Our Work's Cut Out for Us

Regarding the concurrent receipt issue, the commentary has been brisk following the disappointing action (or inaction) taken by Congress. Simply put, our leaders demonstrated no leadership. It is fairly easy to sign off as a cosponsor to concurrent receipt legislation but very hard to stand and be counted when the chips are down. I would hope that veterans in the home district of the leadership would hold them accountable at the next election in two years. In the meantime, let us resolve not to forget.

Brig. Gen. J.M. AuBuchon, USA-Ret.
Pittsburg, Kan.

After reading "Medicare Relief Bill in Doubt" ("Washington Scene", December 2002) I waited anxiously for your recent issue and your follow-up report on its success or failure to gain congressional support. Subsequently, I was not surprised to read that the Senate failed to pass compromise legislation but would address it early in 2003.

For retirees, who have been enduring space-available medical care for years, then, in many instances, footing their own medical bills, the Medicare/TRICARE For Life (TFL) route was a real plus. Now we are facing a reduction in the only care available to us as doctors willing to accept Medicare are becoming fewer because payments don't cover overhead costs.

...[T]he doctor's office is no longer a doctor-nurse-receptionist operation. With the increased paperwork, the patient is now dealing with billing departments while administrators now outnumber the doctors. ... If the doctor's fee is expected to partially cover these added administrative costs I can understand his or her reluctance to accept new Medicare patients.

Capt. John J. Peterson, USA-Ret.
Lothian, Md.

I was particularly pleased to see that paid-up [Survivor Benefit Plan] coverage (after 30 years) remains high on your legislative priority agenda.

I'm one of those who will get stuck for the full five years of payments, having retired from active duty in 1973. How I would dearly love to question those reluctant [representatives] who fail to recognize the idiotic inequity in that situation.

...I pray that those who write to ["Your Views"] also write or send copies to their congressional representatives. Not to do so is simply "preaching to the choir," which may help in the venting process but accomplishes very little.

Lt. Col. Robert Sandla, USA-Ret.
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

I can't thank MOAA enough for its strong action on Capitol Hill to persuade Congress to award military retirees additional benefits over these past few years. Due to passage of TFL I saved $5,000 per year in secondary medical insurance premiums. Since the early '70s, when Congress kicked most retirees out of military medical facilities, I have paid $3,500 to $5,000 in secondary insurance premiums. Now that is an awful lot of money in my pocket with TFL. And it could not have happened without MOAA and The Military Coalition. But MOAA needs all the help it can get from military retirees to make it happen. They cannot do it alone, nor can we. We must work together as a team. So send those e-mails and letters to the president and members of Congress when MOAA asks us to. And, don't just send them once, but many times over. Together we can make it happen.

Lt. Col. Rex A. Smith, AUS-Ret.
Ashburn, Va.

Something Fishy

Thanks for an absolutely wonderful article ["Julia Child: Cooking Up Intrigue", January 2003]. Cooking is a hobby of mine, so I will be sure to put her biography on my Christmas list.

I do take exception to a quote attributed to Noel Fitch in his book on Julia. According to your reprint, Fitch recounts an experiment to squeeze fish and drink the fluids, calling it "naïve." It is widely published in military survival manuals that many body parts of saltwater fish contain freshwater fluids. It is recommended these be ingested or squeezed as a source of freshwater if one is lost at sea. Perhaps Fitch is the one who is naïve.

Lt. Col. Edward Kertis, USA
Walla Walla, Wash.

The article on Julia Child ... was very good. ... I thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, Marguerite Jordan says "the Marines had taken Iwo Jima and Okinawa." I'm constrained to point out ... that while Iwo Jima was in fact a Marine operation, Okinawa was a joint operation. The 1st and 6th Marine divisions were part of the forces, as were the 7th, 77th, 96th, and 27th Army Infantry divisions. I was a Naval Gunfire Spotter with the 2nd Bn., 307th Infantry, 77th Division.

Lt. Col. A.H. Sturgis Jr., USA-Ret.
Portsmouth, N.H.

More than Skin Art

I am the daughter of a retired naval officer and had the opportunity to read ["Tattoo You," February 2003] because my widowed mother receives the magazine. I am also an rn and a survivor of the 48-week chemotherapy regime for chronic hepatitis C, which I contracted through a blood transfusion in the 1980s. I am very concerned about the rise in interest in tattoos in young people, both in and out of the military. Hepatitis C is transmitted in a number of ways: blood transfusion, needle sticks to health care workers, intravenous drug use - and through [tattooing]. So, if I got a tattoo from a less-than-careful tattoo artist and you were next in line, you would get a lot more than just a tattoo! I can assure you that it is not a gift you want to receive.

...So while you represented the history of military tattoos quite well, I suggest the military should rethink [its] policies on tattoos and make the related health risks their priority! Maybe the armed services should ban tattoos completely. ...Think about it.

Ann Ruyle Hoffstetter
via e-mail

A Solid Investment

Regarding "Pay It Forward", December 2002: Great article! When I contribute to [The Scholarship Fund of MOAA], I always wonder if it's doing some good - well, it sure is! We can all be proud of those fine young people featured in the article - they make it all worthwhile. ... Their accomplishments testify to the wonderful idea of an MOAA scholarship fund. Thanks for researching this article and letting us know what our contributions are doing.

Lt. Col. John L. Chapman, AUS-Ret.
Hereford, Ariz.

Deductive Reasoning

Page 32 of the February issue had an article on "Important Tax Deductions" ["Financial Forum"]. Now who is not interested in that? Unfortunately, your expert led some of us astray. In the article he states, "If you have children in college you can take all the following deductions ... ." (Now in my tax vocabulary a "deduction" means something that reduces my taxable income by that amount!) He then goes on to say, "Up to $2,000 (increased from $500) on your contribution to your 2002 education savings account." As I read that, I could take a $2,000 deduction! After doing some checking (always wise), I found that the facts on this account were: "Income Tax Implications: Contributions are not deductible on federal or state income tax, but earnings accumulate tax-free."

So, I hope no one follows his advice and tries to take $2,000 off their 2002 income!

Brig. Gen. Al Brewster, USMC-Ret.
via e-mail

Editor's note: You're correct - the limit on contributions to an education savings account rose to $2,000, and earnings on these accounts continue to accumulate tax-free, but contributions are not deductible on federal or state income taxes. The expert had it right; it was an editing error that led you astray. On page 49 of the same issue, the late Lt. Col. Bill Thompson, usaf, was inaccurately described as a Medal of Honor recipient. We regret these errors.