Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014

Heller doesn’t act like a fiscal conservative

Our Senator Dean Heller purports to be a fiscal conservative. He voted to shut the government down and voted for default on our debt obligations. He is consistently saying budget cuts “didn’t go far enough.” He wants to rein in government spending. All that he speaks of. But he fails to control his want to spend.

Heller is the sponsor of a bill in the Senate that would move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This billion dollar boondoggle is unnecessary and irrelevant. It is a specious, symbolic gesture to placate certain right wing fluff mongers. It doesn’t benefit America, it spends money foolishly and has no use at all to Nevada or Nevadans. Yet Heller is gung-ho on the idea despite Senator Moynihan of New York trying for it and failing at it decades ago.

Heller ignored me when I asked him, why? But I can guess. More importantly, who has put him up to this costly, inane idea? Who’s backing you, Senator? Who are you working for?

Robert Simpson

Dayton

Why does government need medical records?

In a recent speech about the NSA eavesdropping on U.S. citizens, Obama attempted to ease our suspicions about the scandal by stating that even NSA employees had “bank accounts and medical records.” Was that a slip of the tongue?

Why is this government, through the NSA, monitoring our bank accounts? Are they considering confiscation of our bank accounts when the U.S. reaches its debt limit and countries stop loaning us money? Don’t forget, the last time both houses of Congress were controlled by Democrats (in the last two years of the Bush administration), they held hearings about the possibility of confiscating our IRA and 401k accounts. Yes, the word “confiscate” was used.

And why are they monitoring our medical records? Is it the prelude to the death panel? Think I am paranoid? Just recently my cardiologist prescribed a blood test for me. I had it done and weeks later received a bill from the testing agency because Medicare had “denied” the claim with no explanation on the invoice. When I called the agency and asked if there was a reason listed on the Medicare denial, she said yes, it said “not necessary.”

This is a blatant case of some bureaucrat overriding the decision of my doctor. Imagine you are on Medicare and your doctor performs a joint replacement and then Medicare denies it as “not necessary.” You will be stuck with the bill and will probably become bankrupt as a result. Remember, someday you too will probably be on Medicare.

Don Gurney

Carson City