Letters

The Gazette’s Sept. 3 “Vote Smart” editorial rightly invokes the important obligation for every voter to be objectively informed before going to the polls.
Unfortunately, two (not so subtle, but hopefully unintentional) examples of the very bias the editorial would have us avoid are the out of context quotes, widely used in anti‑Obama rhetoric, that were included in the second paragraph of the piece.
The fact that those quotes came from speeches made in Virginia is incidental to the nominal theme of the editorial.

Not long ago I had a back problem. Probably could have gotten over it on my own, but I was hurting so bad I went to the Galax hospital.
They did absolutely nothing that helped me. But they did do what hospitals do best.
They gave me a big fat bill of $3,582.06 for staying about two to three hours and doing a few vastly overpriced services. Plus $989 for some doctor who I guess got paid to authorize their “services.”
He finally said, “We don’t see anything,” and sent me to Baptist Hospital.

Rep. Paul Ryan has proposed to replace Medicare with vouchers for future generations, stating that competition among private sector plans will bring down healthcare costs.
Why does he think that will work, given that we have had private sector competition for 30-plus years, resulting in ever-escalating costs and millions of our fellow citizens uninsured?
This has even been tried with the Medicare population. According to the New York Times, “Medicare Advantage is a 15-year failed experiment in privatization.

I’m writing in response to the nice Christian lady who suggests that the president of the United States of America is the Anti-Christ. I cannot let this go unchallenged.
I think this woman is suffering from a serious case of Fox News overload.
The letter seems obsessed with gay people. Who is the self-proclaimed judge of morality?
I think it was God who said that He created everyone equal and in His image. Does this mean that she believes “everyone” means everyone but those “bad old gay people?”