Our health care system is broken

So, why do I care? I care because the problem of providing good quality, affordable health care for everyone in the nation is not just the “poor man’s problem.”

Now that the presidential election is past, we can reflect on contemporary America and her politics.

Whenever I criticize the Charlottesville City Council I feel I am flogging a dead horse.

A Nov. 18 to the editor headlined “The barbarians take Washington” (The Daily Progress) gives us an interesting insight to one who may have supported the McCain presidency.

The auto industry companies want another $25 billion dollars from the American public.

I was interested to read the Associated Press report that President-elect Barack Obama may remove current U.S. foreign aid restrictions against abortion (“Obama plans to use executive orders for immediate impact,” The Daily Progress, Nov. 10).

Apparently the letter writer regarding “Endorsements not in touch with city” (Nov. 14) hasn’t been reading The Daily Progress on a regular basis. Had she, I think she would have realized that The Daily Progress was behind Barack Obama as much as the rest of the mainstream media.

The Albemarle County School Board claims to be bereft of the funds it needs to implement its mission, which is ostensibly to educate our children.

Within the first waking hour of each day, I enjoy more luxury than the upper class did in the relatively recent past.

Since the exact nature of Barack Obama’s “change” was never clearly defined either by the candidate or the mainstream media, we are left to speculate between now and Jan. 20.

Many patriotic citizens observed Veteran’s Day by offering a heartfelt and sincere “thank you” to those who have placed service to country before themselves, but I submit to you two additional acts of thought and thanks as a means to celebrate veterans any time of year.

All of us in Albemarle County should be very grateful to Jake Washburne and his assistants at the Albemarle County Voter Registration Office.

Our Central Virginia Pop Warner JM Chiefs could never have advanced so far without the leadership of Trevor Henry.

Evlynn Murphy
Fluvanna County

The Daily Progress Nov. 14 editorial on Barack Obama’s energy plan (“Energy plan: Expect pain”) is deeply flawed because of both its superficiality and its excessive use of ad hominem sarcasm in place of thoughtful analysis.

The front-page lead article of The Daily Progress of Nov. 9, “Obama win a life’s work for activist,” featured the reaction of 80-year-old black activist Eugene Williams to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. 

The Nov. 14 Daily Progress editorial headlined “Energy plan: Expect pain” laments Barack Obama’s plan to institute carbon cap

Congratulations for featuring your editorial regarding the song “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (editorial of Nov. 12, “Old Virginny’ rears its head”).

When I went to vote at my polling place on Nov. 4, I was struck by an amazing poster that was set up outside in the parking lot by volunteers from the Virginia Democratic Party.

In response to the letter to the editor published in the Nov. 7 Daily Progress concerning remarks by University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato

It is certainly not the duty of an editor to check the pulse of the readers before writing an opinion and then to write only warm, fuzzy, feel-good editorials based on what the editor thinks will please the majority of readers.

The results of the recent elections provide us an intriguing opportunity to share the feelings of sober Roman citizens in the waning days of empire.

I often think David Marotta’s column belongs on the editorial page rather than in the Business Journal, but on Nov. 3, he outdid himself with his acrimonious attack on Barack Obama’s proposals for tax change (“The assault on American markets”).

The Republican leadership must sideline the abrasive, distracting social-conservative planks and rediscover the principles of limited government and true fiscal restraint, which once helped voters distinguish the GOP platform from Democratic excesses.

I am incensed by the editorial in the Nov. 12 issue of The Daily Progress (“’Old Virginny’ rears its head).

What is being overlooked, however, is that we may have witnessed not just the election of the first black president, but in the process, the last presidency of a male Caucasian in this country.

McIntire Park is a natural resource that deserves protection from the threats of encroaching asphalt and concrete. The Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club urges our government leaders to reconsider past planning decisions for the Meadowcreek Parkway and a YMCA in our central park.

Your Nov. 11 editorial (“The Big Three beg for more”) sounded a strong note of accountability rarely seen or heard within the blizzard of commentary surrounding the corporate bailout plan.

This election turned out more voters than any election in Fluvanna’s history, and I want to express my gratitude to the Elections Board and to the registrar and her staff for how efficiently it was managed.