We all need to help protect the elderly
I read with sadness about the tragedy of the 93-year-old veteran who froze to death in Michigan. Neighbors of the deceased man vented outrage toward the city employees who installed a power restricting device after four months of unpaid power bills. A written notice was placed on the man’s door with the directions on how to restart the heat. The neighbors did not think the city workers did enough and want them to be prosecuted.
While it is certainly easy to blame the policies of the city in regard to turning on and off utilities, and the anger may well be justifiable, a question formed in my head. What about the neighbors’ responsibility? Why did it take more than two days in subzero temperatures for neighbors to finally check on the welfare of an elderly man who had no family in the area?
This tragedy has caused me to re-evaluate my daily activities and start thinking more about the well-being of my elderly neighbors. Unfortunately, bureaucracies are going to fail and people may slip through the cracks.
That is why it is so crucial that we be one of the first lines of defense in preventing harm and possible tragedy to our valuable elderly family members and neighbors.
ó Paula A. Fernandez
Salisbury
Put away childish things and move on
Having just passed through another peaceful transfer of power with the swearing in of our 44th president, it would be a grave error to underestimate the dangerous dialect published recently on these pages.
Those who opined in Tuesday’s Post would be well advised to listen again to the words of our new president when he intoned the biblical injunction to “put away childish things.”
Young men and women are dying on two fronts of war; people are losing their jobs, their homes, their retirement. Forty-four million are without health care. The common currency on Wall Street is greed and dishonesty; our civilization is threatened by militant religious extremists, and we’re foolishly debating the celebration of the peaceful passing of the torch to a new generation.
Barack Obama is president today not because he is black (he’s as much white as he is black) but because he is a superb rhetorician, a talented organizer and a member of the new generation who understands democratization through the Internet.
Should tolerant hearts and minds prevail, generations from now our great-great-grandchildren clothed in their skins of various shades of gray and brown will read of our history and wonder about our insularity.
The Civil War has been over for 150 years; Martin Luther King Jr. has been dead for over 40 years ó a talented man raised by a single mom and his grandmother has proved that industry, education and eloquence can lead to the White House. It is time to move on.
I didn’t vote for Barack Obama, but he is my president. For all our sakes, I hope he is successful. Let us all espouse the ideals he addressed in his inaugural oration and support him as he attempts to deal with the tremendous problems that confront our people, our country and indeed our world.
ó Dennis L. Hill
Salisbury
Stimulus bill is full of ludicrous expenses
The socialization of America has begun. Anyone who believes in private property, the sanctity of human life, and basic freedoms without government intervention had better stand up and let their voices be heard.
Only 10 days into office and Obama and company are pushing through legislation under the guise of “stimulus.” This man with no governing experience, a Treasury secretary who cheated on his taxes, and a House speaker who wants to nationalize our banks is going to “save” us? This administration doesn’t want to “spread the wealth around.” This administration wants to spread the misery and make as many Americans dependent on the government as possible.
Look at this so-called stimulus Obama/House bill. It has, among other things equally ludicrous, $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts, $500 million to speed up processing of Social Security disability claims, $6 billion to colleges and universities, $2 billion for National Park Service, $4.2 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization Fund (remember ACORN!), $79 billion to states such as California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey so they can maintain their runaway spending, $150 million for maintenance on the Smithsonian, $246 million for Hollywood, etc. Stimulus, ha. Oink, oink.
And bail out the auto industries but at the same time force more stringent emissions levels that will make vehicles $2,000-10,000 more expensive! But don’t force the unions to make concessions. They might have to close down their golf course or take the TVs out of the job-bank rooms. Obama wants to talk about the “shamefulness” of banking executives’ bonuses but still give the unions a complete pass on padding their pockets. Of course, we know who supported him and who didn’t.
Markets will correct themselves if left alone. Do you know of anything that is improved with government intervention?
ó Julie Blalock
Salisbury
Just ignore comments of this self-promoter
The Post is supposed to report news and therefore must report it when a radio personality makes ridiculous, controversial comments about our president.
If it is news. I am not sure it is news. These days, what is “news” and what is pop culture, with stories about genocide in Africa virtually uncovered by any media, while people like the deceased Anna Nicole Smith were covered ad nauseum by most media hourly? If I were a self-promoting radio host, I would say the very same things he says. That’s how it works. He said drug addicts should get life while he was doing drugs himself. Just ignore him.
ó Janet Dennis
China Grove
Proper training is key to humane euthanasia
The Jan. 28 letter “Animal euthanasia” contains some misinformation surrounding current methods.
An injection of sodium pentobarbital is not the most humane method for animals that are unaccustomed to being handled by humans. Activists want you to compare shelter animals to your beloved pets. However, these are not what make up the majority of animals euthanized at shelters. Many have little or no training or socialization, or are aggressive by nature, or are feral with no desire to interact with humans.
A trained technician, using a properly designed and maintained chamber, may in fact be performing more humane euthanasia than an individual attempting to administer an injection on a highly stressed and fearful animal. Injection also has its limitations; animals with depressed circulatory issues do better with carbon monoxide (CO), as repeated sticks with a needle to find a usable vein are neither acceptable nor humane.
In its 39-page Guideline on Euthanasia, the American Veterinary Medical Association states, “Acceptable methods are those that consistently produce a humane death when used as the sole means of euthanasia.”
Listed for both dogs and cats are: barbiturates; inhalant anesthetics; CO2; CO; potassium chloride in conjunction with general anesthesia.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is odorless, tasteless and results in rapid (and painless) unconsciousness, which is why hundreds of people every year accidentally succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty home equipment.
No method is more humane than another, especially in all situations. If animal control personnel are properly trained, then humane euthanasia exists. Animal control personnel must have all scientifically approved methods available for their use. The determination of which method to use and when should be theirs based on the situation at hand and not legislated as a concession to activists.
ó Susan Wolf
Spencer