Questionable motives
The tragedy of the recent epidemic of fungal meningitis brought about by spinal injections of contaminated steroids is made more poignant by a study this spring that showed steroid injections for “pinched nerve” pain in the lower back were no better than saline (salt water) injections. With study results like these, why are doctors doing spinal steroid injections at all? The answer, of course, is found in the large fees charged for the procedure. What insurance company would pay big money for salt-water injections in the spine, or no injection at all (acupuncture)?
Another question is why these clinics used the contaminated product, when similar steroid injectables are available from the large, reputable drug companies with better quality control? The answer: the contaminated product cost a dollar or two less per dose. In the effort to cut costs, some clinic managers put a small cost savings above patient safety — with disastrous results.
Now it is time for the lawyers and lawsuits to come into play, and I, for one, hope they win big to discourage this type of malpractice in the future.
DR. JAMES S. CAMPBELL
Pfafftown
It was the storms
In response to Kathleen Parker’s Nov. 13 column “What doomed Romney:” It's no big mystery what doomed Mitt Romney. It was two storms that stole his victory.
First was Tropical Storm Isaac, predicted to come ashore at or near Tampa during the Republican National Convention. Many people canceled their plans to attend the convention. It was delayed by one day due to the weather predictions, so it was a shortened convention. The storm put a damper on the entire convention. Clint Eastwood was worse than the storm.
The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte had no predictions of storms and was not shortened. Superstorm Sandy hit the northeast coast and put President Obama in front of the nation on TV for several days. He and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were hugging up and giving the world the impression that Obama was Superman and could do anything. That exposure to the nation and the world was a plus for Obama. TV coverage can make a president or break a president.
Another plus for Obama was Air Force One. Romney didn't have that on his side.
I'm so glad it's over and we won't have those awful negative ads on TV for a while.
BAYNARDA MARVIN
Winston-Salem
Evidence and lies
First they claimed he was a Muslim. Then they insisted he was born in Kenya. Then they swore he was a terrorist sympathizer. All of this, despite vast mountains of evidence to the contrary.
Conservatives have spent the last four years demonizing the president of the United States, telling unsupported lie after unsupported lie about him. Evidence doesn’t mean anything to them; truth doesn’t mean anything to them; they’re in love with their lies.
Now they expect us to believe that President Obama is involved in some kind of cover-up over the disaster in Libya? Why, because Fox News says so? Or because they’ve been so right about everything else? Come on, pull the other one. Oh, wait, that’s what you’re doing.
BONNIE G. VAUGHN
Winston-Salem
Inaction
Gridlock in Washington could be avoided if our illustrious representatives would consider the effect inaction has on we the voting public.
I used to believe we elected these people to serve in the public’s best interest. Inaction instead of compromise is not what they are paid handsomely for.
We citizens have to compromise in our daily lives so as to coexist in our chosen paths.
Here endeth my reading.
LOUIS W. JONES
Winston-Salem
Not this time
It's over ... but I don't get it. Over 50 percent of the voters picked the candidate who has been the most divisive president in my lifetime, which has been for almost three quarters of a century.
I have always understood why people have picked one candidate over another, but not this time. I always felt if my candidate lost, so be it. I could live with the opponent for another four years. But the past four years have been nothing but a failure. Of course, a lot of freebies were handed out.
As you can tell by now, my choice was former Gov. Mitt Romney. Here was an honest, decent, intelligent man who felt it was a privilege to help others, yet he was demonized by the opposition and the press, including this paper, with all sorts of falsehoods.
I'm not the smartest guy in town but would someone explain how this happened? Now what do we do? Do we go through another four years of bickering and higher unemployment, dividing the country even more? I hope not. We cannot afford more of this and while I hope I am wrong, I see the middle class disappearing. And while I'm not an overly religious man, I wonder if this is a test from God to see if we as a nation can survive.
I love America and I hope the best years of my country are not in the rear-view mirror.
