Letters to the editor – 170816 – Aitkin Independent Age

Health care on life support

In the Aug. 2 edition of this paper, Thomas Olson of Mora wrote a letter entitled, Nolan working to fix health care. However, he fails to state one single thing Rep Nolan has done to fix the problem.

If he is so proud of Nolans work on the issue he should have listed a litany of those things our representative has done to fix the problem. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Nolan has done nothing and elections are getting closer. A little boost from an ardent supporter never hurts, even if its over a year before we go to the polls.

The way I see it is that Rick Nolan has done little if anything to prop up the 8th Congressional District in his three terms as our representative. I am sure I am not alone in that regard. On his/her best day, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is only one of 435 members and it is impossible to do anything without a majority acting in concert. Oh, thats right, the Democrats (both House and Senate) voted en masse against any repeal /replacement of the current mess.

I hold the cowardly Republicans just as guilty for not moving forward to provide a fix. They had seven years to come up with a replacement plan and as long they knew their plan would be vetoed they voted for it. Once they had the majority three Republicans (Murkowski, Collins and McCain) torpedoed it.

If bi-partisanship is what it takes to make changes then, so be it. But dont believe Rick Nolan has been going out on a limb to fix health care. The silence of his accomplishments has been deafening. He, like all the members of his caucus, march to Nancy Pelosis drum beat.

I dont think health care is dead yet, on life support but not dead. Lets hope our duly elected representatives can put party politics aside and do whats good for the country.

Pat Williams

Aitkin

The 57th annual Tamarack Hey Day held on the first Saturday in August has come and gone.

This year, as in many previous years, the day wrapped up with numerous people making a point of thanking me for putting on a fun-filled community event.

As president of the Tamarack Activities Club, I am recognized as the point person for the event. But it would be remiss of me to accept the appreciation of so many people without passing it along to those who really make the event happen.

Heres to the people going mostly unnoticed. To the people who lift and carry any number of heavy furnishings, equipment, embellishments. To the people who spend all day on their feet cooking and serving food in a concession stand, after they have spent several days making preparations.

And to the people who show up after their own work day to set up tents and carnival rides and fencing. And to the people who announce the parade and then spend the afternoon providing music for the crowd. And to the people who create floats or shine up vehicles to show off in the parade.

And to the people who drop what they are doing at the last minute to haul a load of sand, create a hay bale playground to provide fun for children or fix the electrical service.

Heres to the people who spend the day running games for others to play, and to announcers of prizes and events who are on the microphone for hours at a time. And to the people who share family photos and heirlooms for others to enjoy in the history tent.

And to the people who start the morning conducting a marathon and then provide a beanbag tournament and medallion hunt and end by picking up after others. To everyone who went out collecting prizes from hundreds of businesses. To sponsors.

To all the people who fill a spot, serve a need, solve a problem, create fun. To the mayor of Tamarack and city council members who worked for days to ensure a safe and attractive place to hold the event.

You did a great job!

Cheryl Meld

Tamarack

We recently received a mailing from the Aitkin County Health and Human Services. Page one tells how sensitive a childs brain is as it develops. Then pages four and five seem to contradict the first page, especially when it comes to mercury-based thimerosal in multi-dose vials of vaccines. If this mercury-based preservative is not harmful to a childs developing nervous system, then why are we warned to limit our consumption of tuna, etc.? Or why do they wear hazmat suits to clean up a broken curly-style lightbulb with a trace amount of mercury?

In doing some research, I checked the Pro-Con Vaccines website. It told of 1989 as the year Congress took away our right to sue for damages done by vaccines. Instead, now there is a fund to pay for those damages, but the number of claims denied is more than double the claims accepted.

So what can a parent or guardian do? First, find a doctor who really listens to you and your concerns. Second, insist vaccines used are single dose, not from multiple dose vials with thimerosal. Third, pray about it. Some years ago, my wife, Susan, and I were pondering whether to get a certain vaccine for our son. We prayed about it and the answer came clear as a bell!

Finally, the county brochure refers to herd immunity. Just as important is herd mentality, going the path of least resistance and following the crowd. Please remember this: whatever decision you make may have lifetime consequences.

Pastor Bill Sass

Palisade

On President Obamas watch: millions more on food stamps; millions more on Medicaid; millions more on welfare; millions more in poverty; thousands of oppressive rules and regulations added, costing businesses billions annually, raising product costs; a slew of Executive Orders, many without required legislative approval; added 12,600 government employees last two weeks in office.

In his last weeks, Obama arbitrarily declassified thousands of sensitive documents, thus allowing them to be selectively leaked to the liberal media. In 2016, allowed in 100,000 illegal Syrians, unvetted. How many were ISIS-inclined? The Benghazi fiasco; North Koreas imminent threat largely ignored; $300 million ransom payment to Iran (counter to U.S. policy) and later an additional $150 billion. Some of that money has ostensibly found its way to Kim Jong Un. Released around 160 of 200 plus remaining Guantanamo Bay terrorist prisoners, one a Bin Laden guard. Two years later, 20 percent had returned to terrorism.

