RFK Jr.’s skepticism of the polio vaccine should frighten Idahoans and all Americans | Opinion
Vaccine opposition will harm many
What will we do? Trump is bent on choosing those who skills are not visible to any rational citizen (and, probably, most foreign countries).
The choice of Robert Kennedy Jr. for leading our health department (Kennedy obviously trades on his family name as he certainly is not qualified for any job) prompts grave concern. In addition to other half-wit proposals, RFK wants to stop the use of the polio vaccine. Does he not realize that with the discovery and use of the vaccine millions of people in the USA were spared polio fears and actual infection. Who thought this was the way to go?
Has he ever seen an actual iron lung? Well, I have — I am old enough to have survived the polio scare that permeated our lives during the thirties/forties/fifties until the discovery. I remember the March of Dimes to support research. Until the discovery of the vaccine, it was just a hope not to be infected. That worm that died in RFK’s head laid some eggs which have now taken over any rational thought.
Janette McFarland, Fruitland
Brace for cuts to social programs
As we all should know now, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration health care is on the table. Musk and trump are not looking to trim them but to destroy them. If you look it up on the internet you will find that 28% of the people on Social Security are all government employees that never paid into the FICA system. You have 70.6 million people collecting Social Security, and 19,768,000 never paid a dime into the system. Why did congress, give these people money that they never contributed to? To make a correction, these people need to be cut from the system and apply the FICA tax to every employee that works for the government including all military personnel.
When talking about cuts to the budget, one item they were talking about was 200 million for cancer research in children. Why are we paying private companies to do the work that we already have a system in place to do? We have the CDC, and we have the Corps of Engineers that can find a building that will provide a place for these scientists to do the research. Let’s cut out the CEO’s pay.
Jerry Johnson, Payette
Jesus cared for the homeless
Tis the season, soon silent night before a holy Mass of Christ, to write LTEs on homelessness.
Being a proud, male, heterosexual, native of Montana, and Boise immigrant for thirty plus years, that happens to reside one block north of Interfaith Sanctuary on State; I have experience with people, who are homeless.
No brag, just fact.
By the grace of God, I may soon be homeless from inflation, property expenses, aging, retirement, medical crisis, cancel culture, grumpiness, dementia, etc.
Yeshua, whom most call Jesus, Christ, or even Isa; and Miriam, aka Mary, taught about ‘blessed are the poor in spirit’, and that the poor shall always be with us.
In Aramaic speaking Judean society, these passages directly refer to homeless.
They had life experience, about being without home, or room for a night to be born. They had to flee to Egypt, as refugees from genocidal, imperial, infanticide. Sort of similar to families in Gaza, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, ….
Some now live in Boise, as our neighbors. Some suffer homelessness, as do our veterans, mentally ill, elderly, poor, shunned, disabled, etc.
Boise be kind. Build affordable, safe, shelters, Boise River Land Opportunity Villages Evolving. BRLOVE.
Brent Mathieu, Boise
Dems get big campaign bucks too
Regarding ID Democratic Chair Lauren Necochea’s recent op ed decrying Elon Musk’s contributions to Trump and out-of-state contributions in Idaho, where was her righteous indignation to the billionaires not dissimilar to Musk who bankrolled Harris’s $20 BILLION failed campaign? Where is her indignation to the $4.5 MILLION in out-of-state money that recently tried to push Prop 1 in Idaho? Where did she step in to protest two “back east” PACs who pooled $115,000 to form one “Idaho” PAC to try to unseat Judy Boyle (R. District 9 House Seat B)? Where was her indignation when her own 2024 Sunshine report shows that 14% of her own campaign funds came from out-of-state? Ms Necochea’s hypocrisy in this matter and that of the Democrats she represents is part of what is wrong in Idaho politics.
Heidi Smith, Parma