Sound Off for Sept. 26
Chronicle readers Sound Off this week on everything from naming a park after columnist Pam Otto to why going back to college in a down economy might not be the best idea.
Pam's Park?
This is everyone's favorite Havanese pup dog putting paw to phone in defense of Pam Otto. Word at our dog park was she was playing fast and loose with that old species card when she complained about dog poo at Otter Creek Bend Park. After I perused her article, I corrected my peers. I have set my fellow pup dogs straight, especially that malamute from Alaska. Miss Otto was certainly not maligning our species. Rather she was taking to task her own human species for their lack of gentility and civility. I am starting a movement, no pun intending, to rename that park Otto Creek Bend in her honor. Please remember that water for your poochies is very important after they have hiked.
Admit it
I just want to know why Republicans can't admit or try to do something about the fact that everything they are criticizing our President for is something that occurred during the last eight years, during the Republican administration. Instead they are making it sound like all these problems are caused by Obama and they are not. They are caused by the last eight years.
Apologies needed
Regarding "Praying for Obama," first, please put down your glass of Kool-Aid. Congressman Wilson's comment was inappropriate, given the setting, but he has since apologized profusely and the apology was accepted. However, we have yet to hear the Democrats apologize for the eight years of vitriolic statements that were made to President Bush. Further, we have not heard one Democrat apologize for Jimmy Carter's comments, accusing this country of being racist or Nancy Pelosi, referring to the tea party protesters as un-American. Lastly, we question Obama's strength when he continually whines about a handful of conservative commentators and Fox News because they dare to question his policies. Hardly a man of true grit. John Wayne he is not.
Worse in Batavia
After reading several articles about various school districts, it sounds as if Batavia School District is in worse shape than our neighboring districts. Yes, all are suffering from the economy, but Batavia is the only district that has had to make such deep cuts into their building budgets, activity funds as well as letting some important personnel go, too. Why is that? My guess would be that our current superintendent has spent unwisely these last three years, not to mention the big contract he himself has received. When is our school board going to look into the financial decisions our superintendent has made in the last three years and start taking responsibility for letting him make these mistakes and for hiring him in the first place? We very much need to replace the members on our school board.
Wonderful doctor
I just wanted to take a moment to thank the caller that sang the praises of Dr. John Koechley of Batavia a while ago. Picking a dentist almost always is best from word of mouth and so I decided to go and see the doctor recently. He and his staff are everything the caller said and more. I just wanted to thank the caller. Thank you, Sound Off, for printing that and thank Dr. Koechley and his staff for being as wonderful as the caller said.
Surprising reading
I was surprised to read in the Chronicle that Rep. Bill Foster held a tele-town hall meeting. A few weeks ago, I called Rep. Foster's office and told a member of his staff that I was very disappointed that he had refused to hold a town hall meeting and then gave her my views on what was needed in the health care plan. It was very obvious that Mr. Foster and I did not agree on several points. To appease me, the staff member asked me if I wanted to be included in Mr. Foster's next tele-town hall meeting to be held in a few weeks. I said absolutely and gave her the information to make it happen. Guess what? That's the last I heard from Mr. Foster or his staff. Obviously they didn't want or need someone with my views. Talk about politicians ignoring their constituents. I made a mistake voting for Mr. Foster in the last election but he can be assured I won't make that mistake in the next election.
Scary lies
I wish to comment on last weekend's call titled "Is this what you want?" Please do not believe everything you hear or read. When a topic is an emotionally charged one, as the health care debate is, quite often lies are used to scare and alarm the public. That being said, I think my opinions on this matter are more accurate as they are based on my own personal experiences with both sides of this issue. As an individual who has lived half of my adult life in a country with government-subsidized health care as well as an equal number of adult years in the United States, I can honestly tell you that this is no way for a citizen of this great country of ours to have to live. Premature babies, sick children and no one else for that matter, is left to die because of quotas, waiting lists, etc. In fact, the medical care that I have received through government-assisted health care has been superior in many ways. Given that my family has no health insurance, I am slowing dying with medical issues that cannot be addressed. I ask that you tell my adoring husband of 25 years and my wonderful son and daughter that "this is what we want." I'm sure they would disagree with your stand on this issue.
Partially true
One of the things Sound Off is perfect for is printing partial truths, the same things that ultimately will kill any hope of an equitable health care system in the U.S. The Sound Off about the baby refused care because it was too premature was true, in part. The caller left out that the child had a far greater chance of living a life of pain and disability if extraordinary measures were needed. Only 1 percent of babies born before 23 weeks survive, and many, if not most, suffer serious disabilities. My son was born at 26 weeks and was 6 when I finally agreed to stop the things that caused him pain. He died three months later, never having smiled. Just because we know how to sustain life does not mean we should.
Deliberately shot
The Batavia couple whose "outdoor" cat was shot with a pellet gun was quoted as saying the shooting appeared deliberate. I've got news for them. Of course it was deliberate. They are the worst kind of cat owner. I imagine their neighbors are sick and tired of a well-fed, roaming cat killing wildlife and using their yards and flower beds as a toilet. Cats stalk and kill because it's their nature and they can do it with stealth. A bell around their neck means nothing. No one wants to see or wants their kids to see a cat tossing and playing with a bird or a chipmunk while the poor thing struggles frantically to escape. Your cat has no more right to enter my property without permission than you do. With any luck, the next time your cat roams free, it will cross paths with a coyote and the predator will become the prey.
Go, Eddie, go
There's a man in our city, which is between St. Charles and Batavia, who really deserves a lot of credit. Go, Eddie, go. He keeps us safe in our city and he also knows where all the gum is on the concrete so it doesn't get on our shoes. Go, Eddie, go.
Afghanistan war
The health debate has grabbed all of the attention on the news because the President has staked his presidential career on getting any kind of health care reform done so he can avoid a humiliating defeat. The defeat he doesn't seem to be so concerned about is the one our troops will suffer because of the charade he acted out during his quest for the presidency. Remember how he fiercely argued that Afghanistan was the right war to fight and that he was going to dig Osama bin Laden out of the Afghan mountains? He had some of the most hawkish conservatives believing that he was sincere. He committed our military to the Afghan conflict but now that the politics of that war are getting a little tough, he decides the best place to discuss military strategy is on the David Letterman show. I used to agree that the President was a likable guy but I think it is becoming too hard for him to cover up 10 percent unemployment and dying soldiers with giggles and smiles.
Get trade skills
OK, so unemployment is over 9 percent. In Kane County it's over 10 percent and we have college educated people, millions of them, out of jobs right now. They have no jobs. We have, in California, college educated people, college degrees, PhDs and master's degrees, not only out of jobs but out of a house. They are living in tent city and then we get these idiots on TV, saying that adults should go back to school and get more education. Why should adults go back to school and pay teachers to teach them the skills that they already have but can't use because there aren't any jobs? Let's get real. Teachers are on the city, state and county payroll. They get money from the taxpayers so all it is is about money. Tell them to give you the job and then get the on-the-job training and don't worry about going back to school where you will not use three-quarters of what they teach you. Get a trade school. Go somewhere where the knowledge that you get will be beneficial. Don't spend $20,000 or $100,000 a semester to go to a school where you will end up unemployed just like most of the other people who have degrees and are living on the street now.
• You can Sound Off by calling The Chronicle at 630-845-5240.
