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Allergy sufferers give thanks
I applaud our state representatives for rejecting legislation that would have blocked everyday, law-abiding citizens’ affordable access to cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Not long ago, state legislators were considering implementing burdensome legislation to require a doctor’s prescription for over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines that many Oklahomans, myself included, depend on.
This requirement would have necessitated a doctor’s co-pay for each appointment, ultimately leading to a massive increase in the cost of these safe, common, vital medicines. It also would have increased the number of doctor visits and thereby strained the demands on Oklahoma’s medical system.
As
someone who depends on cold and allergy medicine to survive Oklahoma’s
allergy season, I believe it is instrumental that the state continue to
protect the rights of consumers who legally use these medicines.
—Carmen Johnson Oklahoma City
Not our war
At
a state Capitol rally, four speakers on the left and four speakers on
the right addressed 200 participants gathered in near 100-degree heat.
The message was, “President Obama must hear from all of us that Syria is
a powder-keg that the U.S. must not become militarily embroiled in.
Syria is not our war.”
The
Assad government is ruthless and has killed thousands of civilians, but
the Obama administration said poison gas used by government forces
would be the “red line” for action. A United Nations finding published
by Reuters showed that poison gas was used by rebel forces, not
government forces, so that line has yet to be crossed.
Syria’s civil war is complex. It’s a sectarian war in a volatile region of the world. The conflict could
spread beyond Syria’s borders to become a regional war. U.S. involvement
pulls us into a proxy war with Russia and Iran, who are supporting the
Assad government.
President
Obama has thus far avoided getting the U.S. into the Syrian mess, but
he is under pressure from hawks who push for military action and label
presidents who avoid it as weak.
Former
National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski has come out stating that
intervention will make the Syrian conflict worse. Joshua Landis, an
acknowledged expert on Syria and director of the Center for Middle East
Studies at the University of Oklahoma, has published articles stating
that intervention by the U.S. risks war on a par with Iraq and Afghanistan.
Domestic
needs here in the U.S. cry for financial support, but our treasury is
depleted by war. It is time to invest our efforts at home, in an economy
that supports justice and lifts all boats.
Let
us support President Obama in refraining from military intervention,
but instead using diplomatic influence to bring about negotiations, with
all parties at the table, to end the violence in Syria.
Legislation before Congress would prohibit U.S. military intervention in Syria without a vote of Congress.
Syria must not become our next war.
—State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft and Nathaniel Batchelder
Wesselhoft, a Republican from Moore, represents House District 54. Batchelder is director of the Peace House in Oklahoma City.
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