Speak Out 9/21/09

Parking and trash

IT'S the day of the fair parade, and once again people are parking in our private parking lot at our business on Broadway. They have no right to park here. They need to pay attention to the signs. They also leave their trash, so we have a big mess to clean up afterward. It's amazing what people think they can get away with.

Cutting back

AS a resident of Alexander County, I'm appalled that the county commissioners have cut the sheriff's department by 75 percent. What are the citizens supposed to do for protection? Why don't the commissioners take a cut in their salaries? That would pay for one deputy. It is not fair for the taxpayers.

Spying on neighbors

MY husband and I live in the country. We have a neighbor who uses binoculars to watch all the neighbors. What my husband and I do in our house and garage is our business. It is wrong for her to watch us when my husband and I are acting silly and to tell everybody what she saw. Beware of spying on your neighbors. It can get you in a lot of problems.

Old certificate

I went to the license bureau with the same birth certificate I use all this time. This time they say they can't feel the seal stamped on the birth certificate. I have to go to the other end of town, get a new birth certificate and come back. They always come up with something you don't have.

True patriot

JOE Wilson, Republican representative from South Carolina, has apologized to President Obama for something he should not have apologized for, as far as I'm concerned. He shouted "You lie!" during Obama's health care speech to Congress. I was shouting it from the moment Obama opened his mouth until he finished. Wilson's outburst may have been perceived as inappropriate by some, but patriotic Americans owe him a pat on the back and our thanks for standing up to Obama. Subsequent to Wilson's comment, the White House admitted there was a loophole in the existing proposed bills that would have allowed illegal immigrants to avail themselves of the cooperative aspect of the health care exchange. Wilson is a true American patriot, the kind Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would have been proud to serve with.

Our solution

EMOTIONAL students need psychologists. Overweight students need dieticians. Unorganized students need professional organizers. Students with low self-esteem need motivational speakers. I truly love children, but let our teachers teach so our children can learn! My child has a problem? My husband and I will deal with it as a family outside of school.

The race card

JIMMY Carter's slandering of tea party protesters as racist is irresponsible and should be condemned by everyone, including our president. How can President Obama help us enter a post-racial era when every time anyone disagrees with him someone cries racism? It shouldn't be tolerated.

Federal power

FROM where does the government believe it derives the power to force me to purchase health insurance I do not want? Do not attempt to compare apples to oranges with liability car insurance. I will not purchase health insurance I do not want, and I will not pay a fine. The Bill of Rights denies the federal government that power.

Procession manners

I just returned home from a dear friend's funeral. There were several motorists who pulled into the funeral procession. That is one of the rudest things you can do. Every automobile in the procession had flashers on. Would it cause some of you so much grief to pull over to the side the of the road for a few minutes and let the funeral procession pass?

Who's a kook?

COLUMNIST Charles Krauthammer thinks Van Jones' recent resignation as a White House adviser was called for because Jones was out of the mainstream. Krauthammer apparently thinks Jones is a kook because Jones once expressed a belief that the Bush administration knew in advance or allowed 9/11 to happen. If that makes Jones a kook, then Krauthammer should bestow kookhood on about a third of the American people for believing the same thing.

Making apologies

REGARDING the loss of integrity: Representative Wilson apologized, but I've yet to see a liberal apologize for anything he has said. I've yet to hear the president apologize for his remarks about the Cambridge police.

Under attack

MY commentary on Obama and government-run health care: Our Constitution has termites. Taxpaying citizens are under attack by our own government. Stop dragging us into communism, Democrats. You can put a pretty boy's face on communism, but it's still communism. My family, my doctor, my health care, my life. President Obama, butt out. Obamacare makes me sick. Go green: Recycle Congress. Vote them all out. I and my children refuse to be a government-run ATM. Obama said he had a vision. You voted for a dream. What we got is a nightmare. Is this Russia? You lie.

Emotional students

I read a book that said a child with emotional problems will have difficulty learning. It would be a good idea if each school had a psychologist to help the children with their emotional problems. Some children might need therapy to help them overcome their problems so they can learn in school.