Take profit out of nursing homes, Tamir Rice, Shannon Grove

Take profit out of nursing homes

Re “A question of care” (Page 1A, June 14): Many, if not all, elderly in this country do not fear death. They fear ending up in a rest home.

When friends die unexpectedly, rather than say how sad it is, we quickly say: “Well, at least they didn’t end up in a rest home.”

Be it the health care providers, doctors, hospitals, the labs, the pharmaceuticals and especially nursing homes, the bottom line is profit, not care.

Some elderly people remember how difficult it was in their time to care for a parent and raise a family and do not want their children to go through that.

Social Security and Medicare have made it possible for our elderly to remain independent. Still, many become unable to care for themselves and live alone.

The word “profit” must be removed from anything to do with the health and well-being of Americans. The greatest generation made it possible for people seeking a profit to live the American dream. Some are doing it on the backs of our most decent citizens.

Video shows cops shot Tamir Rice fast

Re “Did cop tell boy to raise hands? It’s hard to say” (Page 23A, June 14): The article stating that it’s hard to tell whether officers told Tamir Rice to raise his hands three times before shooting him is downright insulting.

The video very clearly shows the officers pulling up and firing shots within seconds. There is no evidence that he was told to raise his hands, nor would he have had time to comply.

The part about the officers seeming shellshocked is a blatant attempt to create sympathy for the officers. These “heroes” waited long minutes without attempting to provide first aid, cuffed the boy’s teenage sister who came to help him and gave his mother the awful choice of riding with her dying boy to the hospital or with his sister to the police station.

They then lied to cover up what they had done, and would no doubt have gotten away with it were it not for the video. They may still get away with it. We need to be looking at who is setting policies and giving orders if we want things to change.

Shannon Grove should apologize

Re “Legislator under fire for linking drought, abortion” (Capitol & California, June 13): I can’t imagine that I am the only person who was offended by the comments of Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield.

To me, these comments are so outrageous that I request that the assemblywoman denounce her comments and immediately remove herself from the Assembly. I am curious of what rain event in Texas she referred to. Is it the rain event in which scores of American and Mexicans were killed, and thousands of others were injured and displaced?

An Assembly member with a viewpoint so attenuated has no place in that body. Her mere presence denigrates what is supposed to be a deliberative body that makes decisions based on facts, not fantasy.

Shannon Grove had a point

Remember that God punished the Egyptians with a number of plagues and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of evil.

Is it so bad to bring God into the subject?

Teach math before ethnic studies

Re “Ethnic studies gains traction in schools” (Our Region, June 14): The Bee article states that ethnic studies courses are being mandated to be taught in local schools.

If you wonder why America is in a state of decline and importing almost all of its high-tech products from elsewhere, you need only look at the above.

The people eating our lunch are teaching their kids science and math, while we are spending our resources teaching ethnic studies to kids that can’t add 2 and 2 without getting a number of greater than 20.

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Take profit out of nursing homes, Tamir Rice, Shannon Grove."