Speak Out 2/22/15

** Grateful reader

Great kudos go to all those people who braved the weather and got out and worked at the Missourian to publish a paper every day. And a big, big thanks to those carriers, who get out and brave these roads to make deliveries. I certainly appreciate it. And also, as a 77-year-old widow woman, I have the best neighbors in the world. My neighbor, Gary, goes out and brings my paper up to my door in this mess and blows the snow off my driveway, although I won't get out. And I've got great neighbors across the street. I've been doubly blessed. Thanks to all those who braved this stuff and get out and do that for others.

** Taxes

Ten or more states are considering tax changes that will have the effect of lowering taxes on the rich and raising them on the middle class and poor. What can the middle class and poor do to avoid this outcome? Get rich.

** Bad manners

This is for the people who go to a restaurant who bellyache and complain to try to get a free meal. Then you have the gall to leave your waitress a cheap tip, after she has worked her butt off to take care of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves. And if you're too tight to pay for your meal, stay home.

** Call Al Gore?

I'm wondering if anyone knows Al Gore's phone number. I'm getting very tired of this global warming.

** Driving

A couple driving rules/laws for the uneducated drivers: 1) Slower traffic to the right. Ie: If someone is passing you on your right, you should be in the right lane, not the left! 2) When merging onto the interstate, you should be going about the same speed as the traffic on the interstate. That is the point of the on-ramp -- to gain speed to be able to easily, and safely, merge into the interstate traffic.

** Williams story

So now Brian Williams is caught in another lie about his visit to Louisiana, New Orleans, during the Hurricane Katrina thing, that he even got dysentery. Well, he's got dysentery of the mouth. He just keeps running off and running off, and it's all lies, lies, lies. I'll never watch the man again.

** Don't text

Yes, that woman that got hit by a train in her SUV up in the Northeast, that would be a good poster child: "Do not text and drive at the same time. Look what happened to her." And, by the way, have you noticed how many of these teenagers are going off one side of the road and having wrecks and flipping their cars? All due to texting and driving.

** Obama's rhetoric

I think it's interesting that Obama could say these horrible things, equating Christians with what's going on over in the Middle East right now. Christians have been sinful, but they're nothing like what's happening over there. I mean, he's trying to equate Christians equal with this Muslim murderers that's going on in the Middle East.

** Welfare test

I read where more states are considering requiring drug testing for those who receive welfare. I am in favor of this as long as it is restricted to those who receive the corporate variety.