Seize the holiday to honor troops

As a proud Vietnam veteran preparing for Veterans Day, I find it tragic that so many of my fellow Americans view Nov. 11 as just another day off work. I lost friends in Vietnam, and I made a promise to myself that our comrades would never be forgotten.

With wars on two fronts—and the Veterans Administration workload topping a million claims—it's time for all Americans to remember what Veterans Day is all about.

Call one of our local Veterans of Foreign Wars posts to take part in our ceremonies. And as we near the holidays, please keep our deployed troops and their families in your prayers. Send a care package or donate to a program, such as VFW Operation Uplink, http://www.operationuplink.org. Always remember those who have fought for your freedom.

Reform bill will ruin health care

So the House has passed the health care legislation that has been termed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the most important piece of legislation since Social Security, which is broke, and Medicare, which is going broke.

Funny how the Democrats, liberals or progressives seem to think spending our money on programs that will ultimately fail are historic.

Is the historic nature the fact that these programs have always failed and they keep passing them? Or, is it that they have succeeded in denuding the independent, self-reliant nature that founded our country?

Personally, I believe it is far more sinister. When someone else tells us they know what is best for us we are normally suspicious. Seems in these matters we are just plain ignorant.

Congratulations Democrats, you ran our educational system into the ground and now you're starting on health care.

We must curtail insurance firms

I have been a registered nurse for 36 years. I am sickened and appalled by the stance taken by the Republicans and some of our “;Blue Dog”; Democrats.

I strongly support single-payer health care as the only viable fix for our society.

Insurance companies are a drain on the system and an impediment to adequate care. Their profits can only be generated by increased premiums or refusal to pay for direct care. Either way, the patient suffers. Throw out these parasites! It will take time to marginalize them, but a healthy step along the way would be to remove their antitrust exemption.

You can learn outside of class

President Lincoln had less than one year of formal schooling and learned by borrowing books. Thomas Edison was schooled by his mother. Albert Einstein skipped many classes and instead spent that time reading in his school's library.

These were ordinary children who willed themselves to become extraordinary men. These examples extol the virtue of taking the initiative and the value of learning outside the classroom. Anyone complaining that furlough days impede their child's education is taking a very dim view of their child's potential and ability—not to mention ignorance of the wonderful world around them, just waiting to be investigated.

With all the options available today (Internet, History and Discovery channels, newspapers and magazines, museum tours ... and books!) there is absolutely no excuse to not educate oneself. So get busy! Time's a wastin'!