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The INDEPENDENT, August 16, 2007
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Essential to Freedom
Guest Editorial by Gary Stutzman, Managing Edi-
tor, Hillsboro Argus. Reprinted with permission.
Journalists (editorial writers) are central to the
front line offense in the struggle for freedom, wher-
ever necessary, and the foxhole defense in pro-
tecting freedoms at home and abroad.
Freedom does not come to be, and is not main-
tained, without cost. With freedom come constitu-
tional rights we the people cherish. We the media
strive to protect those rights with the stroke of the
mighty pen – or shall we say today, the mighty
computer keystroke. That includes press free-
doms.
Freedom of the press is essential to a free soci-
ety. Any attempt to silence or suppress information
is unacceptable and should be met with even
stronger voices. Freedom of information has been
challenged in recent years, and that leads to a
weakened democracy that could easily stumble
and tumble.
Editorial pages from New York to Los Angeles
are crucial to healthy debate. It is not only the edi-
torial writers for those pages who are critical for
healthy debate. The letter to the editor contributors
are important to the exchange of ideas and opin-
ions, as well.
Details of such debates are often revealed in the
community weeklies across our country, including
the Hillsboro Argus.
Readers might not always agree with us and
that’s OK. While we lean to the Conservative side
of most issues, we have no qualms about pointing
out what we believe to be right (no pun intended)
or wrong with either side – and to support those we
believe to be the best candidates, R or D, for pub-
lic office.
Our voices need to be heard on a variety of sub-
jects that could threaten our way of life. As long as
we encourage dialogue through editorials and let-
ters, that mission will be advanced.
And the presses will continue to roll free of polit-
ical pressures.
Out of My Mind
by Noni Andersen
How’s your health? Great? Okay? Poor?
If you are 50 or older, have you had a
colonoscopy?
At 61, President Bush has had not just one,
but four, colonoscopies. His last one, in July,
took about 2.5 hours total, with 31 minutes for
the procedure.
The wife of Rep. Ron Paul, a presidential can-
didate, just had a colonoscopy, too.
I’m asking these questions because health re-
search has led to recommendations that people
50 or older have a screening colonoscopy, be-
fore any symptoms are reported.
So, what is a colonoscopy? Why should you
have one? What will it cost?
Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor
to look at the inner lining of your large intestine
(rectum and colon). With the patient sedated, the
doctor uses a thin, flexible tube called a colono-
scope to look at the colon. A colonoscopy helps
find ulcers, polyps, tumors, and areas of inflam-
mation or bleeding. During a colonoscopy, tissue
samples can be collected (biopsy) and abnormal
growths can be removed. Colonoscopy can also
be used as a screening test to check for cancer-
ous or precancerous growths (polyps) in the
colon or rectum.
The president is a prime candidate for follow-
up colonoscopies because noncancerous polyps
were found with his first one, in 1998, when he
was governor of Texas.
The question of cost is much harder to an-
swer.
Federal employees, including the administra-
tion, Congress and the Judiciary, have mostly
excellent health insurance. You and I provide
that coverage with our taxes.
Because I am a senior citizen with Medicare,
your taxes also help with my health coverage; I
add to that by paying a Medicare premium (de-
ducted from Social Security payments), plus a
premium for supplemental health care.
For many years, a colonoscopy was covered
under my insurance, though one was never or-
dered because I had no symptoms. This year,
that coverage changed drastically. It is still cov-
ered if I have symptoms . But, if my doctor or-
dered a symptomless screening, as recom-
mended by medical researchers (and my own
HMO), it would now cost me $300 in addition to
my monthly premium. So I would have to pay for
early detection, but not for diagnosis and expen-
sive treatment of a condition that would already
be well-advanced by the time symptoms show.
Sounds pretty dumb, doesn’t it?
How is your coverage? With employer-based
coverage “melting away like a popsicle on the
summer sidewalk”, as Sen. Ron Wyden says,
more people are finding it difficult to afford health
care.
So, what do Pres. Bush and Rep. Paul pay for
their basic health care premiums under the Fed-
eral Employee Health Benefits Program (non-
Postal)? In Texas, high coverage for a family is
$1278.38/month. Of this government pays
$697.43. Standard coverage is $704.97/month,
Please see page 3