Sound Off for Nov. 28
Wait until January
Please, people, put holiday decorations up this month, not political signs. Those can wait until January. The primary is not until February.
Done more
I'm sick and tired of your talk back or whatever this is. The first two things you have on here and there's another one in there too where you are criticizing the president. He gets around and does more than any president we've had lately, certainly more than George Bush ever did. They said that he didn't know anything about what was going on at Fort Hood. He has done more and talked more and done more about that than Bush did in eight years. For heaven's sake, will you stop criticizing Obama and get something decent in your paper?
Selling bras?
I just got done reading an article in your paper announcing that a local real estate company in Geneva is hosting a holiday shopping bash and it goes on to list the items that are being sold. So, let me understand this. This real estate company, they are not selling any homes at their holiday bash but they are selling bras? I don't get it.
Public option
Do you want competition for medical insurance? Do you think the public option will provide that competition? It will be a not for profit company run by the federal government and placed below the current insurance companies rates. What will you do if you can stay with your current insurance company for $4,000 or pay $3,000 to the federal government? Millions will switch to the federal government plan to save money. A large company, for example, can continue paying $4 million a year to cover their employees or drop that insurance and pay a $3 million penalty to the federal government and switch all their employees to the public option and save money. In a very short time, 100 percent of Americans will be under the federal government's public option.
Public option II
Obama wants a public option to be included in the new health care plan to increase competition and cut costs. This federal government insurance company will not make a profit to keep costs low. Here's an example of what public option will do. You own a company and spend $300,000 a year on health care for your employees. Public option mandates you continue that or pay a penalty to the government but the penalty is lower than your current costs. They want $200,000, which is also lower than what the insurance company's costs are. As the owner you must decide if you want to spend $200,000 or $300,000. You and millions of other companies will choose the penalty. By law all of your employees will be forced into public option. There will be no option. There will be no choice. Within a few years, public option will be the only plan for 100 percent of Americans.
Wild and strange
President Obama is trying to befriend the Chinese. Meanwhile, we have big strife here at home and we have a prison in Thomson, Illinois, where they want to put the prisoners from Guantanamo Bay and they are saying that people who don't want them here or who are saying that it might cause more terrorist attacks are just fear mongering. Isn't it wild and strange how people who don't want the prison here are fear mongering when they are concerned about real terrorists attacks but when we want to arm ourselves as citizens, which is our Second Amendment right, then they can use the fear mongering, saying that guns kill people and all this other violence.
Foster's vote
In reading all of the letters to the editor about the recent health care bill that passed the house by five votes, it is interesting on the point of view of each writer. Those opposed to the health care bill express an independent thought about the additional taxes, health coverage and why Foster did not read the entire 2,000 page bill before he voted. The pro-Foster writers appear to be writing from a Foster press release with catch phrases like "committed to demonstrating independent thought," willingness to listen to his constituents," and "thank you, Bill Foster." It is comforting to read the independent writers rather than the Foster press release supporters because if Foster had listened to the voters in his district he would have voted "no" or at least "present."
Pandering to fears
I was incensed to see the politicians try to paint an ugly picture on the whole mammogram thing. Women are enlightened in this age. We know how to talk things over with our own doctors and make our own decisions based on our lifestyle, family history and other risk factors. Years ago the AMA promoted women taking hormone replacement therapy once they reached menopause, whether they needed it or not. Ten years later, they said "Well, maybe you don't need that." In fact, HRT increased women's risk for breast cancer and had zero heart benefits. We're not stupid and don't need Fox News' pandering to people's fears.
Taken to task
I love how Obama was taken to task in last week's Sound Off for being 2.3 percent off in his prediction of the unemployment rate. Tell that to the families of those killed or injured since our fearless leader declared our mission was accomplished in Iraq. Talk about being off the mark. There's no one in this country who wouldn't trade a math error for just one of the 4,366 dead U.S. servicemen and women. He got us into Iraq with no idea of the toll it would take in terms of lives or dollars nor any way to get us out of it honorably. And then there are the 31,571 wounded and the $800 billion spent so far and the more than 50,000 dead Iraqi men, women and children. Now that's a math error worth remembering.
Teach chemicals
There was a news story this morning about kids huffing even things like air dusters and chemicals like acetone, things like that, and the news was saying that parents should lock up these chemicals and, you know, protect our kids. Well, what about teaching the kids the dangers? What about showing them the labels on the cans and explaining to them how, yeah, you might get high this one time but these things are toxic. They're going to kill your liver. They are going to ruin your kidneys. They're going to stop your heart and are you wiling to have two or three minutes of being high or huffing and then having to have a kidney transplant later or maybe get lung cancer or brain cancer. Let's teach the kids.
Protect pup dogs
This is everyone's favorite little Havanese pup dog sounding off about last week's coyote Sound Off. Margo, my malamute friend, says she could go paw a paw, that's mano a mano for our human friends, with a coyote. Myself? I could certainly out-howl one but I would not like to meet one. Please protect all pup dogs from coyotes, even those of us who have gotten in touch with our inner wolf by going to the north woods of Wisconsin.
Hire new teachers
In one of the worst recessions we've had since the great Depression, the Kaneland school teachers decide they don't want to talk until maybe January about give backs when everybody else has been forced to give back part of their salary or take furloughs or things like that. Maybe the school board should look into getting rid of all these self-righteous guys and hiring brand new teachers because there is a million of them out there who have just graduated and can't find jobs.
Leaves of Geneva
I drove down Anderson Street from St. Charles. You can tell where St. Charles ends and Geneva begins with all the piles of leaves. Sign should say "Welcome to Geneva, a city of a pile of leaves." How did Geneva ever get like this? Very sad.
