Nov. 7: a day which will live in infamy

To rephrase a hero of Democrats, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his famous speech to Congress on the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:

On November 7, 2009 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States Constitution and the freedom of the American people were deliberately attacked. This attack was especially insidious because it came, not from a foreign military power or a bomb-wielding terrorist, but from the very institution created by the Constitution to defend our freedom: The House of Representatives of the United States Congress.

The soldiers who led this attack were almost entirely comprised of members of the Democratic Party.

In passing Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s health-care reform bill, which any clear-eyed observer knows will impose massive tax increases, will prevent us from being able to make any choices regarding what medical insurance we have and how we get our medical care, the Democrats in the House have demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt they cannot be trusted to uphold their oath to defend the Constitution or to protect our freedom.

Every member of Congress who voted for this bill must be removed from office in the elections of 2010.

I call upon the younger generations, those of you in your twenties and thirties who will bear the brunt of the cost of such legislation, to rise up and throw them out. Elect new Democrats if that is your choice, but the current members simply have to go. If you let them continue to ignore the will of the people and impose such draconian measures upon us, you will have decided to become serfs, and Congress will be your master.

Don’t do it. Choose freedom.

Remember something else Roosevelt said in his Pearl Harbor speech: “I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.”

It is time again for war. Sadly, we must wage it against our own elected representatives.

— Mike Griffin, Redmond

Biggest threat to American freedom? Really?

So while speaking to a group carrying signs, including graphic images of Dachau concentration camps and Obama as Sambo, House Republican Leader John Boehner declared health-care reform to be the biggest threat to freedom he has ever seen [“Voices raised on health care,” News, Nov. 6].

So it’s not domestic wiretapping.

It’s not abandoning habeas corpus, or the more than 4,000 Americans who have given all of their freedom dying in a war that was based on nonexistent links to the 9/11 attacks and weapons of mass destruction.

No, the biggest threat to American freedom is those Democrats wanting to provide 45 million Americans with health insurance and eliminate pre-existing conditions, lifetime caps and rescissions.

If we dare to limit an insurance company’s freedom to deny coverage or create a Medicare-like, government-run insurance company for 2 to 3 percent of the population, then we are only one small step away from the government running every aspect of our lives?

More than 44,000 thousand people die in this country each year for lack of health insurance, but House Minority Whip Eric Cantor stated not one Republican will vote for this bill.

I would encourage all in congressman Dave Reichert’s district to note this next time he says he is a moderate.

— Tara Van Niman, Redmond

Thank you, Rep. McDermott

Thank you, Rep. Jim McDermott. My same-sex husband and I greatly appreciated the inclusion in the federal health bill of an item that would put us on a more equal footing with our heterosexual co-workers [“House passes health plan,” page one, Nov. 8].

We were legally married in California last year, and like many spouses my husband is covered under my employer-provided health insurance. But unlike other married couples, we are taxed more because our government will not consider us married.

It sticks in our craw each month when my paycheck shows $350 (the value of the insurance) artificially added to my gross pay. Nice if we got to keep that $350, but it’s immediately deducted before my net pay is calculated, so it merely serves to inflate my income to make my income tax higher. At my tax rate, that’s $75 a month more income tax.

Ending the discriminatory taxation of domestic partner health-care benefits will keep us from having to pay a tax that our straight married co-workers are exempt from. Here’s hoping this item makes it into the final health bill.

We are pleased McDermott is our representative. He consistently stands on the side of principle and fairness.

— Ken Molsberry and Chris Vincent, Seattle

A photo capturing seniority

It was with some amusement that I noticed the photograph of demonstrators protesting the Democrats’ health-care bill.

Presumably they are enraged at the prospect of a public option.

A perusal of the photo by myself and family had us pretty convinced that these protesters were, if not at least 65 years of age, then rapidly approaching that milestone.

As we know, this is the age when that socialistic public option we refer to as Medicare kicks in. There is no doubt in my mind that this is not the socialism and destruction of America they have in mind.

One also has to wonder why after banks, insurance companies and large corporations have so recently proven their incompetence, that this group of protesters would wish to entrust their health care to these same people.

— Aurora King-Hedinger, Shoreline