Speak Out 10/27/04

Unfair flu shots

GIVING FLU shots to prison inmates over children and elderly is just wrong. Prisoners get treated better than hard-working, law-abiding citizens and children. It should be the other way around. It's bad enough that prisoners get what they get while they are in prison anyway, but to let them have our flu shots when we are mixing with more people in public places than they are is wrong. That's the government for you.

Unfair assistance

WHY DOES a 10-cent-an-hour pay raise mean someone loses hundreds of dollars in child-care benefits? This person now has to reduce her hours so she comes in under the limit. A 10-cent raise translates into just a few dollars extra a week. It should not cost a person hundreds of dollars in child-care benefits. Would you rather this person stay home with her child and get more welfare because she cannot afford to work?

We're paying for it

I RECALL how drug companies were convinced to donate free AIDS drugs to African nations to treat those who could not afford to pay. Guess who is paying for those free drugs for Africa. That's right. We rich Americans, through higher prices on the drugs we need, are paying. Folks, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody somewhere is picking up the tab.

Let's work together

THE SOLDIERS in my family who have been in both Iraq and Afghanistan feel entirely different about the probable outcomes for people of each of these countries. I talked to a woman whose husband helped bring in the first ballots for the election in Afghanistan. It was a day of cheering and hopefulness for these people, so long oppressed. No one says these people's lives will be exactly like ours, but it is so much better and getting better all the time. God bless our American soldiers and their families along with those of our allies. If we do not back harmony and set a good example within America, how is the rest of the world going to look upon us as a role model? Rather than working in opposition, let's work with cooperation for the good of all.

More time for lunch

I THINK the Jackson School District needs better planning for lunch times. My child goes to the middle school. There are times she doesn't get to finish her meal because she is not allowed enough time. I want my child to eat the school lunches so she can get a nutritious meal, but it kind of defeats the purpose if she's throwing half of it away.

Not all at same time

THIS COMMENT is for the Jackson School District. Please take pity on us parents when it comes to all these fund raisers. Our children go to school for nine months. Why do you have to squeeze all these fund raisers into one month? I would be willing to buy a lot more if they all weren't happening at one time. My youngest daughter was selling candy. My neighbor was selling cookie dough. And now my older daughter is selling magazines. Give us a break.

Checking drug prices

I CHECKED seven different places on one drug, and there's $127 difference from the low price to the high price. Now, you tell me there's an excuse for that. That's not old people's fault. That's gouging.

Thanks for keys

WE STOPPED at Wal-Mart for groceries. When we went back to our car and put everything in our car, I found I had lost my car keys. I checked at the Wal-Mart service desk. Someone had turned them in to customer service. I want to thank the good people for doing this for me. It sure was a blessing and really relieved my mind.

Someone is paying

I AM a senior citizen by many years. I'm getting mighty sick of those TV ads trying to convince me that everything I need is free. There's this guy telling me that everything for diabetes is supplied free. Then there are these motorized chairs. Here's a news flash. Someone pays for all of those things with their hard-earned money, including the many millions it takes for the advertising.