April 01, 2008
Tuesday

I'm glad to see there are those out there with a pulse and who actually care about some of the real issues in the upcoming elections and I'm pleased to be a part of the healthy debate here on SitNews. If you missed the premise of this response, I encourage you to read Mr. Harmon's and Mr. Neckameyer's March 15 opinion responses to one I wrote not long ago regarding universal health care. The scope of issues has since grown and I will now respond to all of the items raised by these two gentlemen.

First, I was by no means praising Nazi agenda. My mention of the 1930's (since Mr. Harmon failed to read carefully enough) was only with regard to Germany's outlawing of HMOs. I hardly believe this was in any way related to the murder of 6 million Jews and many others. Additionally, Mr. Harmon, the first World War was not started in the 1880's and Kaiser Wilhelm was not in power then. I also strongly doubt that racial purification is the reason the Germans "spend less on medicine" as this would imply that non Germans are more of a strain on the national system!

Also, Germany's tax rate IS huge, Mr. Neckameyer! But gasoline is a poor example as German motorists use mostly diesel fuel and non-motorists have an extensive train system to use for transportation of any kind. This is nothing new for Germans. They make just as much money as we do - see the UN website for statistics. Manufacturing costs are not just crippling the German economy, they are crippling our own as well. But the German response does not involve cutting government spending on health care.

I also have a difficult time accepting that the U.S. involvement in Iraq ever did or ever will have anything to do with 9/11 - that was Afghanistan and that is an unrelated issue. Nor do I believe that pulling out of Iraq (not surrendering - I never used that word) will in any way make the United States a "war defeated nation," Mr. Neckameyer. As for the 1930's we could not afford a war - we were in a depression. We were attacked by Japan in '41 because we put an embargo on their oil - I wouldn't quite call that neutrality.

As for giving the Germans our money with the Marshall Plan, they spent that money well! They spent it on important things like infrastructure.

However, the point is well taken. Some still seem to associate Germany with Nazism (really? are we still like that in this country?).

The fact is we need to refocus our attention. We must become a nation that is concerned with domestic issues first, foreign issues second. The Iraq war is no longer cost effective or productive. Let us be concerned with our poor education system, our expensive energy, our immigration policy, our election system, etc.

These are the items I want my tax dollars to pay for!

Joel Galli
Littleton, CO

About: "Just another annoyed American (and former Ketchikan resident)"

Received March 30, 2008 - Published April 01, 2008

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