RSS 2.0 FeedNovember 4, 2010, Weekly editorial
A gold card for veterans
“Into the ward with the clean white-washed walls, somebody’s darling was bourne today, wounded by bayonets, sabers and balls...” so goes the Confederate ballad from Civil War days. It reminds us that every soldier was someone’s beloved, even the ones who return from war broken in spirit and body, and who have no one waiting to give them a hug.
Those who have risked their lives and their futures, have given a part of their lives and have sacrificed their health, deserve to be compensated. That is why there are veterans’ benefits such as priority for government jobs, scholarships and help in financing a home. There are also special veterans hospitals.
The problem is those hospitals are often overcrowded and underfunded. Our veterans deserve a taxpayer-funded medical insurance “gold card” that would be valid at any medical facility. This would be one way to help fund our hospitals and a way to show our veterans that we believe they deserve the best.
It would also serve as a great recruiting tool.
A former staffer of this newspaper, Jack Rice, came up with this idea. Don’t you agree with him that our veterans deserve a gold card? This Veterans Day, let’s thank them not only with words but with action. Let’s ask our representatives to work on this. Someone said it would also eventually help solve the problem of funding the veterans hospitals but was too sensible a solution to ever be adopted. Let’s hope that is not so.
A casino at Jones Beach?
They say “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” And many like to take a trip to Atlantic City on the Jersey Shore or across the Sound to the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Others hop the casino boat from Freeport for a quick escape. But who would like a casino to be located on state or tribal land at Jones Beach?
This new proposal being floated seems to go against everything the state park was founded to be, a chance to enjoy nature for city dwellers and suburbanites alike. The traffic is already strangled on a good beach day. Imagine how many more bridges would need to be built for a casino! And can anyone see an economic benefit to this area?
