The American Spectator

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A FEW INCONVENIENT FACTS
Re: Philip Klein's The Myth of the 46 Million:

I have often wondered what facts were put forward when Medicare was under consideration by the Congress?  What were the numbers of uninsured elderly and were they truly going without health care? Or, did it just seem like a good thing to do for the senior citizens (especially when life expectancy was so much lower)? Why are the proponents of government health care for all so reluctant to examine the facts?
-- Martha Francois
Portland, Oregon

Our Democrats in Washington have decided to nationalize health care this year. Our health care costs about $1.5 trillion annually (it should be called sick care -- care of the healthy costs little or nothing) in order to decrease this cost while extending health insurance to all 300 million citizens from the 250 million insured now. Of this total cost of $1.5 trillion about one third or $500 billion is spent on malpractice insurance and defensive medicine.

The combined population of Japan, Germany, and Great Britain is some 250 million; those three countries have a total of 35,000 lawyers. We maintain some 1,100,000 lawyers in this country in the style to which they have become accustomed, which is very much higher than that of an average American professional.

How come this enormous difference? Well, in all developed countries except ours the loser in a court case pays all the costs -- of the court and of the defendant, both direct and indirect; here the loser just walks away to sue somebody else, preferably a private drug corporation, a doctor, a hospital, or anybody with a deep pocket. Our trial lawyers are hyenas sucking the blood of this country's economy, with the help of phony experts and primitive juries.
-- Marc Jeric
Las Vegas, Nevada

WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD
Re: Joseph Shattan's The Day Our House Caught Fire:

I had thought that President Obama was really Rand's Mr. Thompson. Having seen him off-teleprompter recently, I'm beginning to think he is really Kosinski's Chance the Gardener. I wonder if you can get a handheld teleprompter with canned responses to expected questions? You simply can't make up this stuff! We may be on the road to a brave, new stagflation, but at least we'll have a rollicking good time on the way there as we continually experience the Obamamessiah's verbal pratfalls. Bush was supposed to be the dumb one? The comedians have been unable to find anything funny about Obama? Come on, get real! We need to pull back the curtain and find out who is behind the great and glorious Oz...er, Obama.
-- Stephen Zierak
Kansas City, Missouri

NOT AS PERFECT AS IT SEEMS
Re: Ben Stein's Straight A's for AA:

I enjoy listening to you and admire you, but you do realize how draconian and AIG-like AMR management has been, don't you? 

Whilst the employees of American Airlines have given back BILLIONS in concessions and thousands of lay-offs, the management at AMR has reaped almost $300,000,000 in bonuses in the few years.

When the strikes at American start happening due to stalled negotiations, you will understand our deep-seated despise of AMR management. If we are nice to you, it is because that is the way people should treat people at all times, especially in business.  It is sad that you have to write an article about being treated nice. Also, we, as employees, are intimately aware of where our bread is buttered. That cannot be said about AMR since the employees are their customers.  As is said on a daily basis at Southwest Airlines where my wife works, "Take care of your employees, they will take care of business."
-- Jim K. Walton
Captain, American Airlines
Chicago, Illinois

DEPT. OF INVIDIOUS COMPARISONS
Re: W. James Antle, III's Red Ink and Blue Dogs:

Does not anyone else see the irony?