#b#Honor the Past#/b#
As the anniversary of September 11th approaches it reminds us as nation how important it is to recognize the past events that have shaped our nation. I recently learned that the United States government did not send a representative to the anniversary of the Normandy invasion. This is the first time that the U.S. has not been represented at the ceremony since the invasion in June of 1944. The government said there was no money for a fly over or to send a delegate or honor guard. The French government was deeply upset as were the other allies and the American Legion National Commander.
If my American Legion Post had known, we would have raised the money to send a representative. Our post has a 92-year-old veteran of the Normandy Invasion. He was shocked that this anniversary was overlooked. With all the government waste there should be some money available to send a representative. It is sad that over 7,000 young Americans died that first day. We as a nation are losing our past and forgetting who we were.
I urge all of you to write or call your representative to let them know this should not happen again.
Robert M. Cox
Commander, Post 76
#b#Honor Mamie Smith#/b#
Thank you for publishing my “author’s query” in regard to the Mamie Smith headstone fundraiser in the August 21 issue. It appears we did get a few donations from the central New Jersey area — thanks, no doubt, to U.S. 1.
For your information, the campaign is being mentioned on Public Radio International and on several Sirius radio stations. Many thanks.
Michael Cala
Editor’s note: Cala, a Princeton-based writer and reviewer, is campaigning to create a memorial in honor of the African American blues singer who paved the way for other black performers to obtain recording contracts with major record labels. Visit indiegogo.com or https://igg.me/at/mamie-smith/x/847836. Or contact Cala via twitter, @mick655, or by E-mail, mick655@yahoo.com.
#b#U.S. 1’s Art Choice: ‘Outrageous’#/b#
The article in your September 4 issue on the Affordable Care Act, written by Michele Alperin, accurately described the complexities of health care reform and provided valuable information for employers and consumers.
Your choice of art did the exact opposite. Illustrating the article with 19th century style cartoons of President Obama selling snake oil only fuels the fear and misconceptions I tried to allay and correct by spending so much time with your reporter. The art was offensive and insulting to anyone truly trying to understand what health care reform will mean to New Jersey and its citizens.
More than 1 million people in our state live without adequate health care coverage. I believe that health reform will improve access to quality care for so many. Reform will bring change, certainly, and as I mentioned to your reporter there no doubt will be bumps in the road. There is ample room for reasoned disagreement and a civil dialogue on the ACA, but your outrageous art addresses no legitimate concerns and merely spreads needless fear.
David L. Knowlton
President and CEO, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
Editor’s note: The poster reproduced along with the September 4 cover article portraying President Obama selling snake oil appeared adjacent to a letter to the editor from the AARP urging people to resist “political attacks and the smokescreen of erroneous charges” from anti-Obamacare forces.
Below the letter was a caption telling readers that the poster was part of the anti-Obamacare publicity campaign. We are confident that our readers do not need to be sheltered from any argument, no matter how misleading, and that they will (as our cover headline advised) “read the fine print.”
