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Your View - letters to the editor
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Pomeroy right to vote for health care bill |
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Thursday, 12 November 2009 |
This past Saturday, we had historic legislation pass the House of Representatives, H.R. 3962.
I would like to thank our congressman, Earl Pomeroy, as he stood up for me and the residents of North Dakota and cast his vote in favor of the health care reform bill, The Affordable Health Care for America Act. After months of negotiations, heated rhetoric and impassioned pleas, Congressman Pomeroy did the right thing in ensuring that all North Dakotans – and Americans – will have access to affordable health care.
Congressman Pomeroy, thank you again.
matt reski
Fargo
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From City of Bridges to the city of concrete |
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Thursday, 12 November 2009 |
Sometime ago now, I wrote a letter to the editor lamenting the removal of the nice trees by the Broken Spoke parking lot to apparently expedite finishing that half-block from Main Street south on Central Avenue, with the hope that the trees would eventually be replanted. Ironically that street will be one of the last finished!
A couple of days ago, I noticed the planters on Central north were being refurbished, it appeared, and there was some hope.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here. They have now been paved over. Thank you, Valley City. As a local college student remarked, Valley City has gone from the City of Bridges to the city of concrete. Get out your cameras.
Personally, I would like to see any leftover concrete used to at least temporarily fill the many potholes in our streets that normally would not have been repaired until next summer, or better yet for me, the entryway to the alley next to my house, which has seen no new cement for decades. Just a thought.
Lowell Busching
Valley City |
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Devils Lake passing problems to VC |
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Tuesday, 10 November 2009 |
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By Richard Betting Devils Lake city officials are again agitating for permission from the North Dakota State Water Commission to lower the spill elevation of the Tolna Coulee by 5 feet, to 1,453 feet above sea level. Right now Devils Lake is at about 1,449.9 mean sea level. Mayor Fred Bott calls digging a ditch through the Tolna Coulee a “controlled release” of water from Stump Lake into the Sheyenne River. A rational response to this “plan” is show us the data or shut up with your nonsensical proposals.
The city of Devils Lake has already removed a foot of dirt from the Tolna Coulee, an action that will hasten an overflow through the coulee should the water rise to that level. Does that sound like concern, or does it sound like “passing along our problems downstream”? Taking another 3 feet off will mean letting the overflow start even sooner.
“Controlled”? Not likely. There are no gates on the Tolna Coulee, and building them would be like building another Baldhill Dam, something large enough to hold back the inflows into the lake every year. This year that would have meant holding back more than 550,000 acre-feet of water. Where are the plans, where is the money, what are the other options and, most important, where is the environmental impact statement that demonstrates the feasibility of these proposals?
Valley City – and all the other landowners and residents along the Sheyenne River from Devils Lake to the Canadian border – ought to demand that the city of Devils Lake and the Ramsey County Commissioners (and others who advocate lowering the level of the Tolna Coulee so that Devils Lake/Stump Lake can overflow into the Sheyenne River sooner than it normally would have) immediately request that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers complete an EIS on this proposed project.
Before anything more is done to pass along floodwaters to downstream water users, a comprehensive study of the proposal and all its potential effects downstream must be completed. The EIS must include an analysis of the causes of rising water on Devils Lake and the options that could be used to reduce future rises, not just the west end outlet operation or letting the Tolna Coulee overflow.
While the EIS is being done, the Tolna Coulee itself must be armored against the possibility of an overflow from Devils Lake/Stump Lake into the Sheyenne. It's already a given that the effects of allowing an overflow could be catastrophic because the Tolna Coulee might erode to dangerous levels, and once begun, the erosion might not be stopped. That's an unacceptable possibility.
The real causes of rising water on Devils Lake must first be scientifically determined. Most people suspect that draining sloughs in the upper basin has been a primary cause. Allowing more water to flow from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River before preventing water from getting into Devils Lake in the first place cannot be realistically considered until a complete, reliable analysis has been done. Without an EIS to justify their actions, Devils Lake and any state agencies that encourage or assist in these proposals to drain water from Devils Lake through the Tolna Coulee will stand responsible for any damaging effects downstream.
It seems to me that everyone along the Sheyenne River should be asking for an immediate fact-based study. We have heard enough ill-considered plans. Now is the time for factual information to either back up foolish talk or reveal it for what it is.
Betting, of rural Valley City, is a member
of People to Save the Sheyenne. |
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Reform needed now, not later |
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
As an oncology nurse I know that the experiences of families affected by cancer highlight the major problems in our health care system. On the often difficult and complex road that begins with a diagnosis, cancer patients can encounter all the major problems in the health care system today. They are often denied coverage because of pre-existing condition exclusions or charged more than they can afford for critical care simply because they have cancer.
The good news is that, in their current form, the bills being debated by Congress will ensure that no one will be denied coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions; place an increased emphasis on prevention; guarantee access to health insurance regardless of health status; and eliminate annual and lifetime caps on benefits. These are enormous steps forward. But the only way that we can benefit from this progress is if we keep the momentum going.
This is a critical point in the war against cancer. But if we work together, the millions of families affected by the disease can send a message loud and clear to elected officials: Health care reform cannot wait.
We need health care reform now, not later. I urge Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Rep. Earl Pomeroy to pass comprehensive health reform legislation this year that guarantees quality, affordable insurance is available to all Americans.
