To the editor:

Here the Republicans go again: holding the country hostage, as well as the American people, by threatening ANOTHER government shutdown unless they are given certain provisions, simply to achieve their own personal conservative agenda: 1) Defund Planned Parenthood [So the GOP supports Unplanned Parenthood? Sounds quite reckless to me!]; 2) Repeal The Affordable Care Act [Yes, that stuck record that plays on and on forever! I prefer the first section of the name,The Patient Protection Act – which is the vital essence of this legislation, now an act. The GOP wants to replace it with The Insurance Company Protection Act, which is totally redundant since it already exists. The GOP wants to deny health care to the American people, make coverage unavailable and unaffordable?]; 3) Halt funding for the resettlement of Syrian refugees unless the White House establishes stricter vetting procedures [The US has stricter and more lengthy vetting procedures than any other country! Yes, we need to be quite focused and smart to protect ourselves from future harm. My own sense of Cold Reality: the terrorists that we need to worry about the most, concerning pending attacks, ARE ALREADY HERE!!]. So is this conservative agenda actually based on our safety and quality of life?

Talk among yourselves.

David S. Gooding
Normandy Park WA 98166