Viewpoints

To the Editor:

At the core of the government shutdown is the cost of healthcare insurance. Millions of Americans will see their health care insurance premiums skyrocket because Republicans refuse to extend the health insurance tax subsidies. Without subsidies, insurance premiums will double or even quadruple (Kaiser Family Foundation) for people who purchase insurance from the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace, making insurance unaffordable.

To prevent the explosion of health insurance costs, Democrats will not vote for the Republicans’ partisan budget bill which excludes health insurance subsidies. Republicans wholeheartedly supported $1.1 trillion tax cuts for billionaires, but refuse health insurance tax subsidies for everyday Americans.

To the Editor:

The drive to deport undocumented immigrants, or “illegal aliens,” appears to be motivated largely by financial interests. Consider the implications of the Big Beautiful Bill, which allocated $45 billion to the construction of new detention centers - a staggering 308% increase from 2024.

These Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities are operated by private companies that are compensated based on the number of detainees housed each day. The more individuals detained, the greater the financial gain.

The government’s push focuses on arresting and holding as many people as possible, but the increase in immigration judges - from 700 to just 800 - remains insufficient. Consequently, many detainees are left waiting in these facilities for constitutionally guaranteed hearings, prolonging their confinement and further benefiting contractors.

To the Editor:

I don’t like the way our country is going. There are 20 million-plus illegal people, and a large number are criminals. Even our little Allamakee County should be concerned.

When I went to high school in Waukon, we had Ben Kettleson as the main cop, and Mr. Brandt was his helper. Ben never carried a gun.

Now, we have a chief of police and six assistants. We  have a six million dollar jail. We have a good sheriff and several assistants.

If you are a thinking, concerned person, this should concern you. We take too good of care of our felons, with very little concern for the victims. Let’s make it easy for our sheriff, so that all felons get a bread and water diet as long as they are in jail. Jail should be a place you don’t want to be.

Hello fellow residents of the land of driftless. Pastor Buck with more wayward thoughts from a follower of Christ. A lot of events in our lives come and go without much, if any advance notification. When we do get advance notification of something coming our way, what do we tend to do with that information? For most of us we categorize it; immediate response or action required, action required but not immediate, this can wait, not my concern, and so on and so on. What influences the categorization is how much such an event will directly affect us personally, or collectively such as with a spouse or our children, or our immediate family, or close friends or neighbors.  So… where am I going with this since this is an article meant to be focused on God (His Word in our life). My focus today is on the notification we all have been given. Some of the details are not yet set in stone but enough are in place to cause each and every one of us to ponder to categorize an impact and response.

To the Editor:

I write this letter to the editor because I don’t understand people today. In 1969, I served a tour with a Marine combat company north of Danang, Vietnam. In 1970-1971, I served a second tour at a river patrol boat base up the Mekong River in South Vietnam.

My reason for mentioning this is, fighting alongside of Marines in 1969 and sailors in 1970-1971, I was never asked what political party my family belonged to, and I never asked anyone else that question. We all considered ourselves Americans first.

I have been Independent all my life. Over my lifetime I have seen good and bad presidents and politicians from both major parties. I have, over the years, taken one major party’s or the other’s side in debates with people.

To the Editor:

The Trump administration continues its drive to turn America into an authoritarian dystopia. Among the latest assaults on freedom of the press is Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s order that requires reporters to pledge not to gather or use any information that has not been formally authorized for release or risk losing their credentials to cover the military.

As a spokesman for the Freedom of the Press Foundation put it: “This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations.” And yet, nary a peep from Senators Grassley and Ernst or Representative Hinson, who all swore an oath to protect the Constitution.

Thomas Hill
Lansing/Cedar Falls
 

To the Editor:

The facts are stark: 90% of murders and 98% of mass shootings are committed by men. Across time, location, culture, and political perspective, gender is the most consistent predictor of deadly violence.

Men themselves are not the problem. But the way society defines and promotes manhood is. Too often, masculinity is equated with dominance, aggression, entitlement, emotional suppression, and other factors that can lead to harmful behavior. These messages shape behavior and, in extreme cases, contribute to deadly outcomes.

To the Editor:

If you are in the 90% of Americans, and you are, (there’s only one billionaire and 73,129 millionaires in Iowa), then you know how to budget, how to choose one necessity over another. Just remember who got us there, and it wasn’t the Democrats.

Have you felt left out, disregarded, maybe heard you are all going to die? Do you really think the kowtowers to the gilded king even care what happens to you? Have you seen or heard from our politicians in person?

The Republican politicians have chosen party over people. Allamakee County has the highest Medicaid membership in Iowa. The “Big Beautiful Bill” cuts access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies, fewer hungry families can receive SNAP, our health system - nay, our health - is in jeopardy.

Our public schools are floundering, while the elite send their kids to private schools, paid, in part, by your tax dollars.

To the Editor:

My husband, Roger, and I went to a celebration of Veterans Saturday, September 13 at AJ’s Steakhouse in Waukon. We attended to claim plaques for our sons who are veterans and couldn’t be in attendance.  Roger, as a Marine, received his about a year ago.

This celebration is the brainchild of Jerry Halverson, who emceed the event and has been instrumental in finding Veterans all over the Midwest to honor them. What an impressive time it was, seeing Veterans of all ages receiving an honor bestowed on them for their service to our great country.

Attendees were able to purchase food and beverages as well as participate in an auction, the proceeds of which went to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.

If you are a Veteran or know of one who hasn’t been specifically honored, please contact Jerry Halverson in Waukon at 563-568-5275. Jerry is planning another event Saturday, November 8.

Becky Engelhardt
Postville
 

To the Editor:

As we citizens watched many of our services being threatened in the past several months, we decided it was time to write this letter.

What are we concerned for? Here is a list of eight areas being threatened:
1. No cancer research.
2. No Social Security.
3. No disaster relief.
4. No clean energy.
5. No free lunch.
6. No Medicare.
7. No Medicaid.
8. No SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

Have our Iowa legislators representing us in Washington, D.C. supported getting rid of these services? How do we feel about this? Sad and shocked.

What can we do? Write letters or call our Iowa legislators - our Senators and Representatives. Here is a phone number to reach them: 888-754-9086. Let’s do this; they represent us.

How can we stand by and let our kids, grandkids and great-grandkids suffer if these services are gone? Hoping if we care, we can change this.