GOP wants a win on health care, even if you suffer

Well, Republicans, once again, it’s party over country. Just exactly what do you hope to gain with the new Republican health care proposal other than the failure of the Affordable Care Act? Why not just fix it? Sadly, it is clear. The quality of American health care has nothing to do with your obsessive focus, and here’s proof. Just one day after the new Graham- Cassidy Senate bill announcement this past week, leading Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said, “You know, I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered, but Republicans campaigned on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign. That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill.”

Wow! This is the first time in my voting life that I have explicitly heard this view, unmasked, with “the good of the American people” nowhere to be found. It is all about the Republican Party winning and Americans losing. America’s health care isn’t at risk; America’s health is. Dennis Terdy, Glen Ellyn

Rights and patriotism are separate things

One would think that every citizen would support the constitutional right to freedom of expression displayed on Sunday by pro football teams when they kneeled during the playing of the national anthem. But many fans, clearly, can’t separate the concept of patriotism from the concept of constitutional rights.

Freedom- seekers fromaround theworld come here hoping to become American citizens. The written citizenship exam theymust pass requires exhaustive knowledge of our political system and our Constitution. If only the rest of uswere aswell- educated on our rights and freedoms. Fans then might be more likely to put our constitutional right to free expression above emotional, elastic notions of patriotism that can wax andwane, aswas seen toward Prohibition and during the Vietnam War.

Constitutional rights are iron- clad, not subject to political bent, emotionalwhim or propagandizing. Of all people, President Donald Trump should have known better than to set

Find another country

To the NFL players who dishonor the flag and all who fought for their freedom, you’re welcome to find another country where you can get paidmillions of dollars to play a stupid, dangerous game. Mike Calendar, Dunning