Special forces had Osama Bin Laden in their crosshairs (first encounter); Obama said no to outing him. Obama and Clinton gave Russias Putin 20 percent of the U.S. uranium stockpile in exchange for $145 million into the Clinton Foundation. Sold out Israel at the U.N. and spent taxpayer money to upset Netanyahus reelection. Israel is our staunchest ally and only democracy between Africa and Asia. Severely decimated the U.S. military capability. The stronger we are, the safer we are. Foreign policy abysmal, ie. Syria, North Korea, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan. In the latter two, he reduced troop count, increased it, reduced and each time telegraphing to the enemy numbers and when.

Disastrous Obamacare. You can keep your doctor and your plan. Lies. Premiums on average will go down $2,500 a month. They went up $2,500. And Obama raided the Medicare fund of billions to sustain Obamacare.

Obama and Clinton both told the media they had convinced Syrias Bashar Assad to destroy his chemical weapons. Not. April 2017 he chemically killed many more. President Trump immediately acted.

Economy, tepid. Two economic barometers are GDP: historically rises around three percent annually. Significantly lower under Obama. In late 2016, 1.4 percent. Dow-Jones average on election day was 17,200. Six months with Trump 22,000 plus and a million new jobs created.

The alleged Trump-Russia hacking issue the media and Democratic hierarchy have been hyperventilating over for months has no basis. Three months before the election, the three security agencies advised Obama that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee. Obama did nothing.

Outgoing presidents pardon incarcerated persons, typically 150-300. Obama pardoned nearly 2,000; many were lifers, in for murder. Pvt. Bradley Manning was serving 35 years for releasing 750,000 classified documents pardoned after seven years.

Now out of office, Obama is deeply involved with Organizing For Action. OFA is 30,000-strong and dedicated to stonewalling and disrupting everything the new administration tries to accomplish. President Obama was a micro-manager, frequently ignoring the advice of his cabinet and generals. Some of those generals are now speaking out.

Several of the items listed potentially impact our security.

Obama has done a monumental disservice to our country.

Jim Warneke

Aitkin

Most people appear to give little credibility to the idea of aliens in UFOs. Having followed this subject for decades, there is no doubt about such existences and the role they have played in bringing our civilization to its present state. You will not get any satisfaction from our government about this because a mandate by the defense part of government number 0463, I believe, makes it a federal crime for anyone in government to tell us about them, even if such government people have worked with aliens. For information as to what they are and how they are linked to Christianity, you can check out the Urantia Book (Urantiabook.com), which tells about it.

The concern at present is what happens if North Korea makes good on its intention to perhaps make targets in the USA. With our president, who has said he will take care of the matter maybe with nuclear bombs, the response is quite clear based on what has happened to other planets according to people who once were on such other planets. The story about the Koradorians seems to tell us what aliens do to mortal races who intend to destroy their environment due to conflicts.

What happened to the Koradorians was the Cold Death which was caused by space clouds of hydrogen put between their star Korena and the planet Korendor. This caused Korendor temperatures to go to minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of 40 years. The result was the reduction of the planets population from six billion to 40,000. It was painful to start all over again.

If nuclear bombs on our planet are launched they will never likely reach their targets because aliens will stop them. Then, having lost our right to be on Earth, life will eventually start all over again on planet Earth, called Urantia by aliens.

Things are not right when our defense industry takes on the job of political intrigue as part if its role of defending the country. They kill people who disagree with them! They muzzle people in government by their mandate to say nothing about aliens. This kills our concept of freedom of speech because such freedom is worthless if you dont know what you are talking about. Our minds cannot conceive intelligent ideas about something it has no knowledge of.

Robert Newton

Aitkin

Are you one of the many farmers without an identified farm successor? Purdue University says thats around 75 percent and about half expect nonfamily members to take over. A gradual shift of responsibilities and ownership, plus an extended mentoring period, can help ensure the continued success of the farm business.

After checking out a candidates experience and references, a short trial period with paid labor can be a good step. This probationary period can help both of you assess how well you work together, how your daily priorities match up and how you deal with setbacks.

A phased transition plan can follow, based on the goals and capabilities of you and your successor. Responsibilities for farm decisions and management can be shifted gradually or by specific enterprises. Critical elements may be held for later, while new enterprises conceived by the new farmer could be her or his full responsibility and ownership right away.

A written transition plan can ensure that timing and responsibilities are clear. A five-year plan for major progress will tell you if it's working.

A new farmer will benefit from your knowledge of your land and from your experience in the business. Remaining a minority partner or a mentor gives access to your valuable advice. However, there are no guarantees of the farm business surviving the transfer, or indeed, from any year to the next under your control. You have gained skills and have built a business to withstand financial, weather and market risks. But your successor will be operating in a world with a market and regulatory climate that differs from when you farmed. You have to be prepared to accept that decisions will be made that would not match yours.

The Center for Rural Affairs has resources for retiring and beginning farmers at http://www.cfra.org/beginningfarmer-rancher.

Wyatt Fraas

Center for Rural Affairs

Lyons, Neb.

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Letters to the editor - 170816 - Aitkin Independent Age