Nothing is safe
Editor, The Citizen:
Where to begin. There is so much frustration out there and so much, so wrong going on, that it is hard to know which one to hone in on. However, after reading Tom Clairmont's letter to the editor about the hospital's plight in view of the Medicaid cuts, etc. I wanted to say something. This along with other things going on with hospital funds by the State and again the piece in Wednesday's paper, make me want to weigh in on it.
Unfortunately, most people simply read something, move on to the next article and do nothing. When the bottom falls out and they are personally affected they react. Too late! We must all react NOW. We must call, write, e-mail, whatever, our state senators and insist they restore Medicaid funding and return the $110 million they stole from the malpractice fund paid entirely by participating doctors and our own Lakes Region General Hospital. Not one penny of this money was funded by the State nor was it a program managed by the State. It seems nothing is safe or protected from the State.
We have State Senators and Representatives who continually take credit for increasing the number of people to be covered with insurance, namely children, and then take monies away from the institutions who have to deliver this healthcare to everyone including this growing number of participants. The Federal government wants to improve and nationalize healthcare. We all want protection for all citizens but how it can be done without costing more cuts to doctors and hospitals will be a huge problem. We all want medical care, but even more important, we want quality care. Will it be available to us if hospitals and doctors are denied reasonable payment. As Tom Clairmont, President of LRGH, said Wednesday, if the present State bill is not reversed, it could lead to layoffs and shrink the range of services and patients would have wait for care. This will affect all patients, not just Medicaid patients as more of the costs will be passed on to the private patients with private insurance, and that will mean increases in premiums to them down the line as well as feeling the effects of limited care.
The number I called yesterday for our State Senator Sgambati is 1-603-271-2641. If no answer, leave message. The message should be to reverse cutting Medicaid payments to hospitals.
Brenda Baer
Laconia
Separate but equal
Editor, The Citizen:
I'm from a line of New Hampshire ministers and fine families.
Born in Manchester, I now live in Massachusetts.
People who use the bible to justify their supporting segregation of peoples today, fail to realize that the bible also states many other things are abominations and that people should be stoned for ridiculous things. Stoning is barbaric, and no one plucks their eyes out. Segregation is barbaric and sadly it goes on in these United States Still. If we asked women to cover their heads and keep silent in the churches, it too is in the bible, but bronze aged.
Water fountains for whites and colored provided the same water, yet the message left the minority at the hands of lynchers and justified bullies to act.
Sexual bullying in schools is bred by the arrogance of self-elevated adults. Children actually commit suicide or get beaten up by ill-messages sent.
Live in peace as a community that strives to achieve goodness and love. Gay marriage has become a non-issue for the vast numbers of people living in Massachusetts today. Now that bullies from other states have left, we live in peace and we hardly read an unkind letter to the editor anymore.
Anti gay marriage is not just an opinion, it kills some and injures every one of our youth.
The governor must sign this bill sending a message that New Hampshire people must live in peace and be gratious to each other. Don't be a bully, spread peace.
Forrest Bradford
Agawam, Mass.
Doomed to failure
Editor, The Citizen:
Attached please find a copy of a letter we sent to Bishop McCormack:
Dear Bishop McCormmack:
Slightly more than two years ago the Diocese of Manchester notified the parishioners of Laconia, Belmont, Tilton and Franklin of the need to consolidate some of the parishes. The parishioners were requested to complete their recommendations for parish consolidation within 9 weeks and forward them to Manchester.
The Diocese did not respond to the parishioners for more than a year. Granted that a few listening meetings were held locally. Finally after more than a year after the parishioners submitted their plan we attended a meeting with Rev. Robert Gorski.
The meeting at best was tumultuous and it was very clear that Rev. Gorsky did not want to listen to suggestions from the parishioners. The Reverend stated that this meeting was being conducted as the Bishop and his staff had rejected the plan. It is difficult to understand why the parishioners had only 9 weeks to submit a plan and the Diocese needed more than a year to reject our plan. Also the Diocese did not present thru Rev. Gorski any suggestions to improve the parishioners plan other than one city parish.
Now on May 4th you tell us the following:
1) That you the bishop have developed a plan for a city-wide parish. This comes as no surprise to the parishioners.
2) That you the Bishop have decreed that the "new" city parish will have a new Pastor and an associate Pastor. Also the two incumbent Pastors, Father Kosmowski and Father Longchamps, will have new assignments. This part of the new plan is a disaster waiting to happen. It would be prudent from a business point of view to retain one or both of the incumbent Pastors to provide transition from the three parishes to one city wide parish.
3) This transition has been tainted since the development of the plan. All that has happened is the alienation of the parishioners from the Diocese and from the Bishop. If this plan remains in place as presented it is doomed to failure.
Michael and Carol Skerry
Winnisquam
Fox news interview
Editor, The Citizen:
The sisters of Kathy Lynn Gloddy who was murdered in Franklin, NH on 11/21/1971 just did an interview with Fox news in Boston that will be aired this Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 pm. or you can see it at www.myfoxboston.com.
