I am writing for the first time a letter to the Editor. Mr. Joseph R. Zankl has inspired me. I too have been in fear that our great country is being flushed down the drain. A horrible sense of powerlessness was among those of us who were not enthralled with President Bush, the war against Afghanistan and then Iraq, the incompetence in government, the lack of concern about the environment, education, the economy, etc. Inquiry: How often in the last eight-and-a-half years have we, as a nation, been stricken with this fear? Ignorance begets fear and knowledge increases confidence, creativity, productivity, and sensible thinking. It is our responsibility as citizens to always do some serious fact checking on important issues.

Perhaps one of the biggest and most dangerous problems that we face today is the polarization of our ideals and goals. It just seems that someone always wants to win, be it an argument, a vote, or even a "put down" to show how bright they are. There are entire television stations devoted to one kind of thinking, and all they do all day is take quotes from politicians out of context and then harp on them ad nauseam. There is a great deal of people listening to these various television and radio stations, as well as on the Internet, and these people believe what they hear, read, and see. This is not the way to work together and compromise, and understanding is needed — not a brutal fight about anything just to be the winner.

It surprises me a bit to hear months and months of debate by our representatives, questions, research, so-called town meetings, and an unknown amount of TV news hours being devoted to the health care issue. I don't remember anything like that when we went to our two wars, a few weeks and…. well we know what's happening there now. I totally understand about something awful tasting being pushed down our collective throats. Don't get me wrong; I am pleased that such an important issue is being thoroughly discussed. So, let's get to some fact checking.

The original idea for health care reform was to provide a health care system for those Americans who did not have coverage. I am not sure, but I think President Theodore Roosevelt had the original idea. The state of Oregon has a state-run health care system and a woman named Barbara Wagner has cancer. The newspaper article was sketchy at best; however it is a very disturbing message. The following is part of it: Dr. Som Saha, chairman of the commission that sets policy for the Oregon Health Plan, said Wagner is making an "unfortunate interpretation" of the letter and that no one is telling her the health plan will only pay for her to die. However, he admitted they must consider the state's limited dollars when dealing with a case such as Wagner's. The Oregon Health Plan simply hasn't kept up with dramatic changes in chemotherapy, said Dr. David Fryefield of the Willamette Valley Cancer Center. It is a very sad story and hopefully one that can help steer the direction of our health care debate. We must learn from mistakes, not run from them. Let us not look at one state and hysterically tell the story as if this is the plan the President has in mind.

The paragraphs that were devoted to Canada and England really don't apply to the U.S. First, health care polices and prices in Canada may differ from province to province. The national government sends health care dollars to the provinces, but the provincial and territorial governments each establish their own guidelines. I do not believe this is what President Obama has in mind for our country, and I don't believe I have ever heard it said that he did. There is no such thing as "rationed health care"; I believe the reference is to page 29 of the bill. The following quote is from factcheck.org: "This section says nothing whatsoever about 'rationing' or anything of the sort. Actually, it's favorable to families and individuals, placing an annual cap on what they could pay out of pocket if covered by a basic, 'essential benefits package.' The limits would be $5,000 for an individual, $10,000 for a family."

The comment about the elderly people put into hospital wards in England to die from starvation was uncheckable, for me at least. I couldn't find a reference to it anywhere. I would venture a guess that Daniel Hannan uttered this statement on a Fox news program — that is one of the stations we should avoid if we want to be informed with the least amount of bias possible. The following information is from Wikipedia: "Mr. Hannan is a British politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing South East England for the Conservative Party." In the Parliament, he previously sat as an independent, having been expelled from the European Peoples' Party's, European Democrats group in 2008. Recently, the Conservatives and other anti-federalist parties formed a new "eurosceptic" group; therefore he no longer sits as an independent. Hannan is a eurosceptic and is strongly critical of European integration.

Hannan is also a journalist, writing leaders and a blog for The Daily Telegraph. He has also published several books arguing for radical democratic reform.

Hannan made national news headlines in August 2009 by criticizing the National Health Service on the Fox News Channel in the United States. Amongst other comments, Hannan stated on U.S. TV that he "wouldn't wish" the NHS "on anyone." The comments sparked criticism and controversy from some quarters in the U.K. Mr. Hannan sounds to me like he is a politician and wants to win people over to his way of thinking and is not giving the entire story. I don't think I would want his advice, as it is too far to one side and doesn't seem to include people who might disagree.

The idea that the federal government can't run complex and innovative programs is beyond comprehension. The federal government does this such thing every day. I see some new and interesting ideas taking place, albeit through some very tough and closed minds. President Obama became president in a very difficult time. He is dealing with an enormous economic disaster and is trying different ideas to rectify the situation. Yes, some have not worked but does that mean we give up? Is President Obama listening to the same old Washington crowd? No, thank goodness!

(The conclusion of this letter will be in next week's Journal.)