Love Letters, hate mail

Hey, Dummy

(Re: "As the Tap Turns," June 28-July4, vol. 21, no. 53,)

Dear UTW:

No mention of sodium fluoride?

Bone cancer and lowering of IQs?

I live in the country and drink real water and can see the dumbing down of Tulsa is apparent.

--Matthew Sius

Go Jump in a Lake

Dear UTW:

My U.S. Senator, Tom Coburn, a baby doctor who took an oath to save lives, has signed my death certificate. He did it by saying on television that "Any politician who says he is not going to cut Medicare is not telling you to the truth."

I am a breast cancer survivor who owes my life to Medicare. Medicare paid for my surgery and chemotherapy and pays for mammograms, hormone suppression, and continuing check-ups with the surgeon, oncologist and radiologist.

Without Medicare this retired dental hygenist living on my Social Security would have been dead and buried.

Coburn would rather cut than save this most successful health care program in American history. Coburn supports the Ryan plan that destroys our present Medicare and replaces it with a voucher system in which you will have to shop for a health care provider on the private market.

And, we, old folks, would pay more for the Ryan plan than we do for Medicare. I won't be able to afford it so call the undertaker.

Pish Posh. Horsefeathers. Hogwash.

Let's save Medicare by raising the payroll or Social Security tax in which the employee and the employer share the cost. And, when any politican tells you he or she is for "entitlement reform" those are code words for cutting Medicare. Tell the politician to go jump in the lake.

--Virginia Blue Jeans Jenner

Life Quality

Dear UTW:

What is Quality of life for our veterans? The meaning for most upon returning home is security. Jobs that offer equitable pay with benefits, home ownership, education opportunity.

Many veterans returning home bring with them acquired skills. Skills they did not have prior to entering the military. These personnel are the support groups who maintain and operate equipment. They are apart from those whose primary duty is combat. For the most part, they are well trained in job skills. They are mechanics, builders, electronics technicians, equipment operators, medical technicians, cooks, bakers,administrative personnel; just to name a few skills they bring home. Most have attended schools in the military.

Those personnel who do require education, it is available to them through government programs. Programs that offer a variety of productive skills. Veterans Affairs (VA) have counselors to help in their decision making process. Many of these counselors maintain offices in nearly all schools of higher education.

Employers can be eligible for tax break incentives for hiring veterans. Some might say,why give preferential treatment to veterans? Militarypersonnel of all branches can and often are placed in harms way. Their main obligation is to maintain our Country's posterity, freedom from oppression as a sovereign nation. They have earned the hard way a right to better quality of life.

Many returning veterans are not without problems, medical and mental. Here again, one other purpose of our VA is to afford its veterans undeniable medical and mental care. All the veteran should need to verify service is their DD-214 proof of military service and discharge under honorable conditions. In the event of being in combat, proof of medals in a combat campaign.

For any service connected disability, whether it be combat or non-combat, proof of that disability. Military personnel at discharge should make copies of their DD-214, record of awards, record of duty stations, medical records that could be significant for possible disability medical issues in the future. If and or when a time lends itself, these records become valuable in making a VA claim. Congress and Senate introduces legislation for VA disability to help veterans. How many of these Bills are stuck in committee? Our best support is theAmerican people to write Congress and Senate, ask them to support our veterans in need for medical care and compensation. --John J. Bury, US Navy/retired, Vietnam War veteran, Media, Pa.