Speak Out 1/15/09

Can't hear the news

EVERY workday I wake up about 5 a.m. to a clock radio. I like to listen to KRCU and get the news. Lately when I listen in the morning all I hear is the call-letter announcement and how glad KRCU is to be our public radio station. Then I hear silence instead of the news. Sometimes we get to hear the ads and the story run at the same time. It happened again Monday morning. I like to get both liberal and conservative sides of the story. Please fix the silences and the double voices so I can hear the news again.

Health sense

HOW much money could be saved on medical care if people took more responsibility for their personal health? Smoking destroys the body. Does anyone doubt this? Look at the ingredients in processed foods. Nobody has a clue what the majority of them are, yet they ingest them without question. How many people walk more than a combined total of 30 minutes a day? I've paid for health insurance for more than 15 years without having made a single claim. I don't resent having to pay for this, but I do find it insulting when people say I'm lucky for being so healthy.

Scratching for crumbs

THE only socialism, democratic or not, that I have read about always ended up with a few people in the Politburo consuming all the wealth and the great masses scratching for crumbs.

No weather excuse

CONCERNING the comment about giving city workers a break because they are responsible for keeping our roads free of snow and ice: We haven't had an unusual amount of snow or ice this winter. If the city said it was going to remove leaves, it should have been done within a reasonable amount of time. The leaves piled alongside the roads are an eyesore. They should've been removed weeks ago.

Looking for results

IS there a class war brewing in America? I don't think so, but recent comments by President Bush and Sarah Palin indicate there's a conspiracy among elites to mislead the "real America." Nothing from my own blue-collar upbringing to my advanced degrees indicates there's anything tangible behind their accusations. Both politicians attack the so-called elite when attempting to explain away their own disappointing performances. The real America values results. Blame is a tool for underperformers.