Congressman doesn’t want to ban books

The Tuesday letter "Where's the outrage over censorship by Democrats?" from Joshua Mathias claimed that a Democratic congressman is trying to get Amazon to ban the selling of antivaccine books. That is false. The following is from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff's letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: "... the algorithms which power social media platforms and Amazon's recommendations are not designed to distinguish quality information from misinformation or misleading information and, as a result, harmful anti-vaccine messages have been able to thrive and spread ... If a concerned parent consistently sees information in their Amazon searches or recommendations that cast doubt on the safety or efficacy of vaccines, it could cause them to disregard the advice of their children’s physicians and public health experts and decline to follow the recommended vaccination schedule ..."

There's nothing calling for a book ban. Schiff is asking Amazon to not endanger public health by preferentially promoting anti-vaccine falsehoods. America. That reminded me of the vandalism at Camp Chase on Sullivant Avenue in the Hilltop, which is the last resting place of several thousands of Confederate troops from the Civil War. Park workers discovered that a large statue of a soldier holding a rifle at his side had been knocked off its base, which is perhaps 10 feet high. And the head was broken off.

The National Park Service, which owns the property, announced the statue would be repaired and returned to the fenced-in site. A private security company was quietly hired to watch Camp Chase and a Confederate cemetery on Johnson’s Island in Lake Erie. The vandalism was in the summer of 2017 — I wonder why that is taking so long.

My great-great grandfather was in the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry and saw action in several major battles of the war.

A final note: Across the top of the base and at the feet of where the soldier should be, is one word to remind us of those buried there: “Americans.”

Lee Bailey, Gahanna

I support Gov. Dewine’s plan to increase gas tax

up for the increased tax.

We all need to pitch in and get this job done. Our climate guarantees that there will always be a pothole problem, but we can do something about the big problems the governor wants to address.

I'm willing to bite the bullet and pay my share of the taxes. I say, "Go, Governor Dewine!"

James Magaw, Mount Vernon

Military vets need help with arthritis treatment

As a rheumatologist, I’m on the front lines fighting America’s leading cause of disability: arthritis. Sadly, close to 1 in 3 U.S. veterans have it, and only battle wounds cause more medical discharges from the U.S. Army. When an active service member is dismissed due to arthritis, the cost of his or her medical care falls on the Department of Defense for the rest of their life.

The department’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program is designed to fund research for the benefit of service members, yet there is no dedicated budget in the program for arthritis research, despite its high prevalence in service members. The cost to the DOD for an individual’s care can amount to nearly $1 million, and as the number of veterans with arthritis rises, so will the cost of their care.

Policymakers can slow the growth of arthritis care expenditures by establishing an arthritis research program at the DOD to accelerate arthritis prevention strategies and treatment breakthroughs for the many servicemen and women whose bodies ultimately suffer from their selfless service.

Congress can establish this program by simply dedicating funds that already exist within the CDMRP specifically to arthritis.