Response to Emanuel OpEd
On Oct. 29, the BDN published an OpEd by Rahm Emanuel asserting that “Medicare-for-all is a pipe dream.” A recent article in the Guardian by leading economists at the University of California, Berkeley, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, concludes that “…the data show that for most workers, [Medicare for All] would lead to the biggest take-home pay raise in a generation.”
So why is Emanuel working so hard writing pieces and going on talk shows to downplay the feasibility of Medicare for All? It was not disclosed by Emanuel or the Bangor Daily News that his current employer is an investment bank that counts among its clients large pharmaceutical and health care corporations, entities that would see lower profits after the expansion of Medicare.
Andrew Knightly
Bangor
Geography problems
We have a president who seems to have a problem with our geography.
A month ago, he claimed Hurricane Dorian was going to hit Alabama. When he or someone in his administration finally found a map, and saw where Alabama was located, a Sharpie was apparently used to show the fictitious path he had claimed the Hurricane was taking. Now he wants to build a wall in Colorado. Does he not know that New Mexico is a part of the U.S., or does he think Colorado is on the Mexican Border?
I truly believe that this self-proclaimed genius is clueless when it comes to the geographical layout of our country. This guy has a 5th grade vocabulary, and when he’s not saying false or misleading things, he’s taking cheap shots at someone. He’s taking credit for President Barack Obama’s economic upturn, even though he rode into office on it. He says Vladimir Putin and Kim Jung Un are great guys, and so what if more than 30,000 thousand people in this country are killed by guns every year. Global warming, what global warming? Fake News. In fact, any newspaper reporting the truth seems to be fake news from his perspective.
Come on, Mr. President, show us your tax returns. We need a good laugh.
Doug Davis
Windham
Canaries in the coal mine
Early in the twentieth century canaries were used to determine if coal mines were safe to work in. When a canary died, miners fled the area.
Now, the journal Science tells us that three billion birds, or nearly 30 percent of our bird population, have died in the last 50 years. Birds of every habitat are included. As indicators of our environmental condition, three billion “canaries” are telling us to flee or do something about our environment.
If given half a chance, nature is resilient and can recover. Monarch butterflies were in steep decline with worries of extinction on the horizon. Word got out and people responded by planting milkweed. Monarch butterfly populations have rebounded somewhat, and this year monarchs were everywhere!
The Science study recommends seven simple actions to help birds recover that anyone can help with: Make windows safer by keeping screens on or attaching stickers to break up reflections on the outside; keep cats indoors — cats are a top source of bird loss; reduce lawn size and plant native species; avoid pesticides; drink shade grown coffee; avoid or recycle plastic wherever possible; watch birds and report what you see. For more information please visit: 3billionbirds.org.
Jane Rosinski
Holden