If I were a terrorist prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, I would write a letter to all of my radical and terrorist friends throughout the world and let them know the good news in reference to new liberal steps for us:

"The new administration in America is liberal in every way, and recently, the new president ordered an investigation of the CIA because of harsh torture tactics over the past years. In the future, we will be treated very well and also given many new amenities because the rules will be relaxed and we will have all of our rights restored. Also, the CIA will not be allowed to question us about our terrorist involvements in the future. In addition, we will enjoy excellent food and health care that ranks with the best in the world. Come over while you're young, because I have heard that older people with expensive health problems may soon be traded in for new births to save money, similar to the clunker farce. Also, if you prefer not to work, you will be paid by the government.

"The people Obama has appointed to help him run this country are tax evaders, underworld dealers, thugs, mafia, gamblers, bad-check passers, extreme liberals, strong-arm czars, radicals, racists, 9/11 supporters and racketeers.

"Obama skipped out on hundreds of dollars in parking tickets in Cambridge, Mass., during his college years, but his campaign staff took care of these two weeks before he filed as a presidential candidate.

"Obama has one accomplishment that no other person in the world can claim. That is, he and his wife worked their way through the most expensive colleges in the world for seven years and got no assistance from anyone. To accomplish this feat, each would have had to work 20 hours each week for seven years at a rate of $70 per hour. Are those jobs available for everyone or just his family? Now the president's wife claims America as her country.

"I can be contacted at Guantanamo Bay if you need more information about the new USA."

Karl Barbee

Garner

GOP has ideas,

but Democrats won't listen

While President Obama and the Democrats continue to claim that Republicans offer no ideas or alternatives in the health-care debate, the truth is that Republican amendments and initiatives have been voted down along party lines.

Republicans offered legislation to guarantee that no illegal immigrants would get taxpayer-funded health care. Congressman Bob Etheridge and the Democrats voted against it. Republicans tried to prevent tax dollars from paying for abortions in the government health plan. Etheridge and the Democrats voted that down. Republicans objected to $15 billion in new taxes on young families who will no longer be allowed to deduct health-care expenses from income taxes. Democrats shot it down.

Republicans support many other initiatives the Democrats have refused to include in the health-care legislation:

Congress should repeal laws that give insurance companies virtual monopolies in individual states and prevent them from competing across state lines. We should all have the right to shop around for the best plans with the best rates. Health insurance should also be portable for those who move from one state to another, but current law often prohibits this.

Insurance companies are required by the government to provide certain services whether the policyholder wants them or not. The result is that we all pay higher premiums. Americans should be free to choose a plan that covers the services we want at a price we can afford. We should not be forced to pay higher premiums for coverage we don't need.

Lottery lawsuits result in billions of dollars in unnecessary tests as doctors fear that if they don't test for every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely, they will be sued. These excessive procedures drive up costs. Tort reform is essential to reduce health-care costs for every American. Other times, doctors with the best education, training and equipment simply cannot guarantee finding the root cause of a medical condition, and yet they face lawsuits in the millions of dollars. This increases the price doctors pay for malpractice insurance, and this additional cost has to be passed along to patients. Medical-malpractice reform must also be part of any comprehensive health-care overhaul.

Reform should include simplified, tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for every American, and unspent contributions should be rolled over year to year and remain the property of the individual. Right now, unused contributions are confiscated by the federal government. High-deductable policies that cover only catastrophic illness and hospitalization should be made available also. Americans are not too stupid to know what is best for us and our families, as this current Congress seems to believe.

As I write this, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats have literally locked Republicans out of the room and are crafting legislation behind closed doors. Jerry Dodson, chairman of the 2nd District Democratic Party, challenged me to present alternatives. I sincerely hope he puts as much effort into getting Congressman Etheridge to support these common-sense reforms as he did in launching a public, personal attack against me in a letter to the editor a few weeks ago. Republicans believe that we, as Americans first, would all be the better for it if he did.

Mark Otto

Vice Chairman, 2nd Congressional District Republican Party

Who would steal flowers?

I read with mixed feelings the article about the grave sites in Selma Memorial Gardens. True, using chemicals to get rid of the grass might not make for the prettiest site. But in years past, I have spent quite a bit of time on my knees with a knife trying to remove the grass that had grown over the gravestones of my loved ones. There are eight grave sites that my family tries to keep up, and sometimes, the labor needed to do so can get intense.

Another issue I would like to bring to the people's attention is the stealing of flowers from the graves. Yes, folks, there are actually folks who will stoop so low as to steal flowers from a graveyard.

Case in point: Irene Moore, widow of former Selma police chief Percy Moore, passed away on Aug. 30. Being close to the Moore family -- my brother is married to their daughter -- I would have been at the funeral, but because of a flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis, I was unable to attend. The day after the funeral, my husband had planned to take me out to the cemetery to visit Mrs. Moore's grave and see the flowers that friends and family had sent. But a friend of mine called me that morning, after visiting the grave, and told me someone had taken the beautiful basket of silk flowers that our family had sent. Saddened, appalled, hurt, I prayed that whoever was common enough to steal flowers from a grave would be reprimanded and have such a burden on his heart that he would actually return the flowers.

As you can see, I possibly live in a dream world. Did I really think a thief would return the flowers? Well, no. But I do pray that they can read and will be so burdened that they will never do such a thing again. And I would just like to tell them, "Someone knows who you are, maybe not anyone on this Earth, but our heavenly father knows, and he can deal with you much better than I."

A note on this story: The lady who fixed the stolen basket for our family was gracious enough to make another one so Mrs. Moore's family could put the flowers in their church in memory of her. So the devil did not win in this case.

Teresa Mason

Selma