All military bases in U.S. are vulnerable
Re: “Where was Ft. Hood’s security?” Nov. 12
For Gregory Kane to imply that a Fort Hood incident could not happen on an Air Force base is ludicrous. On most military installations, an enlisted serviceman or officer with an ID card and vehicle sticker can get through the gate pretty easily. Stickered cars are very rarely searched and when they are, it’s usually very briefly, so a pistol could easily be hidden. I have been to several AF bases around the country, include Bolling (which Kane mentions) in August. I drove right through with my ID and sticker–no search. Mr. Kane needs to get his facts straight before bashing the Army and implying that only it is lacking in security–all the Armed Services are. Unless we want to start searching every car, shootings like this will continue to be a risk.
Andy Reese
Alexandria
Health care should be free
As a person earning minimum wage, I think health care should be free. What would you do if you were sick and suffering, but your company didn’t have health insurance for its employees and you couldn’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars? Hospitals and clinics are too expensive for minimum-wage earners and the unemployed. I can recall one of my co-workers who paid $2,000 in cash for an injury on his thumb last year. It takes months to save that amount. One foreigner who went to the hospital with appendicitis got a bill for tens of thousands of dollars in addition to the regular bills he had to worry about. The guaranty of health care makes people feel secure and allows them to focus their maximum attention on their work. Let’s deal with the ones in pain first, then we can deal with accumulating that “green green” by pushing government and everybody else to stop spending on what is not essential.
Arefaine K. Wegahta
Hyattsville
Mental health care is vital
Like every state in the country, Maryland has been stretched thin. All additional budget cuts at this point will be painful. However, cutting a vital service to those who suffer from the double plagues of mental illness and substance abuse by closing the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center, Kent County’s tenth largest employer, is particularly ill-advised. Setting aside any concern for the individuals who desperately need the type of intensive in-patient services that have been the keystone of the center’s treatment, the state will be inviting an increase in crime if it leaves a tremendous gap in its substance abuse programs. Crime is expensive. Governor, please keep the Upper Shore open.
Ann Sutton
Still Pond, MD
Will war on terrorism be fought on U.S. streets?
As a veteran, I ask on behalf of family members and friends in uniform who were killed or wounded in the War for Iraqi Freedom: Did they sacrifice in vain? Does the proposed withdrawal mean an end to war, or just a shift to the streets of the U.S. and Great Britain? Have al Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups once again gotten away with murder? Why, despite the U.S. having the technology and weapons systems to win any war, have there been no combat operations against the training camps where terrorists go to rest, plan future attacks, and fashion the roadside and vehicle bombs used to murder those in uniform?
Richard E. Temple
Boise ID
