Twilight zone or power grab?

To the editor,

Sen. Max Baucus holds key responsibility for health care 'reform." Based on his proposals, government-run health care in other countries, and failures of Medicaid/Medicare, his program will be a disaster. Is he living in a Twilight Zone reality, or does he have a self serving agenda?

The U.S. has state of the art medical care, unsurpassed in the world. Government-managed health care will undoubtedly result in higher costs (higher taxes), limited choice of coverage and physicians, lower quality of care including rationing 'squeezing out the elderly and chronically ill), delayed diagnoses and surgeries, further physician shortages, and broadened government control over our lives. Besides that, we can't afford it. If folks are troubled by the cost of health insurance which are optional, imagine when essentials like a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk costs $10-$20 or more. That is what will happen if the government continues to spend money it doesn't have — astronomical inflation.

The Obama administration's mode of operation has been to write a massive piece of legislation in secret, tell Congress to hurry up and pass it (before they've had a chance to read it) or the sky will fall. Just what part of, "We can't afford it" do they not understand?

Since we can't afford national healthcare and it has always produced a product inferior to free enterprise  why are the Democrats pushing for this? As with the unions, illegal aliens given amnesty, welfare recipients and so on — expand the entitlement welfare state and you expand the power and electability of the Democratic Party that support these monstrosities. Sen. Baucus will do whatever it takes to expand his power, embracing programs that will sell us out. He does not represent Montanans and needs to be voted out of office.

Roland Horst

Bigfork

Advice to ATV theft victims

To the editor,

This is a bit of advice to those several rural Columbia Falls residents which were the victims of ATV theft the weekend of July 10-12:

If you filed a Flathead County Sheriff's report, please check further resources to be sure that the VIN and other information was properly entered in the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) data base. Apparently this input should be done in a timely manner, but if the reporting officer has a few days off it won't get done until they return to duty. Hopefully we'll each recover our vehicles in good condition.

Special thanks to Chris and Ben at Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and LeRoy at the Columbia Falls Police Department for your assistance.

Kay Oser

Columbia Falls