Speak Out 1/4/13

Christmas tournament

Many things make me happy during the holiday season, but at the top of the list is Cape's Christmas tournament courtesy of semoball.com and the online female counterparts to Dick Vitale, Jordan "he scores!" Seabaugh and Rachel "hoops is heaven!" Crader.

Reagan to Limbaugh

We've fallen a long way from the heady days of Ronald Reagan when he consistently praised what he deemed the great wisdom of the American people. Rush Limbaugh has now taken to calling the majority who voted for President Obama, "low information voters," or, on occasion, the more politically incorrect, "morons."

Salaries

Now you've got to admit that something is wrong if the 25 highest paid hedge fund managers made three times the combined salaries of all of New York City's 80,000 teachers.

Trail problems

Motor bikes and four wheelers on the LaCroix Trail. Seriously! Isn't there any monitoring? Seems like they should do a better job of protecting the current trails before expanding.

Police in school

Putting police officers in schools has got to be one of the biggest con jobs the NRA has done. That would be like going to a baseball bat fight with a tooth pick or sword fight with a finger nail file. A pistol is no match for an assault rifle. You have to aim the pistol, but with an assault rifle you just shoot in that direction.

Cover charges

Bar-goers may not be thrilled with paying a cover charge, and most people have no idea why they pay them. It's money that goes toward bands that cost anywhere from $400 to $2,000 a night. The cost of entertainment is higher than ever. Bands are raising their prices because gas is more expensive, the beer distributors' prices are going up, which leads to customers caught in the middle. If you as a customer feel that a cover for your entertainment is ridiculous, then choosing another venue that doesn't charge might be more fitting for you.

Pay raises

As Americans brace for across-the-board tax hikes, President Obama is giving members of Congress -- and his No. 2 -- a pay raise.

Debt vs. GDP

National debt as a percentage of our GDP has been much higher at previous times in our nation's history. Debt and deficit hawks have another agenda in mind other than getting our economy back on track. Indeed, their "solution" would worsen our overall economic condition.