Flawed marijuana law

In November, we will vote on our medical marijuana law. Question 5 on the ballot reads: “Do you want to change the medical marijuana laws to allow treatment of more medical conditions and to create a regulated system of distribution?”

I am sure we all would like this to happen. What we do not know is that if we do say yes to this in November, we will also be saying we want the state Department of Health and Human Services to be in charge of the law. Anyone who wants to become a distributor or caregiver will have to pay $5,000 for a state permit plus unknown town and county fees.

I’m not saying we don’t need a law. But we need a good law that helps us and has compassion along with common sense. I’m a medical patient and would like to have a good law that will work, not a law that is worse than what we already have.

Don LaRouche

Madison

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Retire some comics

I am 11 years old and am writing regarding the Comics Page of the newspaper and the comics I believe to be unsatisfactory. I have heard of, but never read, complaints about newer and “edgier” strips, such as Pearls Before Swine and Dilbert. This is not one of those complaints.

This is stating that I believe cartoons that are old and unfunny such as Garfield, or comics passed on by father to son such as Beetle Bailey, or comics with religious themes such as Family Circus and even comics ripping off The Far Side in the wake of its success, such as Close to Home, should be removed.

There are countless others, of course, but that was just a sample of them. I think those strips should have the dignity to just retire, and allow new cartoonists to have a chance.

Peter Benoit

Bangor

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Cost to power, truth

In arguing against the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate possible law-breaking by the previous administration (“Policy shifts by Obama sufficient,” BDN OpEd, Sept. 7), David Broder parrots Dick Cheney’s concerns about the “dangerous precedent” of invoking the criminal justice system against a former administration. Broder is less concerned about the dangerous precedent of allowing laws to be violated with impunity.

Broder also shares CIA Director Leon Panetta’s concern that investigations of wrongdoings will have a “harmful effect on the morale” of the CIA but doesn’t seem concerned about the harmful effect on the American public, if we cannot trust our government to respect human rights. It is sad and telling that in both arguments, Broder seems concerned with the cost to power rather than the cost to truth.

Broder does not argue that no wrongdoing occurred but that the consequences for such wrongdoing are too high a price to pay because of the importance of the guilty parties. This argument offends the basic principles of justice.

Anand Pandya

Northeast Harbor

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What about seniors?

I am appalled to see how older semiretired individuals are being penalized. Congress voted for 100 percent retirement benefits for its members after they have served only one term. Washington voted for a large raise and got it, but Social Security recipients don’t get a COLA for 2010 or 2011.

We got a whopping $250 from Social Security in an economic stimulus package which, if we look at it, is supposed to pacify us for these two years.

If we are lucky enough to be part of the 75 percent of Americans who won’t get an increase in Medicare premiums, we will be grateful.

FDR would turn over in his grave if he could see what the U.S. is doing with our Social Security benefits. This program was to be strictly voluntary; money that participants elected to put in would be tax deductible; annuity payments to retirees would never be taxed as income, only to name a few. To top all this, I, as an individual, have to claim 85 percent of my wife’s and my Social Security as untaxed income on our tax return, because I opted to continue working after filing for early retirement.

Immigrants move to this country, and at the age of 65, begin receiving Social Security payments even though they never put a dime into it.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “a government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”

So much for the golden years!

Edward King

Glenburn

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Defining Catholicism

Matthew Rossignol’s recent letter to the editor was titled “Real Catholics know.” Mr. Rossignol implied that to be a Catholic one must believe in or agree with certain ideas.

I know some Catholics who are pro-choice and some Unitarian Universalists who are Republicans and they appear to be quite comfortable in their faith of choice and have not been asked to leave their churches. One of the great benefits of living in the United States of America is that not only can one practice or worship whatever religion they choose, they can make choices about their particular religion based on what they know and believe.

So, I will decide what is “real” to me.

Wayne Moore

Bangor

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On health care reform

I’m an 81-year-old retired psychiatrist, well-insured, with quite definite end-of-life plans. And, being able to say that, I’ll add I’m in the very fortunate minority.

Not only is the current health “nonsystem” a failure in regard to providing care for those who need it most, but it is a huge open sewer down which millions of dollars flow. President Obama’s plan may not be perfect; only time will tell. But it is sorely needed, not by me, but by you, your children, and theirs.

May our truly great Sens. Snowe and Collins continue in their good work, especially on this issue, and incidentally further enhance Maine’s role as a leader.

Richard K. Jennings

Fayette