Your letters to the Wisconsin State Journal: Peace is possible in Afghanistan

Sixteen years ago, I returned from my stint as a nurse anesthetist with the 452nd Combat Support Hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan. The harsh education of a terror war on civilians was permanently burned into my soul. It is a world of blood and bony shrapnel fragments protruding through skin and I was often steeped in it around the clock for days or weeks at a time.

When I got to Afghanistan, we were liberators -- freeing the Afghan people from the brutality of Taliban rule. By the time I left, the Afghans I spoke with weren’t so sure, and neither was I.

The Sept. 5 letter to the editor "Electoral College plays a vital role" argued the Electoral College prevents small states from being politically dominated by potentially tyrannical majorities in big states like California, Illinois and New York. But thanks to the Electoral College, it’s the big states which are politically dominated by potentially tyrannical minorities in small states like Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

The Founders didn’t regard the Constitution as perfect. Article V provides for amending the Constitution. Amendment XVII changed Article 1, Section 3, to allow the direct election of U.S. senators. (They had previously been chosen by state legislatures).

I appreciate State Journal's coverage of the proposal to bring F-35 fighter jets to Truax Field. I am a nurse serving a neighborhood adjacent to the airport and am deeply concerned about the public health implications of this program.

We know from the draft environmental impact statement that the frequency and intensity of noise pollution would significantly increase. What is not being discussed, however, are the serious health risks associated with persistent noise pollution, including: poor quality sleep, negative impacts on mood and mental health, decreased school performance, and increases in stress hormones, blood pressure and heart disease.

I grew up in Madison under the path of the jets which helped protect our country during the Korean War. I experienced the noise of afterburners kicking in right over our house. This shook our windows and was very loud. It was a wonderful sound -- the sound of freedom.

Our family moved from rural Dane County into an area with an existing, active military base. Love for our country was high and no one would have thought to question the minor inconvenience of some occasional noise made necessary so that our military could do their job and protect our country.