Memorial Day reminder, misguided nurses, taxpayers saved, fracking

Appreciating our troops’ sacrifices

Re “For chaplain, fallen soldiers arrived on hero’s highway” (Forum, May 29): Profound gratitude is due to Chaplain Norris Burkes for writing about his experiences in Iraq. I was especially moved because my father was an Army chaplain who served in the Korean conflict, an experience which I know affected him deeply.

It is almost impossible for those of us who have not served in the military to imagine what it is like, but Burkes was able to capture and convey the emotion of that experience for us, and it was an important reminder about the sacrifices made by our members of the armed forces.

Chaplain offers words of comfort

I was quite moved by the column written by Norris Burkes describing his time as a chaplain in a combat hospital. His story about his first “patriot detail” and how it affected him was a perfect way to get at what Memorial Day is supposed to be about – not sales at a furniture store, not a day off work, not even barbecues and parties with family and friends. It’s about remembering those who paid for our freedom with their very lives, and how we honor their sacrifices.

Thanks, chaplain, for sharing that reminder.

Nurses misguided about single payer

Re “Clinton treads on nurses turf” (Forum, May 29): Dan Morain mentions the California Nurses Association’s support for Bernie Sanders and moreover its support for a single-payer health care system, or as the nurses call it, “Medicare for all.”

There is a reason why many physicians, hospitals and other medical providers have rejected Obamacare. It is simply due to the very low reimbursement rates offered, which are exactly Medicare reimbursement rates.

No independent hospital or physician can support a practice with only the reimbursement for services that is offered by Medicare.

So nurses, how much of a pay cut and nursing staff cuts are you willing to endure to see a Medicare plan for everybody? Does anyone think that Medicare is solvent?

Think twice before getting behind a single-payer health care system. Just ask any physician in Canada how they like it. I have and they don’t.

Nurses and their secret politics

Thank you for this report on the nurses and dirty, little secret politics. Dan Morain has a way of pulling the layers off the onion, digging around in dark recesses and startlingly raising our eyebrows to expose the facts. He makes all this news even more frightening or disgusting.

‘Maximum family grant’ is a success

Re “ ‘Maximum family grant’ is ineffective, deserves repeal” (Viewpoints, May 29): One of the provisions of the “maximum family grant” is to help keep women on welfare from having more children by not allowing them to collect $135 a month for children born while they were receiving welfare.

Well, Sens. Kevin de Leon and Holly Mitchell think this law should be repealed. A couple of their reasons are, it punishes children born to women on welfare and it doesn’t help these families become self-sufficient. Therefore they say it is ineffective, and this is where I disagree.

Using their numbers stated, there are approximately 130,000 California children born to welfare recipients who are not receiving this $135 a month. So 130,000 times $135 equals $17.55 million a month savings to the taxpayers of this state. Therefore the maximum family grant law is very effective, successful and is doing what it was intended to do – save the taxpayers money.

Taxpayers pay for bad decisions

Sens. Kevin de Leon and Holly Mitchell claim that the “maximum family grant” intrudes in family planning and causes family impoverishment. From the CalWORKS website, we learn that the welfare program lasts only 24 months. There is an array of work-oriented consultation and training, and child care that goes along with the grant.

The decision to have another child is not disallowed. What is disallowed is the garnering of additional welfare payments for that child. What is so difficult to understand that for a couple of years the CalWORKS recipient should refrain from having more kids?

We all should know that kids are expensive and family planning includes delaying as well as planning for children. I waited to have kids until we could provide for them. I want them to have all the kids they want. I do not think they should want me to pay for their personal decisions.

Oil production is well-regulated

Re “Oil regulators increasing risk of earthquakes in California” (Viewpoints, May 23): The Center For Biological Diversity’s attempt to frighten California into banning oil production based on earthquakes in Oklahoma has no basis in fact. Nor does the suggestion that our groundwater is at risk. A 2012 study on Southern California’s Inglewood oil field concluded that “high-volume hydraulic fracturing … did not induce seismicity.”

More recently, a 2015 state-sponsored California Council on Science and Technology study found no conclusive evidence that energy production contributes to seismic activities. That same study also found “no documented instances of hydraulic fracturing or acid stimulations directly causing groundwater contamination in California.”

Oil has been safely produced here for decades. New laws requiring increased transparency, extensive disclosure and stringent permitting process are the nation’s strongest. Responsible in-state oil production supports California’s energy independence while protecting our water, environment and public health. Scare tactics aside, the facts speak for themselves.

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Memorial Day reminder, misguided nurses, taxpayers saved, fracking."