As some who also has no health insurance, and who believes that the government should do something to reform it, I am, on the other hand, somewhat disturbed by the attitude of people like Colleen Kasperek who is willing to take any kind of government health care system including this huge 2,000-page bill, which I doubt anyone in Congress knows what is in it. ...more

November 22, 2009

There has been a lot of discussion about the new health care reform bill before Congress and I would like to add my perspective. First I would like to agree with the conservatives that claim that this is a government intrusion into the private business of health care. Second, I would like to assert that this is a good thing, although I think this assertion is a matter of perspective. If you think Social Security is government intrusion into the retirement planning that we should do on our own, then you will hate this type of government action. If, however, you think we are a society that should and can provide for the health of all of our members then you will agree that this bill is long overdue. The simple issue is this: Do we as a society think it is our duty to make sure health care is available to all, or do we believe that those that want good health care should have planned better and gotten a career that provided health insurance for life and that those that didn't plan better, can simply die from lack of services brought on by their own lack of planning, or inability to get such a job? ...more

November 12, 2009

One of the leading controversies on the Sunday TV talk shows was the appropriateness of the government imposing limits on the executive compensation packages of those corporations which have been bailed out with tax funds. A moment's reflection on the fact that the taxpayer now stands in the place of the stockholder as the owner of these companies should be a sufficient justification for these limits. Stockholders, as the owners of a corporation, originally set the compensation of its officers and employees, but over the years, the officers and boards of directors, through a series of strategies, wrested control from the stockholders and, treating the companies as their own, set their own compensations without regard for the wishes of the true owners, the stockholders. Their view? If you don't like it, sell you stock. A board room "coup de corps!" ...more

October 27, 2009

While it was interesting to read the article on the first page of the Business section concerning Morris Funeral Chapel becoming a certified "veterans provider," it seems to lead readers to believe that this site might be the only such organization in Highlands County to provide such services to veterans and their families. ...more

October 26, 2009

Like many of you, I drive around the county seven days a week. Traffic lights are everywhere. ...more

October 24, 2009

President Obama campaigned on much-needed job creation, which should be his top priority given the several million good-paying jobs that were off-shored during the Clinton and Bush years, as well as the United States' trade deficit and debt. ...more

October 8, 2009

How nice that our president met with the king of Saudi Arabia. However, it's a good thing he didn't have to show his passport because if he'd been to Israel, he wouldn't have been allowed to enter the country. ...more

June 9, 2009

Well folks, if you were non-believers before March 7, surely you have been converted. I'm referring to the front page of this paper on the above mentioned date. The headline? "Operation Hot Milk." It reported illegals stealing canned baby formula from merchants here in Florida and sending it out of the state for resale. This little operation was costing the merchants here in this state some $2,500 per year. ...more

March 12, 2009

A teenager who pleaded guilty to mugging a blind man was sentenced today to five years in prison and five years of probation. ...more

March 11, 2009

Delmon Young and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms on a $1,152,000, one-year contract. ...more

February 13, 2009