4 A
The First Amendment
Letters to the Editor:
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ongress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
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SATURDAY
APRIL
4
•
2015
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
• On April 12, 1633, the inquisition of physi-
cist and astronomer Galileo Galilei begins.
Galileo was ordered to turn himself in for hold-
ing the belief that the Earth revolves around the
Sun. At the trial, he was sentenced to three
years in prison and ordered to recite once a
week the Seven Penitential Psalms.
• On April 10, 1866, the American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is
founded in New York City by philanthropist
Henry Bergh, who pleaded on behalf of abused
workhorses. By the time Bergh died in 1888, 37
states had passed anti-cruelty laws.
• On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games are
reborn in Athens 1,500 years after being
banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. A
crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed athletes
from 13 nations to the international competi-
tion.
• On April 8, 1935, Congress votes to
approve the Works Progress Administration, a
central part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s
“New Deal,” an expansion of the federal gov-
ernment as an instrument of employment
opportunity and welfare. The WPA employed
more than 8.5 million people on 1.4 million
public projects before it was disbanded in 1943.
LETTERS
pled with non-governmental
program access eligibility
based on employment status
— active, retired or depend-
ent.
Obamacare, although it is
a significant step in the right
direction, does not directly
address the problem. SB 891
and SB 900 may chip away
at it, but a meaningful solu-
tion will come only with a
single-payer system.
Arnold Buchman
Florence
Insult to America
What a total insult to, first
of all, our service men and
women, but also to our nation
to slap Bowe Bergdahl on the
wrist and charge him with
desertion and misbehaving.
People died trying to rescue
him. I have restrained from
being critical of the Obama
administration until this mis-
carriage of justice.
This action just solidifies
everything that I have heard
and resisted over the past six-
plus years about the current
administration.
Where are we going to find
people to run our country that
has not only the backbone to
stand up to what is right, but to administrate
on behalf of the people, just as our
Constitution was written?
I'm a 77-year-old veteran and I am going to
see how many of our citizens feel as I do. This
sort of non-patriotic action from our govern-
ment has to stop and the people that love it
need to be heard.
Larry L. Barney
Florence
Hospital economics
The letter from Tom Payn (“Hidden Health
Costs,” March 25) calls attention to the inac-
cessibility to both patients and physicians of
hospital charges prior to treatment. As a result,
consumers of nonemergency procedures are
unable to shop for services in a market where
prices can and do vary significantly from hos-
pital to hospital.
Hospital economics, whether for-profit or
not-for-profit, are an oriental bazaar of fiscal
illusions. At its core is the hospital’s “charge-
master,” a computer program of precise
charges for everything from a day in the ICU
to a single aspirin. Hospitals guard access to
their chargemaster like Coca Cola guards the
formula to its soda.
Third-party payers like Medicare and
United Healthcare negotiate discounts from
these charges, which, as Steven Brill demon-
strates in “America’s Bitter Pill,” have literal-
USPS# 497-660
Simple solution
ly no rational relationship to the hospital’s
costs in providing its services. Thus, a hospital
will charge $1.50 for a single ibuprofen, when
you or I can buy 1,000 of them at Costco for
$10.49.
Those with little or no insurance needing
serious medical care get charged the full
chargemaster rate. As Mr. Payn indicates, hav-
ing no bargaining power, they end up with
empty pockets, often having to file for bank-
ruptcy.
Mr. Payn points to two proposed bills in
Oregon, SB 891 and SB 900, which could help
those shopping for healthcare.
SB 891 would require healthcare facilities
to timely respond to a consumer asking for
charges billed for healthcare services.
SB 900 would require Oregon Health
Authority to post on its website healthcare
price data for inpatient and outpatient hospital
services.
Unfortunately, SB 891 could be an adminis-
trative nightmare for hospitals, while the data
called for in SB 900 would be historical and
therefore of little use to those seeking current
charges.
Requiring each hospital to publish its
chargemaster would be more efficacious in
reining in hospital pricing.
At the root of the problem of outrageous
pricing is a legislative reform jerry-built on the
third-party-payer based, fee-for-service
methodologies of our healthcare system cou-
In awe
When and how did the adjective “awe-
some” become such a pervasive word in our
spoken vocabulary to the point of ad nauseam?
Whatever happened to adjectives like fantas-
tic, wonderful, interesting, good, enjoy and
nice? Seems like we are in a society that
speaks without any thought, and one word
covers for our inability to create a thought.
Awesome (adjective): Causing or inducing
awe, an overwhelming feeling of reverence,
admiration or fear.
Awe (noun): A strong feeling of fear, respect
and wonder.
I have gone into stores on a Friday to pur-
chase something and when I check out, instead
of the clerk saying “have a nice weekend” or
“enjoy your weekend,” more than likely it will
be “have an awesome weekend.”
Not sure if I should be in fear or wonder of
the coming weekend.
Win Jolley
Florence
• On April 11, 1961, Bob Dylan plays his
first major gig in New York City, opening for
bluesman John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk
City. Dylan was too young to obtain the neces-
sary union card and cabaret license needed to
appear on a regular bill at Gerde’s. One of the
club owners, Mike Porco, signed as Dylan’s
guardian.
• On April 7, 1970, the legendary actor John
Wayne wins his first — and only — acting
Academy Award, for his performance in “True
Grit.” Wayne appeared in some 150 movies
over the course of his long and storied career.
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439. Phone (541) 997-3441 (See
extension numbers below). FAX (541) 997-7979.
John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ryan Cronk
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
The way to fix the illegal
alien problem is not com-
plex. Anyone caught hiring
any illegal alien would be fined $50,000 from
the first offense on. Out of the $50,000 fine,
$5,000 would be paid to the person who
turned them in.
The illegals would turn themselves in and
self-deport — $5,000 richer.
Martin Cable
Dunes City
• On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) introduces
America’s first astronauts: Scott Carpenter, L.
Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil
“Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan
Shepard Jr. and Donald Slayton. The seven men
were selected to take part in Project Mercury in
1961.
Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us