LETTERS: Resist the last-minute effort to gut Americans’ health care

I’m concerned about last-ditch efforts in the U.S. Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act and end Medicaid as we know it. Meanwhile, House leaders are pushing to pass a budget that includes cuts to Medicaid, SNAP (formerly food stamps) and other vital anti-poverty programs, again to pay for huge tax cuts for millionaires.

We must continue to fight these attacks. Medicaid is a critical lifeline for low-income children, people with disabilities and seniors. I urge us to send our members of Congress a strong message: Your constituents will not stand for gutting basic assistance programs for working families for tax breaks for the wealthy.

Don Cote, Geneva

War is death of the state

Episode 1 of Ken Burns’ Vietnam War film covered 1858 to 1961, a century of brutal French colonial rule, their hand-off to America, and Vietnamese resistance; the crucial origins of the Vietnam War (1959-1975) that our government and media never gave us. Ho Chi Min, the George Washington of Vietnam, was rebuffed by Wilson after World War I and rebuffed by Truman after World War II. He was a posthumous victor who unified Vietnam in spite of our squandered billions and 58,000 lives.

Watching the unfolding catastrophe reminds me of the unfolding catastrophe we experience today in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and other sorrowful lands we’re bombing for no valid reason, no victory, not even an identifiable adversary. The war party believes war is the health of the state, but they’re wrong. It’s the death of the state.

Walt Zlotow Glen Ellyn

Chicago is the place for Amazon

It’s amazing that Amazon could be considering placing their new facility anywhere but Chicago.

Houston was just destroyed, and easily could be again. Austin escaped Harvey’s whole wrath by the skin of its teeth; it might bear the next mega-storm’s brunt itself. New York, ever vulnerable, hasn’t completely recovered after Superstorm Sandy. Hurricane Irma flattened nearly all of Florida like a bowling 7-10 split; sadly, Maria may be preparing to pick up the spare.

This is the vanguard of what’s predicted to be a new era of disruptive weather events. If Amazon’s smart, it will quickly give up the idea of putting their headquarters anywhere affected by this kind of severe wild weather and instead award it to Chicago. Besides, for the worst of times ahead, Chicago is predicted to get Atlanta’s climate. So if Amazon picks the Windy City, it will essentially also get Atlanta, one of the other cities suggested to Amazon. A win-win situation? Rather, let us say “How to make silk purses out of hog butchers’ ears.”

Maja Ramirez, Avondale

Outrageous raffle

Aren’t we trying to get guns off the street? Is anyone outraged?

As reported in “Cops raffle off guns at Taste of Melrose Park” (news story, Sept. 10), an assault rifle and a pistol were the prizes in a fund-raiser by the Fraternal Order of Police in Melrose Park. The mayor calls the event a “family friendly food festival …” Not to be too critical, the winner had to have a FOID card. Well, that makes it better.

Charles Tauchman, Romeoville