Brenda Jo Gillund
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer
Grand Forks |
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Status quo just fine in ND |
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Friday, 06 November 2009 |
In the never-ending attack on Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk and the energy industry in North Dakota, Sharon Clancy’s letter (“Leading way with clean energy efforts,” Oct. 21) cites a survey that supposedly shows the rapid growth of green jobs in our state. Of course, she doesn’t tell us who conducted the survey and who was surveyed. Ms. Clancy has a tough job. She is trying, once again, to sell North Dakotans on the cap and tax bill passed by the U.S. House. The fact is the bill is one gigantic tax fraud. It is a Bernie Madoff scam, designed to punish states like North Dakota, which produce the energy, and reward the nonproductive states. The aim of this legislation is very clear; it is to drive the fossil fuel producers out of business.
Here are some actual facts: 28,000 North Dakotans are employed by the coal industry and more than $4 billion in economic activity is generated. Add to that the booming oil and natural gas business and you can see what their destruction would do to our economy.
Ms. Clancy and her comrades can deny their intent, but President Barack Obama has been very open about his desire to tax and regulate the fossil fuel industry out of existence. I believe President Obama on this one.
The Clancy letter saves its biggest salvo to the end, accusing Commissioner Kalk and others of defending the “status quo.” In North Dakota, the status quo is always moving forward. The status quo in the energy field means booming oil production, booming coal production and a growing natural gas sector. It also means a rapidly growing wind energy sector, ethanol, biomass and biofuels, synthetic fuel production and coal gasification. All those “new” technologies touted by the anti-fossil fuel gang, are in production, right here. North Dakota is moving aggressively to bring new technologies online.
But, Mr. Kalk, Gov. John Hoeven, the Legislature, and Congressman Earl Pomeroy know that 90 percent of the electricity used in North Dakota is produced by coal. It makes no sense to wipe out the bedrock of our economic growth. This is why Congressman Pomeroy voted “no” on the very bill Ms. Clancy is trying so desperately to save.
One last point needs to be made. Our country has lost more than 2.7 million jobs since the so-called stimulus bill was passed. Forty-nine out of 50 states lost jobs. The only state that has gained jobs is good, old “status quo” North Dakota! And, thanks to the work of Gov. Hoeven, Commissioner Kalk and the PSC, the Legislature, and the most productive work force in America, our state is poised to move ahead, unlike the other 49.
That’s a pretty good “status quo” to build on.
Vernon V. Wangen
Fargo |
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Writer shows misconceptions |
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Friday, 06 November 2009 |
Nicole Powers’ letter to the editor (“Positives of wind towers immense to community,” Nov. 3) is excellent. I will be using it as a guide and outline to future columns.
Practically all the misconceptions about wind energy and its social and economic impact are explicit or implicit in her missive.
I realize that the NextEra Web site is probably an entirely unbiased source of information, so it is with some hesitancy that I suggest she access www.savecoteauprairielandscape.com. “Save Coteau Prairie Landscape” is North Dakota’s excellent contribution to the worldwide debate on the value of wind power.
Stillings lives in rural Valley City. |
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Issue comes down to responsibility |
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 |
By Joseph DeMasi
I’d like to weigh in on the subject of whether we should impose a tax on soda pop. I definitely think we should.
To me it comes down to one word: responsibility. Not only responsibility on the part of soda companies, but responsibility on the part of soda consumers. When you take out the natural and unnatural sweeteners, the caffeine and caramel coloring, the folic acid, carbonation and all the other stuff in soda pop, all of which are totally unhealthy for you, you are left with a very healthy product: water.
The stuff that soda companies add to the water directly causes high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc., and the people who indulge in this product on a regular basis incur more health care expenses than people who don’t. So basically the healthy are paying for the unhealthy in their health care costs. How is this fair or justifiable?
Politicians on both sides of the aisle including Dr. Bill Frist and Gov. Mike Huckabee as well as Sen. Tom Harkin and first lady Michelle Obama have called on Americans to become healthier. Yet we remain a nation where one-third of our children younger than 18 are not just fat, they are obese. And 60 percent of our adult population is obese as well.
We have become a nation of fatty fats, of baby elephants!
Now, I recognize that people have the right to live their lives as they see fit, or unfit, and if they want to live on a diet of fat, sugar, salt and caffeine, they have that right. But if that choice leads to greater medical expenses, which it does, then they should at least be responsible enough to pay their own way and not pass their costs on to those of us who maintain a healthy weight and eat our fresh fruits and vegetables every day.
The truth is that there are plenty of healthier as well as cheaper options to drink. You don’t have to drink soda pop!! You can just drink water! It is practically free from the tap and very healthy. You can flavor it with citrus if you wish. You can make unsweetened ice tea. You can use herbal teas that come in a variety of flavors. You have options!!
Remember, the soda companies are not your friend!! They take healthy water and augment it with all kinds of junk that cause you to become sick, and they charge you money for this!!
I definitely think this product should be taxed. We use taxes all the time to influence behavior such as tax credits to encourage savings or tax abatements to encourage new business. Life insurance companies charge smokers a higher premium than nonsmokers because they know these people will die sooner and cost the insurance companies more money. It is the same with soda pop drinkers!
It is time to discourage the consumption of a totally unhealthy, unnecessary product and ask the people who choose to consume it to pay their own way!!
DeMasi lives in Valley City. |
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