THANKFUL FOR HEALTH CARE LAW

RE "RUSH'S REAL COVERAGE" (letter, July 17): The writer claimed that anyone can buy hospitalization insurance with a $3,500 deductible for less than $200 per month. That's not so. If you have any kind of pre-existing condition, the insurance companies will turn you down.

After 42 years as a dental hygienist, I had to have carpal tunnel surgery. It did not go well. I have permanent nerve damage in my hand, as well as some osteoarthritis, and I had to retire. My previous insurance company offered me a policy for $610 a month with a $10,000 deductible. In addition to the premiums, I still had to pay for my office visits, lab work, physical therapy and medications out of pocket. But it was the only policy available to me at that time.

I dropped out of the insurance pool for six months until I qualified for the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan. I am now paying $297 a month with a $2,000 deductible.

The letter writer is correct in that, if you are wealthy, young and very healthy (with no pre-existing conditions), you probably can get cheap health insurance. But for an average 62-year-old woman with the normal wear and tear of life, there was no such thing as affordable health care until now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Janet Susan Tucker

Virginia Beach

The Penn State problem

It is ironic that the Louis Freeh report on the Jerry Sandusky case accused the leaders of Penn State of being more concerned about public perception of the university than the safety of children.

Now the current leaders of the university are more concerned with the public's perception that there might have been a cover-up, rather than simply understanding that Penn State officials made a decision that, in hindsight, was a poor one.

For those who believe that Penn State should receive heavy NCAA sanctions, I ask: Why punish the alumni and the students who had nothing to do with Jerry Sandusky? The people who made the poor decisions regarding Sandusky are no longer involved in the program. The football program did not gain any advantage in regard to recruiting.

The "football culture" condemned in Freeh's report is the same culture that leads players to compete in many charity events. One of the largest college fundraisers in the nation is the Penn State Dance Marathon (www.thon.org), which has raised more than $78 million for Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

I care about those who were abused by Sandusky, but what good would it do for that one man to also be responsible for destroying a university, along with its students and alumni, who have done so much good over the years?

John B. Bloom

Newport News

Paterno's poor choices

Re "Paterno page in poor taste" (letter, July 16): The writer called for The Pilot to apologize for a Sports page image of Joe Paterno that showed him with devil horns.

Belief systems like this are exactly what continue to perpetuate pedophilia.

The writer's comment that Paterno's only "fault" in the Jerry Sandusky case is that "he didn't report it" is appalling. Had Paterno reported what he knew immediately, he could have saved more boys from being molested. Instead, he chose to protect his reputation as well as that of Penn State and its precious football program.

Yes, Paterno is dead. I submit to you that his death was partly due to a guilty conscience. If he were alive today, he might be facing criminal charges for the cover-up.

Not reporting child abuse is as evil as the abuse itself.

The Pilot owes nothing to Paterno. However, the letter writer owes an apology to victims and survivors of child abuse.

Susan G. Zarszynski

Virginia Beach

A tainted legacy

Re "Paterno page in poor taste" (letter, July 16): The writer who asked for an apology because of the Paterno picture on the Sports page missed the mark by a mile.

Paterno was in a position of power at Penn State, and he fully knew what he was doing - putting the reputation of his school above the moral requirement to remove and report Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno decided what he stood for and what he would overlook by the choices he made in his life, and now he will be remembered for all he did, as well as what he didn't do.

We need the youth of today to understand that all that evil needs to survive is for good people to do nothing.

Susan Hunter

Virginia Beach

Politics on the comics page

Re "Moving Doonesbury" (letter, July 17): I do not agree with moving "Doonesbury" to the Opinion page. There is no question that the strip carries a specific political philosophy. This, however, is part of a long tradition of newspaper cartoons that express political or social views.

On the political side, there was "L'il Abner," in which Al Capp presented a very conservative view with wit and charm. Among his characters was "Joanie Phoanie," a hypocritical folk singer, who was obviously a parody of Joan Baez. Walt Kelly gave us "Pogo," which introduced political figures disguised as swamp animals. I remember two hounds who looked like J. Edgar Hoover and a character who was perhaps modeled on Spiro Agnew who kept finding pieces of paper, reading them and throwing them away. There was also the strip "Miss Peach," which made social commentary by characters who were children. Johnny Hart's "BC" more recently ran religious-oriented strips, which received a great deal of criticism.

If the reader is seeking some type of balance, I suggest "Mallard Filmore," in which a duck comments conservatively about political issues.

Are any of these comic strips "fair"? Absolutely not, but that's not the point of a cartoon. A cartoon is supposed to make us laugh, and sometimes to think.

Kevin Grant Butterfield

Norfolk

Outfitted in the outfield

Members of Congress are considering introducing a bill that would require U.S. Olympic uniforms to be manufactured in the U.S.

I'm sure Congress will apply this to all global competitions, including the Little League World Series.

Patrick Martin

Virginia Beach