ART FRAUENHOFER
Clemmons
If you just HAVE to go Black Friday Shopping, remember, only in America are people ready to kill each other for things they don't need and can't afford, after spending the day before being "grateful" for things they already have. Careful out there.
ReplyDeleteWhat separates humans from animals? Animals rip each other apart for survival. Humans rip each other apart for sport, and discounted TV's.
DeleteSport, tvs and dominance.
DeleteYes, Black Friday, because in America it's ok to camp out all night for greed and consumerism, but taboo to camp out for democracy and justice.
ReplyDeleteAin't it the truth.
DeleteSome differences between the greedy campers and the "social justice" campers:
Delete1. They are camping for one night only, and welcomed by the owners of the properties on which they camp.
2. They don't expect someone else to pay for the benefits they seek.
3. Their activity at camp-out's end are beneficial to the economy, provide jobs and return on investment.
4. Their greed forces thousands of workers to work on Thanksgiving Day, workers who make an average of about $8.80 an hour, so that even the rare full timers live below the Federal poverty level.
DeleteYes, how dare people ask for fair wages and decent working conditions. The impudent peasants should be grateful for whatever crumbs we throw at them.
DeleteOne worker went on strike at the St. Cloud, FL Wal*Mart Wednesday. Vanessa Ferreira, 59, is a cake decorator and as an 8 year veteran skilled worker makes the whopping sum of $11.90/hour.
DeleteTo illustrate what a small minded bunch of people we're dealing with here, the store management sicced the cops on her, warning her about trespassing.
"They're so scared," Ferreira said of her co-workers. "I couldn't get anybody to join. They said, 'You can't fight Walmart.'"
"They pay low wages, then the taxpayers pick up the tab for food stamps and Medicaid," Ferreira said. "They need to take care of their people. They need to be responsible to their workers."
In an internal memo acquired by the New York Times, Wal*Mart executives admitted that 46% of their work force receives some kind of state aid. They could not determine how many received food stamps, but virtually all are eligible.
I guess those are the people Mitty meant when he said "They're not my problem."
He's right. They're our problem.
Welfare for Wal*Mart
Be sure to scroll down for Faith's story; it's what is called a tragicomedy.
Actually, the "difference in campers" post is a bit off:
Delete1. The OWS W-S bunch wanted only to keep an overnight vigil. They were not camping. But they were run off by the police, despite the fact that they were on property that they own, as do all American citizens.
2. OWS is not seeking "benefits", they are seeking to change the way government works. I guess that is wrong, since the government is working so perfectly as it is. Most of the OWS activists that I know already have jobs. I realize that the uninformed are unaware of that.
3. Wal*Mart is "beneficial" to the economy? Wal*Mart benefits the Waltons, none of whom, BTW, have ever invested anything in the company.
As pointed out above, Wal*Mart doesn't create jobs, they create food stamp recipients. A business that will not pay its employees a living wage has no business being in business.
Henry Ford may have been a union-busting Nazi, but at least he was smart enough to pay his workers enough to buy their own product.
DeleteAs to those "beneficial" customers, here's a small sampling of events over the last 24 hours:
DeleteAn off-duty police officer at a Kinston, NC Wal*Mart panicked when a shopper fell into a store display and began using pepper spray. About 20 people, including children, were affected by the spray.
At the Porter Ranch Wal*Mart near Los Angeles, a woman used pepper spray in several parts of the store to grab various "door buster" items. About 20 more people, again including children, were affected by the spray.
In Buckeye, AZ, police are investigating their own after a grandfather was body-slammed and cuffed by off-duty police and left lying on the floor bloodied and unconscious. In Milford, CT, a shopper began punching other shoppers and was subdued by taser.
One man was handcuffed after a fistfight in Orlando. Two women were hospitalized and a man was arrested following a melee in Rome, NY.
Two shoppers were shot during holdup attempts at two other Wal*Marts, one in San Leandro, CA and one in Myrtle Beach, but that's not unusual. As soon as any Wal*Mart opens, it becomes a high crime area overnight.
