LETTERS: Jan. 24, 2010

C’Town resident unhappy with Hill’s votes



Dear Congressman Baron Hill,

I believe you could save the taxpayers a lot of money if you would just throw the Constitution in the trash, get rid of the House of Representatives, and Senate, with the exception of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and, of course, the president. They are making all the laws anyway.

That way we could save all your salaries, the salaries of your staffs, the expense of your offices, the expense of all those “fact-finding trips,” their travel to and from Washington, and the expense of upkeep of the Capitol. Perhaps, we could rent it to the Chinese. They will probably be looking for a large office building soon.

You may be able to see the sarcasm in the above statement. I believe in the Constitution, even if you, as my elected representative, don’t.

As I understand that document, you are to represent your constituents, not your leaders. According to the polls, 61 percent of us are against the health care bill. That doesn’t seem to affect you in your vote.

You call yourself a Blue Dog Democrat. Your record doesn’t support that. I cannot vouch for all bills, but lately you have voted right down the line with Pelosi.

The so-called “stimulus bills” have failed, I feel, and now I am hearing that the president wants another one. I have always heard that, “an idiot is one who keeps doing the same thing and expects a different outcome.”

I wish you would take a page from the Democrat’s hero playbook — President Kennedy — and reduce taxes to the people that do the hiring, putting people to work.

Tax revenues go up and we will surely need to have more tax money to pay for all the free money you have given out. This has worked every time it has been tried, so we shouldn’t get a different result.

— Gordon McCall, Charlestown





Nutritionist applauds surgeon general



As a nutrition researcher, I want to congratulate Dr. Regina Benjamin, America’s new surgeon general, and thank her for the commitment she has made to working toward a healthier nation.

Dr. Benjamin has been refreshingly candid about her own battles against a family history of chronic disease and challenging weight issues. She understands what many Americans are going through to pry themselves loose from unhealthful eating habits. And now, in her role as a policy leader, I am hoping she will pry the federal government away from its unhealthy habit of subsidizing meat, dairy products, and sugar. I hope she will pry our school lunch programs away from old-fashioned rules that favor chicken nuggets and pepperoni pizza and make healthy plant-based meals hard to find.

If she can turn the tough personal battles millions of Americans have with unhealthy foods into a winnable national war on obesity, she will be the most influential surgeon general this nation has ever had. For more information about healthful food choices, please visit PCRM.org.

— Neal Barnard, M.D., President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, D.C.

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