The killing of bear was appalling
6/11/2006I was appalled to see the picture and read the article relating to the killing of the 650-pound bear in Canada.
What is the mindset that motivates one to murder this magnificent animal and then brag about it?
I understand the need to cull the herd when the numbers get out of hand, or the need to put food on the table. But to kill this glorious creature for the thrill of it - and a trophy - is outrageous.
This bear has obviously survived many years in the wild - only to be destroyed for no reason but its immense size.
It must be a macho thing that I cannot understand.
Why not a camera instead of a gun?
RICHARD FLASCK
Golf Creek Road
I was pleased to read Marilou Johanek's June 2 column regarding the slaughter at Haditha. It often escapes our understanding that young American men and women - our husbands, wives, our children - can be guilty of the slaughter of innocent victims.
If, however, we train these men and women to become killing machines, which is what military training does; and if we send them into an untenable situation, under-manned, under-protected, and,finally, if these Marines (or other personnel) see one friend after another slaughtered, then some of them are going to cease seeing the inhabitants of this invaded country as human, but simply as "the enemy."
The true criminals should be those who invaded a country which was not our enemy and turned it into a place where those who are our enemy will gather to find support for their hatred of America.
I support our troops 100 percent. The situation is not of their making, and in general they are doing the job set out for them.
However, as Harry Truman said regarding his desk in the Oval Office, "The buck stops here," at the desk of the commander in chief.
DEE MALTBY
Wayne, Ohio
I will be so depressed if and when my nemesis, the Asian tiger mosquito, makes its debut in Toledo.
One of the reasons I left the Washington, D.C. area three years ago was because of how impossible they had made life there during the summer. They are so skittish that at the slightest movement they take flight, only to alight and start feasting anew, so that in the end they bite you eight to 10 times as often as regular mosquitoes.
Going onto one's front porch to pick up the newspaper and sitting down to skim through the stories on the front page was long
I counted more than 40 bites on a friend's legs and arms when she did about 20 minutes of gardening without applying bug spray.
If you are remotely tasty, DEET is about the only thing that will really ward them off, which, of course, is not a good thing to use repeatedly.
I think Asian tiger mosquitoes have changed summer life forever in Washington, and they will do the same here once they arrive in the Toledo area.
They are basically impossible to get rid of once they've ensconced themselves in an area, so it's extremely important for everyone here to empty tires, kiddie pools, flower pots, gutters, and anything that can hold standing water so we can at least slow their spread. They can breed in as little as a quarter-inch of water.
In the meantime, be glad they're not here yet, and enjoy your outdoor summer fun while you can!
JEFF NELSON
Robinwood Avenue
Is America becoming a theocracy?
Because the religious right seems to be gaining favor with the electorate, it makes me wonder.
On the one hand they are trying to insinuate their religious agenda into politics, which led to the election of the present administration and in turn led us into Iraq, where we are fighting the theocratic (fanatical notwithstanding) based terrorists.
The irony is amazing.
To use their religious authority, the Bible, a quote stands out by Jesus - "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."
What part of that don't they understand?
People who think Mr. Bush went into Iraq to "free" the people were misled. It was oil.
He not only doesn't give a whit about the Iraqis, he's not even taking care of his own right here!
JANET DESMOND
Harbord Drive
When President Bush professed sorrow for saying "Bring it on," some in the media praised his apparent display of regret.
What should've been offensive to the media is that Mr. Bush made no mention of the following:
Ignoring and ridiculing warnings from Richard Clark and the CIA before 9/11.
Ignoring the Energy Department's conclusion of no WMDs in Iraq prior to the invasion.
Ignoring warnings from combat officers about using insufficient troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ignoring warnings from field officers in Iraq about bypassing rather than dealing with Iraqi militia.
Last, but not least, the thousands of Americans, allies, and innocent civilians who have died in Iraq.
In managing to avoid combat it's understandable how Mr. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove are unaware of the horrors of war on soldiers and civilians. This might explain their inability to apologize for something they've never witnessed.
What remains unclear is while we continue to lose personal freedoms paid for with American lives, most of the media continue to give the Bush Administration a free ride since 9/11.
Is this a feeling of obligation during war, as some have alluded, or a fear of being labeled unpatriotic?
THOMAS POLANCO
Marblehead, Ohio
Recently I spent four days in a cardiac care section of a local hospital after being admitted through the emergency room. Several tests were done by cardiologists, and now the bills are starting to pour in.
My insurance company provides statements stating what it is going to pay and not pay. With the latest statements I noticed that one doctor is billing me and my insurance for well over the actual amount of time that was spent with me.
While having a test done on me, which only took a total of seven minutes, this specialist also was giving a test to another person in the same room at the same time.
The insurance statement indicates that he billed for 80 minutes for this time.
Granted he had to read the results, but no way did that take more than one hour. Besides, he also had another patient taking a test.
I'm sure he was also charged for this time. Talk about double dipping.
I'm not talking about family doctors here, only the cardiologist that I had to deal with. To top it off, when the results of the test were given to me, it was by a floor nurse, and not the cardiologist.
So it was the nurse who had to answer the million and one questions that I had about the next procedures that were scheduled. If the doctor had come to explain this to me, then I could understand the extra time that was billed.
Until doctors charge only for time actually spent with a patient, they are free to charge the insurance companies for any period of time they come up with.
That is a major reason health insurance costs will just continue to rise.
CARL ZELLNER
Waterville
Hopefully, I am not the only one who viewed with sadness the magnificent bear that became a trophy.
I guess the doctor who killed it only reveres life in human form.
SHIRLEY STAMMER
Goddard Road