Our readers write

Questions remain on fair drawing

To The Editor:
I would like to take the opportunity to reply to the fair president’s letter in the paper.
First of all, in my first letter, I stated how we, as Obion Countians, should be proud of our county fair. But my concern about the nightly drawing was, in my opinion, tap-danced around.
The president stated that “the drawing is strictly for entertainment purposes.” My question to you is: Why do the people who pay nightly to get into the fair get to enjoy all the entertainment the fair has to offer, except for the nightly money drawing? In my opinion, this is discrimination toward people unable to purchase season tickets.
The president also stated that 1,000 season tickets were scanned each night. How many people came through the gate and got their hand stamped?
The president also states, “Season ticket holders have better odds at having their number drawn than when a week’s worth of tickets were left in the barrel.” Why can’t the barrel be emptied every morning so everyone has the same odds? I don’t expect anything to change next year because the fair has spent the money on the computer system and scanners.
Just goes to show that the people who have a little more money are more important. Oh, yes, one other thing, I never said $1,000 would solve my problems. I said it would help.
Barry Sowell
Woodland Mills

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The good, the bad, the unintended
To The Editor:
How do you feel about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare? It’s hard for the average person to have an opinion on something when you don’t really know what’s in it. We can’t even be sure our lawmakers understood it when they passed it, since many of them admitted they had not read it. And, if you ask them about it now, you’ll get the party talking points. Democrats will tell you about all the wonderful benefits. Republicans will talk about government control of healthcare and how the law affects the budget.
If you want to read the law yourself, it’s online. Go to healthcare.gov. Under The Healthcare Law & You, choose “Read the Law.” You can peruse each portion using the links on the page or go to the bottom of the page and download the PDFs. The original document contains 2209 pages. The Reconciliation Act that goes with it is 55 pages. Good luck with reading it yourself. I didn’t get very far. I’ll just have to rely on information gathered from other sources like the news analysts and think tanks.
The good things pointed out by those for Obamacare must be weighed against the bad and the unintended consequences. The law is lengthy and practically incomprehensible to anyone but a lawyer. Government agencies will implement it and have authority to make additional regulations. In my opinion, that is too much power in the hands of unelected officials (partisan appointees). Among the bad things often mentioned is the impact on the national finances and debt. Rarely does anything the government budgets for actually stay within that budget. Also, doctors and hospital administrators are concerned about government regulations interfering in health-care decisions, mostly based on cost. Employers worry about health insurance costs, which have gone up since the law was passed and will surely increase again. This affects hiring decisions, which affects the job market. Such unintended consequences could go on forever.
Investigate further for yourself. Articles with conservative view are online at heritage.org/issues/health-care. The liberal view is represented at americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/view.
One thing’s for sure. Common sense must prevail. It appears that our Congress passed a law with sweeping consequences without having actually read it and investigated all the implications. Once a government program is implemented, it is very difficult to discontinue or even modify. I’ve come to the conclusion that our lawmakers must revisit this issue as soon as possible. Sometimes it’s easier to wipe out and start over. I think that’s what should be done. Repeal and replace.
Emily M. Akin
Union City

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Reagan’s son right in recent column
To The Editor:
Thank you for printing the article written by Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan, in The Messenger on Aug. 8.
The article was so true as to Obama and his Democratic followers and what they are doing to ruin America.
The news media caters to Obama and his stupid remarks as to Chick-fil-A, gay marriages, etc. Satan is his god. Evidently, he doesn’t believe in our God and the Bible, or he would not say the things he says.
Christians in America need to get down on their knees or however they pray to God, and ask Him to please bless our country.
Obama is always nit-picking about Republicans running for offices and insists that we know about their pasts.
Carolyn Clark
South Fulton

Published in The Messenger 9.5.12

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