Glad to see new Jean Brody photo

I liked Jean Brody’s old photo, but I was a glad to see her new one. It is fantastic and I love it. Her column is so real to life and I always enjoy reading it.

Alice Wilson

Winchester

A fix for our health care problem

1. Double the amount the top 1 percent pay that the Republicans forget to mention, that they would eliminate under their plan, then add $2 trillion to health care.

2. Make the penalty of not buying coverage more aggressive, if need be through garnishment of wages if necessary.

3. To ensure that everyone is required to meet the federal guidelines for health care coverage I propose the following: Charge 130 percent for people who have a lapse in health care coverage.

4. Start the path to reducing drug prices by putting a limit on the types of drugs prescribed and reducing the price of drugs by 1 percent a year. Everybody loves this but the drug companies.

This is why I will never be elected as I have come up with a solution, although I have infuriated many people.

Mark Hewson

Winchester

More Americans are surviving cancer

This year’s annual cancer report held promising news: more Americans are surviving their cancer diagnoses, thanks to advancement in research, prevention, and early detection.

Still, with more than 1.6 million diagnoses anticipated this year, we have room to improve. This April is “Cancer Control Month,” so there’s no time like the present.

Research indicates a substantial proportion of cancers might be prevented with lifestyle changes. While activists and celebrities woo consumers with organic juice diets and stainless steel bottles, the key to prevention is likely much less trendy.

Research indicates that physical activity is the strongest deterrent of breast cancer recurrence. Patients who exercise at least 2.5 hours each week are 40 percent more likely to stay in remission. Evidence also suggests the tangential effect of reducing obesity decreases one’s risk of eight of the fourteen most common cancers.

Exercise is also far more important than diet in mitigating health risks. Studies comparing diets high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and chicken against diets high in processed grains, processed meats, and red meats found cancer occurs equally between the two.

This April, ensure your prevention strategies are scientifically sound by talking to your doctor, and leaving the celebrity endorsements to Hollywood.

Joseph Perrone, Sc.D.

Chief Science Officer

Center for Accountability in Science

Editor’s note: Gatewood Woosley’s poem “Anger in the streets” initially ran in the Sun with a typographical error on our that placed the word “not” in his quote of scripture. When Mr. Woosley’s follow-up letter ran clarifying the error, there were other errors. We have opted to run his poem in its correct form along with his follow-up letter. We regret the errors.

Anger in the streets

Isaiah 65:25 says “The wolf and the lamb will graze together.” Where is the reasoning of our leaders?

Don’t measure life by anger

that flows down city streets

Teeth that grind and fist up raised

cursing people that they meet

Lawlessness and destruction

is the nature of the beast

Rebelling with no solution

a mind that has no peace

Truth is made to be wrong

and wrong seems to be right

Deception seems to be the rule

while sanity seems to be quite

These lost children of rebellion

need guidance from the Lord

They need help to fight life’s demons

so love for God can be restored

I read the article in the paper about my poem, “Anger in the streets.” There was one key word that jumped out at me. The word was not. I think I need to apologize for the mistake. When I quoted the Bible verse in Isaiah 65:25, the verse says, “The wolf and the lamb will graze together.” When I read the article, it said “The wolf and the lamb will not graze together.” This has a whole different meaning.

I would not misquote the Bible for anything. I have a deep respect for this book. It would help our country more if it practiced the principles in this book. It seems we have strayed from the words a bit.

The point I was trying to make is it’s time that our leaders and the political parties drop their childish behavior and get together in order to solve the big problems in our country. We are so divided. We are at this time, at our weakest point and time for the enemy.

To quote Forrest Gump, “So there, that’s all I have to say about that.”

Gatewood Woosley

Winchester