write your congressmen and tell them of your concerns. 
(2) Do your homework! Vote to remove radicals from office who consistently oppose common decency, and threaten America's traditional values. 
(3) If all else fails join with others to protest the actions of elected officials and judges. Our continued silence will only embolden the radical elements of this nation.
If we the average American remain silent as our freedoms are stripped away by special interest groups the word FREEDOM will have no meaning for our children. 
FREEDOM LOST, a book authored by Edward J. Kleinschmidt, was written as a warning. If we become too complacent as a nation we run the risk that one day we could wake up in an America we would rather not live in. The thought of Storm Troopers and Gunships attacking the citizens of our great land is unthinkable, yet history has shown that anything is possible given an indifferent people. 
Two centuries have come and gone since our founding fathers declared, "Give me liberty or give me death." Since that day this nation has been an island of freedom in an ocean of despair. We unlike any other nation in history have enjoyed freedoms many only dream about, but Freedom comes at a cost. If we as a nation silently allow the chipping away of our constitutional freedoms we'll have no one to blame but ourselves when the chains of oppression hang heavily around our children's neck. For additional information visit the Published Authors web site at
http://www.publishedauthors.net/edwardjkleinschmidt/news.html or or Author's Website: www.edwardjkleinschmidt.com

Edward J. Kleinschmidt 
Arizona

Don't Criticize the War Please 

I don't know if we would consider ourselves BUSHITES or AMERICANS but either 
way, we will no longer read nor pick up one of your newspapers.

Jimmy Brock

(Publisher’s Response: Dear American, 
It's too bad you’re not going to pick up The Bulletin anymore. If you would have picked up the paper you would have been able to read the well thought out letter sent in by Austen Givens. I believe the letter was prompted by the same Editorial that you refer to. 
Free speech is free speech, and it works both ways. It works when you agree with an opinion, and it works when you don’t. The Bulletin is not in the business of printing only the comments that agree with us or you. 
If you would like to read only the comments you agree with, I suggest you don’t pick up The Bulletin. 
We don't think it's very American to threaten people who don't agree with you. We think that the one thing that makes this Country great is our Freedom Of Speech. 
We also know the first thing that leaders like Saddam Hussein control. Do you?)

All Our Heroes

Jim Hightower's article yesterday raises an important point regarding the treatment of our fallen soldiers returning from Iraq - they are not greeted with the same wide-scale mourning that was afforded the fallen Italian carabinieri following the attack on their police station in Nassiriya. This is absolutely true.
It's important however, to look at the tragic deaths of the Italian soldiers and police from the Italian point of view - these brave young men and women were part of the absolute worst military disaster in Italy since World War II. This bears repeating - THE ABSOLUTE WORST military disaster in Italian history since World War II. Italy has simply not been exposed to as much death as a result of terrorism - or war - as the United States of America.
The deaths of the carabinieri in Iraq reminded many here in the United States of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 in New York, Pennsylvania, and Arlington, Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of mourners took to the streets. Top state officials visited the families and friends of the fallen soldiers.
Italy took a day off for grieving and remembrance. Major Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera , among others, covered memorials for the victims and government announcements extensively. Flowers were laid. Tears fell. Italians expressed anger, sadness, frustration, and pride in the same breath. It was, in many respects, the Italian September 11th.
While the United States may not be bringing its dead home with the same public emotional outpouring that the Italians do, that does not at all mean that the people of the United States are uninterested or unsympathetic to our brave young men and women in Iraq. On the contrary - you need only to look at any major news outlet - including this one - for a reference to the war in Iraq each and every day.
Similarly, just because government officials don't put themselves in front of the television cameras at fallen soldiers' funerals, or meet their caskets on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, it does not mean that they are indifferent to the horrible tragedy of our soldiers being shot and blown up by terrorist thugs virtually every day. President Bush's visit to Iraq for Thanksgiving brought these remarks: "On this Thanksgiving, our nation remembers the men and women of our military, your friends and comrades who paid the ultimate price for our security and freedom. We ask for God's blessings on their families, their loved ones and their friends, and we pray for your safety and your strength, as you continue to defend America and to spread freedom.”
These are not the words of an indifferent politician. These are not the words of a man simply paying "lip service" to his soldiers. These are the words of a strong leader who cares, who knows that his soldiers - our soldiers - are making an incredible sacrifice in Iraq each and every day. These are the words of a leader who knows that many terrorists on the ground in Iraq would not hesitate to target him and his aircraft with Stinger missiles - and yet he decided to proceed with his plan to visit the troops in Iraq under a cloak of extreme secrecy anyway. This is a President who understands that our troops in Iraq sacrifice time away from their families and friends, endure incredibly tough conditions, all in order to fight a ghostly terrorist threat - foreign fighters from state sponsors of jihad terrorism like Syria and Iran, in addition to Baa'thist party leftovers from Saddam's regime - while at the same time rebuilding a broken-down nation from the ground up. 
Mr. Hightower also briefly mentions in his article that "one of the blathering GOP congress critters, George Nethercutt of Spokane, recently went to Iraq on the taxpayer's dime for four days" and on his return, asserted that the positive things going on in Iraq are more important news than the deaths of soldiers. Mr. Nethercutt is perfectly entitled to believe this. Mr. Nethercutt is neither ignoring nor downplaying the deaths of soldiers by any means, he mentions them directly. Mr. Nethercutt is pointing out that wonderful things are going on in Iraq besides the death and destruction that saturates most major news outlets.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) website gives public testament to this fact each day - as USAID points out, "Potable water accessibility is 21.3 million liters as of November. The pre-war level was 12.9 million liters and the post-war level was 4 million liters." This is but one example of the many accomplishments in all sectors being listed and updated on the website. Unfortunately, many news outlets fail to cover accomplishments such as these - schools opening, oil flowing, people going shopping - because they don't deem them newsworthy. A quick look at statistics such as those made available from the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense speaks volumes, however, about the great strides being made in Iraq. 
The terrorist threat to the free world - the world that embraces democracy, liberty, and freedom - will be defeated. Iraq's stabilization will serve as an anchor for further democratization of the dictatorship-dominated Middle East, and defeating the jihad terrorist threat. Remembering our troops' sacrifice in Iraq, in addition to supporting them openly and regularly, is critical to ensuring their success and quick, safe return. Drawing parallels and developing criticism between the way our nation treats its fallen soldiers and the way another treats its fallen soldiers serves very little toward this end. 

