Editor:

Thanks, Bob Doran, for covering the health care meeting in Fortuna and greetings from the socialist stronghold of Arcata, where we have public roads, a fire department, public water, a library, a police department, where people use Medi-Cal and Medicare, collect government pensions, student aid, unemployment insurance, social security (which even has the dreaded word social), go to public schools … ("Tea in Fortuna," Sept 3).

But hey, wait a minute, these services are provided for everyone in our country — hmmm. socialism — why not health care? What about the government-subsidized cheap water that comes from around the state and goes to the Central Valley to grow toxic food? Subsidy is just another word for welfare. What if the fire department let your house burn down because you neglected to by a fire protection policy? Or somebody robbed your house and the police didn't come because you didn't pay your police protection premium?

Mary from Fortuna mentioned that nobody at the meeting seems to know what they're so upset about. I suspect that some are just venting their anger left over from the election last November. Just like the duped masses that supported the invasion of Iraq, the Tea Party movement is anything but patriotic. A true patriot cares about the health of their neighbor whether they are rich or poor. Our health care system is going to collapse if there is not something done to take care of people who cannot afford health care.

People who don't have health insurance will continue to go to the hospital emergency room when they need to. Wouldn't you? What other choice would you have when your child is very ill? It is cruel and unusual punishment to not care for the sick.

Sam Camp, Arcata

Editor:

If the "patriots" at the Fortuna Vets Hall were only willing to do research on their own they might be less "frightened." They also might be less willing to be used by health industry lobbyists.

The Tea Party protests are principally organized by two lobbyist-run groups: Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works. Freedom Works is run by corporate lobbyist Dick Armey whose firm lobbies for life insurance companies and big pharmaceutical companies. Armey is, of course, lobbying against health care reform and insurance regulation as are all the lobbyists behind these two groups. These groups supply the Tea Party-ists with ideas for signs and press releases and much more. Most importantly, they recruit people who don't know they are being recruited and they convince them that health reform is a bad idea. They've created a series of lies that incorporate what I call "hot flash" words such as euthanasia, abortion, socialism, loss of control, etc.

The health industry is waging an all out war against change; they have a lot to lose. The head of Cigna earned over $12 million last year. There are six lobbyists for every member of Congress and they are threatening Congress people and/or buying them. The health industry is spending $1.4 million/day on lobbying to defeat reform. If the proposed ideas for health reform are so bad why are they running scared?

We Americans need to start educating ourselves. We need to stop believing anything that has an American flag flying behind it. Health care reform is a critical necessity and we need an educated public to make good choices. We don't need the emotionally charged and manipulative nonsense being fed by the conservatives to the public.

Sylvia De Rooy, Westhaven