Statements about health reform, deficit need to be corrected

This is in response to the letters printed in the Sept. 14 paper (“There are many examples of Thompson being out of touch” and “Throw out all the incumbents: We don’t need their selfish ways). These are important issues and we need to research some of the positions posted here and elsewhere.

The statement about President Bush’s deficits is false. His administration never figured in the tax cuts and what they cost, nor did it add the costs of two unpaid-for wars. President Obama’s administration has done so. The true Bush era deficit was $1.3 trillion when he started with a surplus. As for health care, I suggest urls. You can search for yourself instead of going by shouting and rhetoric.www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/rates.html covers rate increase info and how this plan helps stop it and/or bars company's who keep doing it from participating.

In addition, www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting/proposal addresses many things. You choose the best plan for your needs. And employers will have a 35 percent tax cut for insuring their workers, and in 2014 it becomes 50 percent. And they choose from the same low-cost pool as we and Congress do, capping out-of-pocket expenses.

Visitors: Serious questions about city’s public communication

On Tuesday morning, two weeks ago, we drove from Arcata to Crescent City to visit the beach. It was 10 a.m. and we had just turned west on 9th Street when a loud siren went off. We didn’t know what it meant so I stopped and asked a shopkeeper. She told me that every Tuesday they test the tsunami warning siren at 10 a.m. 

If it was a real tsunami, how would a visitor from out of town know what to do? As far as we could see, there were no signs telling people what to do if the siren went off. 

A couple of blocks later I saw a police car parked next to Rumiano’s and I decided to speak to the officer about my concern. Lo and behold, the officer turned out to be a female mannequin, cute, but not very talkative. 

Sad to see Dr. Tardiff sell practice, but very pleased with Dr. Martello

As everyone knows by now, Dr. Tardiff has sold his veterinary practice. Like everyone else, I was concerned and saddened by that. Not only has Dr. Tardiff been my personal vet, he was also the “go-to” guy for the Humane Society of Del Norte. In addition to providing excellent care for the animals, he went above and beyond to generously provide low cost spay/neuter clinics for our community.

Well I am here to put your mind at ease about Dr. Tardiff’s replacement. Not only is the new doctor a talented and capable vet, he has exceeded my hopes in the generosity department. Dr. Martello is a breath of fresh air. He’s great with the animals and really seems to enjoy his work. In the short three months he has been here, he has already done two low-cost spay/neuter clinics for our community.

Wrong to say that seizure victims can choke on tongue

An article (“Man says his dog fished him out of the river,” Sept. 11) raises some questions. 

I wonder about the possibility of a 40-pound dog dragging what appears to be a 200-pound man out of the water far enough to air dry. 

I was completely lost when the article stated that “Zoolu (the dog) is even trained to pull Angel’s tongue out of his throat if he swallows it during a seizure.” It is a fact that one cannot swallow their tongue. If they could, how do you train a dog to put his head into a person’s mouth, then open his mouth enough to secure a tongue, and who would be dumb enough to act as the practice dummy?