Austin Givens

Austen Givens is a fourth-year Foreign Affairs major at the University of Virginia and an undergraduate fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a non-profit non-partisan anti-terrorism research institute based in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at masmacanudos@yahoo.com.

MCHD Board 

I am very disappointed in the four men that run our hospital district board. They show no concern for the health welfare for this entire county, especially our children. Their only concern is the tax dollar that they hold so very tight in their fist. It is only common sense that we take care of people when they are sick, documented or undocumented, if for no other reason than self preservation, not to mention the pure humanitarian reasons for doing so. 

Maxine DeVries 
Panorama Village, TX

Bush could have prevented 9/11

I am writing to you because I believe that the media is not adequately covering what is most likely the story of the century. Several days ago, the republican ex-governor of New Jersey, Thomas Kean, who was nominated by the Bush administration to uncover the facts of September 11th, has found that the Bush administration could have prevented September 11th. It was disgusting to see how the Bush administration has turned the terrible tragedy of the September 11th terrorist attacks and turned it into a political free-for-all but it is even more disgusting to know that it could have been prevented and the administration did not do what was needed to avoid this tragic loss of life. The Bush administration has truly let the American people down and the media should let the American people know this and cover this story adequately. The American people have a right to know about this story so that another terrorist attack of this magnitude will not happen again.

Name Withheld
Lisle, IL

News media not being Factual 

I read an Associated Press story, printed in newspapers and read by radio and television reporters across the nation and around the world, that said in the first paragraph, "Pentagon auditors found that Vice President Dick Cheney's former company overcharged by possibly as much as $61 million for gasoline in Iraq, senior defense officials said." 
Not true! Pentagon officials did not identify the company as "Vice President Dick Cheney's former company." They identified the company as Haliburton. But Haliburton did not overcharge; they overpaid. 
The story goes on to clearly state that "Haliburton apparently didn't profit from the overcharging." And the AP story continues, "The problem, the officials said, was that Haliburton paid a subcontractor too much for the gasoline in the first place." And the subcontractor was identified as Kellogg, Brown & Root. 
I believe a lot and maybe even the majority of Kellogg, Brown & Root stock is owned by members of the Johnson family or companies owned by them. That's Johnson as in "Lady Bird" or former Democratic President Lyndon. B. 
But by saying "Vice President Dick Cheney's former company overcharged Haliburton," Associated Press and every media source that reported the story was inferring some kind of bias or impropriety by the Bush-Cheny administration. 
Vice President Dick Cheny no longer has anything to do with Haliburton or its decisions. 
Further, previous U-S administrations... including the Johnson, Carter, and Clinton Democratic administrations...have relied on Haliburton to do foreign jobs without competitive bidding, because Haliburton is one uniquely qualified worldwide company. The whole world recognizes that fact. It's time the media did. 
And it is high time that all members of the news media, print and electronic, report the facts. 

R. T. "Dan" Hanchey 
Ridgeland, MS 

Now, what say you.

