Heading to bankruptcy
How many times will people fall for Obama's rhetoric? Despite Herculean effort, none of Obama's ideas of closing Guantanamo, ending the war, creating jobs, and providing health care has materialized. That is because Obama's ideas only work in a Utopian vacuum.
Obama is the worst type of leader, highly educated but clueless as to how real life works. Imagine Obama's surprise when he realized (gasp!) that closing Guantanamo and scaling down troops had serious consequences.
Obama, Congress, and the 44 percent of Americans who support the current health care bill are ignoring the consequences of passing it. The most serious of which is bankruptcy. Once bankrupt, any power we have to provide assistance to those in need evaporates.
When California was almost bankrupt, Medicaid recipients were left high and dry until the feds bailed California out. We can't count on another country to bail us out if America is bankrupt. We must start over and reform health care with common-sense ideas.
The current bill's benefits won't start for four years so we have time to start over, despite the hysterical protests of Pelosi and Reid. America won't be able to care for anyone, much less defend ourselves, if we're bankrupt.
Charlene Eggli
Traverse City
Speaker had credentials
The writer of a March 4 letter asked someone to kindly tell him what Rachel Smolker's credentials are. I will do so since he appears to have done no checking himself, although considerable information is available on the Internet.
I believe it is her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Michigan, together with many years of widely recognized experience in the field, that qualify her to specialize as a researcher for the Global Forest Coalition on biomass concerns.
It is perhaps even more important to note that Dr. Smolker received no payment when she came to Traverse City to address the subject of burning trees.
By contrast, Traverse City Light & Power has hired a consultant and a marketing firm to promote biomass.
Valorie Gibbs
Traverse City
