February 5, 2002

EDITORIAL OPINION PIECE

Stanley for U.S. Senate Campaign
Web Site: http://www.stanley2002.org
Contact: Rick Stanley, (303) 329-0481
Email:

The following statement of editorial opinion is offered for your use by Rick Stanley, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate.

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Spending Priorities...War on Drugs or Citizen Support?
by Rick Stanley     

My mother told me she is having all of her teeth pulled and a set of dentures will be her teeth in the future.  She told me that she will spend over $3,000.00 to pay for this.  My mom is 70 years old, so I asked her why medicare didn't pay for this?  She said that this type of medical procedure is not covered.  Then I began asking her about all the other myriad of ailments she has had in the last five years and what medicare had done for her.  She explained to me that whenever she looked into it,  most everything with regards to her  medicare government assistance benefit,  were not covered or the beauractatic maze was just too complicated, so she wound up having to pay for many services out of her own  personal funds.

Okay.  I went ballistic again.  She told me to calm down, she would be fine.  I told her I knew that.  This family has always taken care of its' own.  But dammit, this was a benefit that she and I have paid for all of our lives in Social Security payments extorted from us by the government.

Many, many people have told me how difficult it is to get certain medicare and even certain Social Security benefits.

Why is it so easy for the government to blow forty  billion dollars on a failed drug war that is actually turning our children into addicts, by creating a profit motive for criminals to push outlawed drugs upon them,  instead of providing medicare relief to people who have paid into this system their whole lives, only to be turned down when a true need existed?

Just another government lie.  President Bush recently stated that he wants to make it easier for immigrants to get assistance/relief benefits.  What about Americans?  What about us?  Why are non-citizens being allowed government assistance benefits before born and bred Americans  in the first place?  Why do we continue to put up with the government taking away from us what we have paid into, with our blood, sweat and tears,  and  is rightfully ours?

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Rick Stanley is a Libertarian Candidate for U.S. Senate from Colorado
( www.stanley2002.org). Stanley is a Denver businessman with 27 years' experience serving the construction, plant maintenance and fleet maintenance industries. He is currently the owner and CEO of Stanley Fasteners and Shop Supply.