Three cheers for Joe Manchin for having the audacity to state the truth.

 If it would pass, three or four generations down the road would still be paying for it.

This is the typical politics of the cart before the horse.

Pass the bill, encumber the national debt and the American people and then go after the large corporations (employers) to pay for it. Guess what happens next?

The corporations will close up shop in the U.S and move.

More:How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

They crossed the line from pretending to care about the state of Ohio to actively and purposefully breaking our state constitution. They are no longer a political party and Ohio Democrats need to stop pretending that they are.

More:SUDDES: Warring Republicans handing Democrats a chance to win big in Ohio

I want to vote Republican.

Give me a reason to vote for Ohio Republicans.

They have (and will retain) a supermajority in our state. With that kind of power, they could achieve almost anything. The challenge is that they don’t want to take on the difficult issues because it’s more important for Ohio Republicans to control the state.

More:Redistricting: Federal lawsuit says Ohio maps dilute Black voters' say

Wrap your mind around all of the time and energy Ohio Republicans have spent on gerrymandering so that they continue to draw a guaranteed salary and gold-plated health benefits for themselves.

They exist to serve themselves. Dream big. Give me a reason to vote Republican.

Numerous letters and opinions have been published in the Dispatch from those advocating a vaccination card as a condition to eating in restaurants or attending various events. 

More:Boycott restaurants that don't require vaccination proof.

Do those same folks advocate proper identification as a precondition to voting? 

I have to use CVS pharmacy because of coverage by my prescription plan. 

While I was waiting to check out, I noticed the cashier wasn't wearing a mask. 

I asked her why and she responded that she was fully vaccinated. When I pointed out that it was still good practice to wear a mask, she responded that CVS policy does not require employees to wear masks if fully vaccinated.

More:Some large Ohio employers pause vaccine requirements pending legal battle over Biden rule

I will no longer shop or fill my prescriptions at CVS.

As a 35-year resident of the Walhalla neighborhood I’d like to thank the city of Columbus for committing resources to address long-standing issues of water quality and erosion in Walhalla Ravine.

Sewage in the stream during periods of high water threatens the health of those of us nearby who are tired of warding off COVID and don’t wish to tackle E. coli and salmonella.

More:Proposed stream fixes in Clintonville's Walhalla Ravine met with skepticism

And while we have erosion to thank for creating the ravine over the last 12,000 years, none of us want our cars or bikes to slip into the creek — even with clean water that does in fact reach the Olentangy River.

And a million bucks sounds pretty reasonable given the recent property value increases those of us in Clintonville have seen.

My God, what are people waiting for, and why?

I can “Monday morning quarterback” the fact that the Trump administration downplayed the severity of COVID-19 for too long.

More:Former Gov. John Kasich to launch podcast with 'Daily Show' comedian Jordan Klepper

Even as it became obvious that we were dealing with a pandemic, primarily Republicans railed against wearing masks, keeping safe distances, and getting vaccinated. 

More:House committee: Trump administration prioritized politics over science in COVID-19 response

They invoked “freedom” in fighting against mandates issued to protect employees, consumers, and the public in general. And the hospitalizations and deaths continued to mount.

We now have incurred almost 800,000 deaths in the U.S. alone. Millions have gotten vaccinated, and the only long-term effect has been their ability to avoid severe cases of the virus and hospitalization.

But, for all his determination to battle COVID-19, people accuse Biden of being ineffective. Has his message been wrong, has his advice been wrong, has his attempt to establish rules and regulations been wrong?

What has been wrong is the selfish and childish attitude that, “No one’s going to tell me what to do!” The record of the vaccines is that they are safe and effective. The record is also that those without vaccinations are more likely to catch the virus, have more severe episodes, require hospitalization, and die. 

By refusing to vaccinate and take other common-sense measures, they both endanger everyone and make the likelihood of variants more possible.

Like the joke about the man sitting on top of his house because of flooding and crying out to God why God hasn’t saved him. 

God’s response: "I sent the first responders, I sent the row boat, I sent the helicopter and still you rejected all of them." 

More:'You should just get the shot. It's going to be OK,' Ohio kids are getting the COVID-19 vaccine

God has provided man with the intelligence, the ingenuity, and the resources to develop life saving measures like medicines, hospitals, and yes, vaccines to help us live our lives better.

  Please respect the gift these vaccines are to humanity. Do your best to avoid infecting others and incubating further variants of the virus. 

In response to Neil Raisman’s guest column, "The hate/love relationship with a machine," a year and a half ago, I went through the kidney donor process to become a non-directed donor (i.e., donating to anyone who needed a kidney — what Raisman is asking us all to consider), though my donation was canceled just a few days prior to surgery due to abnormal labs. 

More:Life with kidney failure: "My blood is taken from my body and cleansed in a 4-hour ritual"

Raisman describes kidney donation as "simple and pain-free," and it is neither.

 In no way do I mean to deter donors as I am obviously a firm believer in donation, but I do not think it is accurate to represent anything about the process or surgery as simple. 

One does not simply show up the morning of surgery. Significant testing and commitment are required on the part of the donor as well as time off work for the procedure and recovery.

Even as a very healthy donor, I was required to have many blood draws, 24-hour blood pressure testing, 24-hour urine collections, a full-day appointment at the transplant hospital consisting of meetings with doctors, nurses, a social worker and psychologist as well as more labs, x-ray and CT scan.

The process took nearly a year.  

Donating is not without risks to the donor, and donors will have a decrease in their kidney function (blood-filtering capacity) following donation.

I encourage everyone to consider being a living kidney donor, but I don’t agree with misrepresenting the donation process or suggesting people are selfish. 

I suggest instead an honest discussion of the need for donors, the process one must go through to donate, and the wonderful chance to save a life.