Janet Gloddy Young
Northfield
Awesome outdoors
Editor, The Citizen:
Growing up in a suburban neighborhood in the ‘20s and ‘30s, we children spent most of our playtime out of doors. Rollerskating, hopscotch, jumprope, red-rover, giant steps, kickball, badminton, horseshoes, croquet, and many more “street” games kept us occupied. (Note: Street games meant games played in the street as cars were scarce. Fathers drove them to work. Mothers stayed home.) In winter, we went coasting, built snow forts, snowmen, and snow angels.
Today’s children sit glued to the television set for hours on end or stare at a computer screen to play a game (many of which are terrifying or violent).
I saw a poster in a store window that piqued my interest. The Squam Lake Natural Science Center recognizes the indoor status of today’s children and is actually doing something about it. They are celebrating National Get Outdoors Day, Saturday, June 13, by granting free admission for children who are accompanied by an adult who has paid admission.
The trails, animals, and exhibit buildings will enhance the outdoor life and a climb up Mount Fayal (with the proper shoes) will be exhilarating and adventuresome. The outdoor world is awesome. Anyone for a game of red-rover?
Natalie McCormack Parsons
Center Harbor
Dysfunctional UN
Editor, The Citizen,
Sir, The UN has condemned Israel for targerting the UN compaound in Gaza in January this year. Death and injuries to civilians resulted from Israeli fire. Israel undertook an enquiry into this regrettable event and found no deviation from its renound standards in the conduct of war.
The UN is dysfunctional in its inability to pass resolutions fairly. Is the UN condemning the government in Gaza for deliberate targeting of civilians?
Selwyn Oskowitz
Brookline, Mass.
Restoring access
Editor, The Citizen:
One of the signature accomplishments of the Clinton Administration was the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act (1993) which provided workers unpaid time off to deal with personal or family medical crises. Last year, former President Bush’s Department of Labor placed restrictions on this act, making it more difficult for employees to benefit from it.
Fortunately, our Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter recently introduced legislation, the Family and Medical Leave Restoration Act, to revoke these restrictions and restore the unpaid leave act to its original scope. Among other things, Shea-Porter’s proposal protects employee privacy by reversing regulations that would allow an employer to contact a worker’s medical provider. In addition, it restores protections prohibiting the waiving of an employee’s family medical leave rights without review and approval by the Department of Labor or the courts. This bill also prohibits employers from placing limitations on the use of accrued paid leave while a worker is taking family medical leave.
As Shea-Porter recently noted, “The Family and Medical Leave Act helps ensure that workers do not have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for loved ones or themselves.” The burden imposed by a personal medical crisis or one involving a family member is bad enough without also having to worry about losing a job.
Nancy Winterbottom
Durham
UN report on Gaza war
Editor, The Citizen:
There is no question that Israel has been and continues to work towards peace, but pressuring Israel and the region to move towards a two-state solution quickly comes with a set of serious risks as well.
Israel left all of Gaza in 2005 but, in return, has endured thousands of rockets from Iran-backed-Hamas. How is Israel to make peace when Hamas controls Gaza and they don’t accept Israel’s right to exist?
Peace is not just about land disputes. It’s about jobs, prosperity and hope for all sides of the conflict — for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Every Palestinian child deserves a better future, and so does every Israeli child. If we can agree on that, and Palestinians can stop doing those things that hurt children on both sides, Israel and Palestinians can start on the road to mutual understanding and mutual respect. America should look at the larger picture. We have to think about the future, not live in the past or complain about the present. This is not about territory. It is about terrorism.
The biggest threat to a two-state solution is Iran. Iran is a threat not only to Israel but also to the region and the world. Iran has an interest in destabilizing the region and working against a peaceful solution to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. After Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad’s recent tirade against Israel during the United Nations “Durban II” conference on racism in Geneva, there can no doubt of his intentions. Iran funds its proxy Hamas in an effort to derail any peace arrangements. The Iranian President has called for Israel to be wiped off the map and denies the Holocaust. He calls Israel a “stinking corpse” that is on its way to annihilation. The Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, refers to Israel as a “cancerous tumor of a state (that) should be removed from the region”. Iranian Army General Commander Atoallah Salehi recently bragged that it will only take them (Iran) 11 days “to wipe Israel out of existence”.
Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a defensive 22-day ground and air operation in Gaza on December 27, 2008 in an effort to halt years of Hamas rocket fire into Israel and arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory, which is controlled by the militant group. Over 6,500 rockets have been fired by Iran-backed Hamas into Israel from Gaza since 2005 after Israel uprooted its citizens and unilaterally withdrew . 3,200 rockets were fired into Israel in 2008 alone. Why is there nothing in the U.N. report condemning Hamas for targeting innocent civilians in southern Israel?
Earlier this week, at AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference in Washington, DC, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed conference participants via satellite and said “We (Israel) seek expanded relations with the Arab world. We want normalization of economic ties and diplomatic ties. We want peace with the Arab world. But we also want peace with the Palestinians. That peace has eluded us for more than 13 years. Six successive prime ministers of Israel and two American presidents have not succeeded in achieving this final peace settlement. I believe it is possible to achieve it, but I think it requires a fresh approach, and the fresh approach that I suggest is pursuing a triple track towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians — a political track, a security track, an economic track.”
Despite this new U.N. report and other daily criticism from the world community, Israel strives to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinian people. It is time for the world community to stand for peace and stand with Israel in its efforts to achieve a lasting peace.
Marcia Rosman
Stoughton, Mass.