It's apparent that you don't care much for our President. That's too bad.
I think he's doing a fantastic job. Your gripe is that he's not been seen with the coffins of our dead soldiers. Two points to make:
First, thank God there have not been more dead soldiers, but considering the number of soldiers that actually went over there to Iraq, and the amount of firepower they've faced, and particularly the guerilla warfare that many are now engaged in, it is amazing that there have not been more casualties.
Point being that the over 300 casualties does not show a massive loss of life in a war where over 60,000 troops went over to engage in battle.
Second point, I have not heard one complaint about the "Commander in Chief” from the men and women who serve under his leadership. Nor have I heard any complaints from the family of fallen soldiers about the loss of their kin, or whether or not the President showed up and stood next to their coffins. 
Get over yourself. Your whining about what? We have had great success with this campaign, with comparatively little loss of life and amazingly low loss of "collateral damage." Or is it that you would prefer that thousands upon thousands continue to live under a dictator who feels that genocide is the call to order? Do you not think that America, your country, has increased its security, thereby increasing your personal security, with this war? Or would you rather live where your government, whose purpose is to ensure your "pursuit of life and liberty" is protected, just forked out billions of dollars on cleaning up the aftermath of terrorist attacks? (By that time, you or I may already be dead.)
Come on, get real, and complain about something with some sense.

Noel Shelton

MCHD's Number 1 Job

Why should Montgomery County Hospital District (MCHD) provide health care services to needy undocumented residents of our county?
It's a good question with rather compelling answers.
* It is the law. The Texas legislature created MCHD to accomplish specific purposes. Section 20 of the enabling legislation states: "The hospital district shall assume full responsibility for the furnishing of medical and hospital care for its needy inhabitants.”
Two years ago MCHD stopped providing care for those in our county. But the state legislature passed House Bill 2292 during this last session that allows our health districts to cover all its needy inhabitants. Only two counties - ours and Nueces - continue with the old policy. Why reverse it?
* It is in the public's best interest. Over the years, many different kinds of communicable disease have threatened the health of our citizenry. Influenza is the current issue. Last year, we were all concerned about a meningitis epidemic.
The children of undocumented workers go to school with our children and grandchildren. Their parents work in our homes and our yards, in restaurants where we eat and stores where we shop, and so on. It is important that these children and their parents have their illnesses treated quickly and properly-or the illnesses they have will be passed on to the larger population. Leaving any of our population without health care opens all of us to greater risk of infectious disease. It is smart, good public policy to take care of these illnesses before they can spread. Diseases such as tuberculosis do not know the difference between rich or poor, old or young. Do you want your child exposed to a communicable disease at school because other children lack basic health care?
* It is a wise use of scarce health care dollars. Our health care system is far from being an efficient or cost-effective system. We have many different health care providers that cooperate to some extent, compete to some extent, and mostly, try to operate profitably-which means pushing off costs somewhere else-or avoiding them when possible. While the insurance industry makes a profit, the average taxpayer loses out.
MCHD lowers taxes to look good at election time. But by not paying health care costs for the needy in our county, MCHD is increasing the total amount you and I are paying for health care. The cost of treatment is much more expensive in a hospital setting than in a doctor's office or clinic. Moreover, by not treating an illness early on, the cost becomes greater. For example, instead of treating simple high blood pressure in a clinic, we end up having to handle a stroke or heart attack in a hospital, at three to five times the cost.
Federal law mandates that hospitals treat everyone who arrives at an ER with an illness, even an earache. Patients who should be treated elsewhere wind up clogging up our emergency rooms so that people who are critically ill must be diverted to other hospitals for care, often at a great risk to human life. Do you want to have your loved one sent to a hospital farther down the road when they are critically ill because the closest ER is overcrowded and on drive-by status?
Who pays for this much more expensive treatment? We all do! The average person pays higher insurance premiums, higher deductibles and higher copays due to something called cost-shifting. What this means is that people with insurance indirectly wind up paying for those who don't. This past year, employees' share of insurance premiums increased dramatically. MCHD must establish a system that will ensure early, effective treatment of routine illness at the very lowest cost. We must seek insurance coverage for everyone who qualifies and needs it. We are trapped in a vicious cycle of spiraling costs that can only be broken by helping people obtain health care coverage, although admittedly this is only a partial solution to a complex problem. 
* It is the right thing to do. Aside from being the right thing to do economically and for public health reasons, taking care of undocumented residents is the right thing to do from a moral standpoint. Taking care of the less fortunate is fundamental to the teachings of all religions. We must also remember that undocumented workers often pay money into our social security system, directly pay sales tax, and indirectly pay property taxes by renting.
Sound information states that taking care of undocumented workers is just good medicine for all of us. Remember that the next time your child gets on a school bus, they may bring home a hideous illness that won't care where you work, or whether you wear a blue suit or blue jeans. 

Steven Farber M.D.
Chairman of HEART (Healthcare Excellence And Responsible Taxation)

Don Kaul 

The man should have a radio show and a television show and it should be required by law that you listen to or view one segment per week. He is, as always, funny, insightful, and RIGHT! 

Tina Ericson

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