OWS camped out on public property in a number of place for extended periods, trashing the places while demanding free college educations.
DeleteWalMart employees aren't paid much, true. How much are those union Hostess bakers being paid now? You know, the minority union that dragged the majority Teamsters down with it, the Teamsters having agreed to concessions. I understand the Teamsters aren't happy with the Bakers. Solidarity forever.
As for reporting workers' concerns, whom should they interview, workers not counting the Madeira woman, who is shilling for the union; or union hacks, who are unhappy because employees don't want union elections.
WalMart is economically important, nevermind pro-union propaganda here. They do pay their employees, and suppliers, delivery people, construction firms. Many union people benefit from WalMart, Teamsters and Longshoremen included. The grocery unions do not like WalMart because they are one of the last union strongholds in the private sector. It worries them that low-income people might better feed their families by shopping at WalMart.
The Madeira shill did not lot go on strike. There was no dispute with a duly elected and formed bargaining unit. She abandoned her position, thus becoming a trespasser and disruptive to business. Adios, señora. Perhaps someone else wants to decorate cakes for 11.90/hour.
DeleteWow, a couple of really sad posts. Where are you getting your information...sounds suspiciously like FoxLies®? Who are frantically spewing all kinds of ridiculous bullshit...George Soros seems to have something to do with this, according to them. What a bunch of fools.
DeleteAnd who the fuck is "Madeira"?. The woman in question is Vanessa Ferreira, whose name is Portuguese, so probably from Brazil originally. According to all reports she is a highly respected member of the community.
If you let your personal obsession with unions color your thinking, you will be useless as a good citizen. Those of us who actually pay attention know exactly what happened in the Hostess case. You have the choice to believe nonsense or find out the truth for yourself.
I incorrectly recalled the shill's name. Yes, it's Portuguese, most likely, but "Adios, señora," will have to do. Perhaps it is "senhora," too lazy to check.
DeleteYou analyzed Hostess' failure some days back, absolved the Bakers' union of blame, noted their 30% representation in Hostess' workforce, did not report other union representation, in the form of Teamsters. You blamed the failure on management, partially correct, but ignore the featherbed ding and other work rules. White knights were deterred by the labor contracts, as one possible buyer stated.
As for my obsession, you are equally entrenched, cuz, thinking union hacks will vitalize the middle class, based on the economy of the 60s. Then there is that slight matter of freedom of choice, so important in other areas, but coerced into thrall of Solidarity here. I am a serviceable citizen in opposing unions' efforts to make us pay more for less and to erode individual rights, abetted by the current adminisration.
No Black Friday in Oklahoma
ReplyDeleteThe Oklahoma "Unfair Sales Act" requires, with very few exceptions, that all retail items be marked up at least 6% above wholesale cost.
The folks at Fox News ran a segment with host Stuart Varney speaking with a Wal*Mart spokesman about the planned Black Friday strikes without mentioning a single concern of Wal*Mart's employees. Varney instead praised Wal*Mart for "taking on" the unions, and asked if they were planning to fire striking workers, and even praised the company for its charitable efforts after Hurricane Sandy.
ReplyDeleteWal*Mart's "charitable efforts" amounted to about $2 million, 0.00000450602681% of gross annual sales. That would be the equivalent of an individual who makes $60,000 annually giving 27¢.
Following the segment, Fox News ran a banner ad:"this program is brought to you by Walmart," followed by an advertisement for the company's Black Friday promotion.
The violence at the Black Friday events speaks poorly of the clientele. Bad manners, assaults, and thefts are businesses' faults. That is the social climate we have wrought, a Me First mentality. We might examine how we weaved that social fabric. Don't just look to the right or center for causes.
DeleteBad manners, etc., are NOT businesses' faults.
DeleteOh yes they are. When businesses cater to the lowest common denominator, selfishness and greed, they reap what they sow.
DeleteA Thanksgiving gift from an old friend who live thousands of miles away:
ReplyDeleteOpen Your Eyes