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HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your thoughts to editor@bendsource.com.

Letters must be received by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week’s paper. Please limit letters to 250 words. Submission does not guarantee publication. Opinions printed here do not constitute an editorial endorsement of said opinions.

Letter of the week receives $5 to Palate!

WINTER DRIVING

Merry Christmas to all.

After driving in New Hampshire for over 50 years I have learned a few things about winter driving. First and foremost is slow down, leave a little early so you can get there on time even though you are going slower. Second, please clean off your car of any snow; I don't want the snow pile on top of your car to land on my windshield and maybe crack or break it, an accident waiting to happen. Third, quit running through red lights, the yellow doesn't mean to speed up, but to slow down and prepare to stop — especially during icy times of the winter months. Lets all have a safe winter and a Happy New Year. ‘

—Gary Phillipy

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

The United States corporate health care system is a national disgrace.

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL must replace privatized for-profit schemes to guarantee a fair and just system of health care for everyone from womb to tomb.

Insurance corporations must not capitalize on health problems to reap enormous profits. They must be restricted to insuring property, not people. Pharmaceutical companies must be nationalized. No more obscene profits for Big Pharma.

Health care must be available to everyone as a human right.

People must not lose their homes or be forced into bankruptcy because they are unable to pay exorbitant costs of catastrophic long-term illness or injury.

Corporations must lose their major bargaining chip to bust unions by manipulating and controlling health benefits.

Small businesses must not be forced into bankruptcy because they cannot afford insurance for workers.

Veterans must receive medical care in their own communities rather than traveling long distances to veterans’ facilities. Soldiers must not be stockpiled away from families and friends in privatized hell holes.

How many deaths could have been prevented during the onset of COVID if there had been HEALTH CARE FOR ALL?

Corporations must not be allowed to own and operate politicians. Money as free speech and corporations as persons are anathema in a democratic society.

The claim that the United States cannot afford an equitable health care system is ridiculous nonsense promoted by corporations. Close down the imperial war machine sucking up trillions in tax dollars and use that money for the benefit of people instead of profits for greedy warmongers. Include HEALTH CARE FOR ALL in the military budget and no one will even notice its inclusion.

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. Let’s make it happen. —Sue Bastian, Privileged White Person

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT IN 2022

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support of my music in your publication. The article that Isaac Biehl wrote about my music in Feb. 2022 was greatly appreciated, and I am grateful for the exposure with your live music calendar.

As a musician, it can be difficult to get noticed, and your support has meant a lot to me. Your publication is well-respected and widely read, and I am honored to have been featured in it. 2023 will be an exciting year. I will be rebranding the project to "Ghost of Brian Craig" with new photography and branding and will be adding new instrumentation and possibly a rhythm section for outdoor and large stage shows.

Thank you again for your support and for helping to spread the word about my music. I look forward to seeing what the future holds.

—Brian Craig Hinderberger

RE: HOME ENERGY SCORES OFFER ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS. OPINION, 12/22

If we are going to save the planet, then we better get used to more regulations that motivate us to invest in energy efficiency. Like the article stated, homeowners have a choice: make their home better for the planet or face competition from those who do. Other mandates I'd like to see: 1) 90% of new homes should be solar-ready, and 2) landscaping in new developments should be drought tolerant. I realize this feels like government overreach, but we all have to contribute to the solution and the role of government is to insure that we do. —Julie Rugg via bendsource.com

RE: WE WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT ‘THE LAST BLOCKBUSTER’ THE SHOW, BUT THEN IT GOT CANCELED FEATURE 12/22

I think Randall Park is really funny and I grew up in Michigan and yet this show was still absolutely abysmal, unfunny, and awful. It took me until the Rick Mahorn joke to even crack a giggle lol—such a bummer! —Adam P Howell via Instagram

Letter of the Week:

Among the people who commented on this story on Instagram, one commenter wrote that she’d seen a Blockbuster in Lincoln City, Oregon too and so Bend really wasn’t the LAST one. That one closed around New Year’s in 2014, folks. Another comment I liked: How ironic it is that Netflix played a hand in the demise of video stores (that plot is thick, however) and then canceled the show, too. In any case, Adam gets letter of the week for sharing his thoughts about the show. For those who want to know more about the storied past of Blockbuster and Netflix and all that, you should finally get around to watching “The Last Blockbuster,” which actually is set in our lovely town. The film is still on Netflix, last time we checked.

—Nicole Vulcan