Viewpoints

To the Editor:

Medicare protects senior citizens and people with disabilities from exorbitant health care costs. Before this national insurance program was passed in 1966, seniors were charged up to three times as much for health insurance as younger people. Many could not afford the treatment they needed.

The current administration promised not to make cuts to Medicare but has since broken that promise. In 2017, the administration and Republicans in Congress proposed slashing Medicare by $845 billion in order to balance the budget after they gave billionaires and wealthy corporations a $1.5 trillion tax cut. They risked coverage for the 55 million Americans who rely on Medicare.

This administration still has Medicare in its sights and multiple Washington insiders have said that gutting the program is being called “a fun second-term project.”

To the Editor:

The nights of September 15 and September 16 Democratic campaign signs were stolen from five houses in Postville. Some of these signs have been found in the storm sewers of Postville. For obvious reasons these signs had to be removed. In the following days, a group of people were yelling political slogans at people who had signs stolen.

The times we are living in are very unfortunate, where respect has been lost and where insulting and assaulting is well regarded. We remember that throughout the years, Republicans and Democrats, although we have very different ideas, we have been able to live with a respectful relationship. The facts do not only refer to the stolen signs, but to the abyss that some Republicans have taken their party, before the health of the American people; being first Republicans and then American citizens. Some Republicans have expressed disagreement with their party’s decisions and are ashamed of what their party has become.

To the Editor:

One thing the pandemic has led to for me is more fishing with my boys since April, mainly in the Upper Iowa. In April they caught perch, one after another, and just recently we caught a 10 species night on the Upper Iowa. This is such a testament to agriculture and conservation in this county and farmers who care about the land and water quality.

This summer we took a trip to South Dakota and on the way back I couldn’t help but notice how different agriculture is here compared to the vast stretches of corn across the flat parts of the Midwest. This area is so diverse in our farming and conservation practices; while taking a drive a person will likely see pasture, hay, corn, soybeans and CRP in the same view.

COVID-19, political division, and civil unrest are among the current events making it feel like the world as we know it is unraveling.

So, for the past several months of Sunday worship, my congregation and I have been exploring Bible stories from the Old and New testaments that speak to the unraveling of life.

These stories and their leading characters experience the unraveling of their identities, their dreams, and their expectations. Unsettling circumstances back in the day are speaking to unsettling circumstances in the here and now.

So far, in the Scripture and sermon series, “Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Falls Apart” –

We’ve met Sarah, who carries the pain of infertility into old age. But God surprises her by sending her a child. Sometimes, God turns your unraveled plans into unexpected joy – if you’re willing to receive God’s gift. (Genesis 21:1-7)

To the Editor:

As a parent and consumer, safe food practices are important to me. We have a family of five that eats and drinks dairy products at every meal of the day, and sometimes we drink a whole gallon of milk during one sitting. I’m proud to say I grew up on an Iowa dairy farm, and because of those experiences, I want to give others a view of how a dairy farmer ensures they produce a safe product.

Taking care of dairy cattle has its ups and downs. When cattle get sick, it’s no different if you or I get sick. I take my children to the doctor and follow a doctor’s recommendations for the course of treatment to get them healthy. Likewise, when we had sick cattle, we had a veterinarian visit the farm and follow their suggestion for treatment.

Also, as humans there are times when we are sick and need antibiotics to help us get healthy. The same goes for our favorite pet and yes, livestock.

To the Editor:

Years ago, I heard a story of a little girl about five years old - an only child of wealthy parents. Before Christmas they asked her what she wanted and over time there was a list of 10 items.

Christmas morning, she came down the stairs and all of those gifts were wrapped and under the tree. Her parents sat on the couch watching her open them one by one. She’d unwrap it, look at it, and then set it aside. When she had unwrapped them all, she started to cry. Her father asked, “What’s wrong honey?” Through the sobbing she replied, “You forgot one”.

I’ve never forgotten that story. It really hit home because I find that I can be exactly like that with God. I seem to have no trouble bringing Him the list of things I want, but I’m not so good at thanking Him for everything He gives and has given to me and my family.

To the Editor:

My mother-in-law was one of the nearly 200,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 so far this year. Olly lived in a nursing home.

I always imagined that my husband and I would be able to sit with her and hold her hand when she neared her death, so she wouldn’t be alone. But when she began to have trouble breathing one morning in late June and began rapidly declining, she was isolated in her room and given a COVID-19 test.

Only one nurse could enter. She checked on Olly once an hour until, a day later, she went in and Olly had died, alone. Because the virus had spread so virulently and you couldn’t know who might bring it into the nursing home, we had not been allowed to see Olly for several months.

To the Editor:

This Administration has joined with Republican Attorneys General from 17 states to bring a case before the Supreme Court that seeks to strike down the Affordable Care Act. If successful, this would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program wiping out coverage for 23 million people and ripping away protections  for people with preexisting conditions.

Prior to the Affordable Care Act, which was passed 10 years ago by the Obama Administration and the Democrats, insurers were allowed to discriminate against people who had preexisting conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, COPD and asthma (just to name a few). Insurance companies denied coverage, charged higher premiums and denied any claims associated with a preexisting condition. Health insurance was unaffordable resulting in millions of uninsured Americans and bankruptcies caused by huge medical bills.

To the Editor:

The Lincoln Project, RVAT, Right Side Pac, the Bravery Project, and a 43 Alumni group - what do these organizations all have in common? They are all political PACs started by Republicans for the sole purpose of defeating their own party’s incumbent candidates, while throwing their full support to the Democratic candidates in the 2020 election.

According to their web site, the Lincoln Project is holding accountable those who would violate their oath to the Constitution and who would put individual political operatives before Americans. RVAT is an organization of Republicans, former Republicans, conservatives and those who previously voted for Republican incumbents. Right Side Pac is focusing on targeting voters in battleground states such as Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Bravery Project members identify themselves as conservatives and independents.

To the Editor:

Our government leadership has mixed reviews among American farmers. The big promises of 2016 have yet to come true. The disastrous trade deal with China caused the farmers to lose market value on corn, soybeans and livestock. A “go it alone attitude”, without engaging our allies, cost us our markets to those same allies, as well as other commodity suppliers. Our markets have still not recovered.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue tossed out, on his first day, a bipartisan reform on ag market contracts that had taken years to complete. When speaking at a town hall at The World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, Perdue showed his callous disregard for small farms. He was quoted as saying there was no guarantee that small farms will survive, saying, “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out.” He said farmers should stop whining.