&letterheadGreed led to Imus firing

TO THE EDITOR: While Imus's comments about the Rutger's Women's Basketball team were inappropriate, they were nothing compared to the lyrics of rappers -- who spew their racist, anti-woman venom with impunity. The Imus Show needs to be taken about as seriously as the far-right, fictitious ramblings of the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh -- which are usually short on facts and long on propaganda.

The firing of Imus (who has done a huge amount of charity work) had nothing to do with justice, or doing the "right thing" -- but was more about insatiable corporate greed, whose only concern is the "bottom line" -- like their treasonous ilk who export America jobs and technology to fatten their coffers at any cost.

This was a chance for the Rutger's Woman's Basketball team and their coach to shine -- by accepting Imus's apology. Instead, they immaturely behaved like a bunch of vengeful vigilantes, allowing themselves to be used like a bunch of "hos" -- to satisfy the hypocritical blood lust of Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. This wasn't a "victory" for the Rutger's Women's Basketball team -- it was simply a sad day for freedom of speech and liberty in America.

Greg Horak

Albany

&letterheadHealth plan not affordable

TO THE EDITOR: Recently, Wal-Mart confirmed that over half of its employees, 53 percent, are not covered under the company's health-care plan.

Despite these shameful numbers, Wal-Mart is trying to mislead the public by falsely claiming that its health-care plans have actually improved. Here are the facts. Last year, Wal-Mart told the press that it provided company health care to 638,000 employees. Now, Wal-Mart claims it provides company health care to only 636,391 employees, a decline of nearly 2,000 employees.

Contrary to Wal-Mart's publicity stunts, the reality is that the Wal-Mart health-care crisis is getting worse. In fact, in the last few months, Wal-Mart has decided to eliminate its traditional and standard health-care plans for all new hires, leaving only a high-deductible, catastrophic health-care plan and President Bush's privatized health-savings accounts.

How many Wal-Mart employees can possibly afford a $1,000 deductible for individuals and a $3,000 deductible for families when the average Wal-Mart associate makes $2,000 below the poverty line for a family of four?

I would hope that with $11 billion in annual profits, Wal-Mart will stop its publicity stunts and start changing for the better by providing affordable health care to all of its employees.

Scott Woods

Plattsburgh