Innocent lives hang in the balance

I respond to the Saturday letter “Gorsuch wrong for Supreme Court” by the Rev. Susan Smith. I question the statistics quoted therein; “94 percent of Americans calling money in politics a problem” and “3 out of 4 voters oppose a Supreme Court nominee who wants to loosen campaign finance restrictions,” as there are no studies or valid documentation quoted to substantiate these claims.

Smith, however, expressed many of the concerns with which I personally agree, being the need to have personnel in the justice system who are “committed to protecting the rights of all people,” and to “discourage those trying to find affirmation in a country which treats the poor, elderly, infirm and nonwhite as a burden.”

What she and Sen. Sherrod Brown each have failed to include in their “concerns” are a commitment to protecting the rights of the 1 million-plus living children killed each year by abortion.

To my knowledge, the title “reverend” denotes a person committed to the teachings of Christianity, but I came away from Smith’s letter wondering from which Bible she quotes to her congregation.

Donald DePalma Westerville broken. Tweaking Obamacare or returning to a failed free-market system is not a long-term solution.

We need to resolve the underlying issues. The United States spends twice other leading countries at well over $8,000 per person per year. Countries No. 2-11 (The top nine European Union countries and Canada) spend an average of more than $4,000 in U.S. dollars per person on health-care costs per year.

The United States has poorer results. U.S. life expectancy is just under 80 years versus just under 82 years for the others. The U.S. obesity rate is more than 35 percent, which is also double the average of those countries.

A major overhaul is needed in all sectors. Not a tweak. Where do we start? First, analyze how the other countries do so well with so little, then copy the best of those models. The U.S. goal should not only match price, but match their performances.

The U.S. population of more than 300 million people each overpaying $4,000 per year is a $1.2 trillion yearly opportunity lost.

Ken Jahnssen Galloway Dispatch article “Offbeat deals.” When I was the assistant to a pair of Realtors, I prepared a contract for some buyers who wanted to buy a home and barn in a rural area. There were a few barn cats on the property but one of them touched the buyers’ hearts.

The cat had been hit by a car and, thus, had a crooked tail. I typed the offer to include all appliances and the cat with the crooked tail.

Unfortunately, the cat passed away before we closed the sale, so the buyers never did obtain possession of that cat (if “possession” is possible with a cat).

Carole Speaks Columbus