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A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
April 12, 2012
I know, I know, I swore off com-
plaining about thewoman. I did.
But this latest example of
celebrity idiocy has just put me
into such a snit, I cannot help
myself.
Sarah Palin's public comments
are enough to drive any intelligent,
thinking person into intellectual
convulsions. There is simply no
way to address this woman with
logic or reason. It's impossible.
Look, I could respect her politi-
cal leanings, if only I thought they
were genuine and not just another
of her self-aggrandizing stunts. Her
constant look-at-me, look-at-me
antics do a disservice to those who
actually have conservative
Republican values. She makes
them all sound like ventriloquist's
dummies who cannot formulate a
thought of their own.
There
are
Christian
Conservatives, as they label them-
selves, to whom I listen carefully
andwho, I believe, are sincere and
genuine in their political and reli-
gious beliefs. I admire these peo-
ple, because they hold those
beliefs and opinions after some
considered thought and have
made their choice. They believe
what they say and the values they
espouse are genuine andheartfelt.
Many of them are political
activists, too, which I also consider
admirable. But they are taking
these steps in a sincere desire to
change what they perceive as the
wrong course of leadership and
direction in this country. Ms. Palin
does not fit into either of those
camps as her only motivation is
her unrelenting serial exhibition-
ism.
Here'swhat setme off this time.
Please take note, she was
INVITED, to be on the Today show
recently. After she was INVITED
by the producers of the show, she
sent out a Tweet that shewas going
to go "rogue and infiltrate the
lamestream liberal media." What?
What on earth is she talking
about? She went about 2 blocks
from Fox News in New York to
Rockefeller Center after she was
INVITED to the show. Spare me,
and any thinking American, please
from any more of this shallow,
uninformed, passive aggressive
hypocrite. OK, OK, maybe I'm
being too harsh, maybe she was
kidding. Maybe.
On the show she goes off on one
of her rants accusing everybody
but herself of dividing America,
running her mouth at top speed
while her brain is taking another
time-out. In one of these com-
ments, she starts in on the failed
"socialist" policies of President
Obama. Then about 2 minutes
later, in the same interview, she
says the economy is only getting
better for theWall Street "fat cats".
That's when I
just wanted to
throw some-
thing through theTV.
OK, Sarah, honey, look-it can't
be bothways. If it's socialism, there
are no fat cats and if Obama is aim-
ing for socialism the fat cats would
not be prospering, the opposite
would be true. They would be his
first target, not the beneficiaries of
his policies. The 1 percent of
Americans would not control 90
percent of the wealth. See, that's
how socialism works, the fat cats
on Wall Street would be like the
Republicans in your political party
who are fighting the Obama poli-
cies and efforts…oh, never mind, it
is obviously way too much for you
to comprehend if you can't scribble
it on your hand.
The woman cannot open her
mouth without parroting some
political phrase or jargon that has
been poured into her head
through her ears. She has no idea
what she's saying or what the
words mean, she is simply taking
Perhaps we've been a bit too harsh in our criticisms of the
officialswe've sent toWashington, D.C.
We say that in light of a situation last week in which it
appears that these elected office holders seem to actually
care as much about serving the people in this area as they do
about being re-elected, which we are sure makes them rari-
ties.
Congressmen John Dingell and John Conyers were both
on hand at Annapolis Hospital to celebrate the victory of the
Oakwood Health System over the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. The services had disqualified the family
medicine program at the Wayne hospital, in essence restrict-
ing or denying medical care to the underserved in Wayne,
Westland, Inkster andRomulus.
Dingell, Conyers and Sen. Debbie Stabenow all went to
battle against the arbitrary decisions of CMS to yankmillions
of dollars already paid into the program despite the recom-
mendations of investigators and successful audits of the pro-
gram.
It took awhile, but eventually there was even a bi-partisan
effort to return the funding and restore the program which
not only serves the needy but trains doctors, predicted to be
about 4,000 short by 2020 while an increase in patient load in
the state is estimated at about 500,000.
This was, indeed, a medical miracle, as the decision was
changed and the funding returned to the program. It could
not and would not have happened without the intervention
and full support of the congressmen and woman who fully
understood the damage canceling this program would do to
our area and to the entireState ofMichigan.
So we would like to thank them for taking the time and
making the effort to actually make a difference in the lives of
those they have been elected to support.
We hope they understand the good this program does,
offering care to those who might otherwise go without. It will
make a difference to young mothers with small children who
are spiking high fevers and desperately need antibiotics. It
will make a difference to many elderly patients who would
otherwise let the early symptoms of a heart attack or stroke
gowithout attention, raising their odds of survival to the strat-
osphere.
Access to medical care, good medical care, should not be
the privilege of a fewat the top of the food chain. Good health
care should not depend on demographics and median
income levels.
Programs such as this one that offer immediate and even
ongoing care to those who have no other access to medical
facilities should be supported politically and financially by
all of uswho call ourselves caring, responsible citizens.
If you don't believe us, ask the 3-year-old with strep throat
or the grandmother with diabetes who both face irrevocable
and serious consequences without treatment. This is a need-
ed and worthwhile project and we congratulate Oakwood
Health Care and our Washington officials on getting it rein-
stated.
Where are
vandals
parents?
”
Finally, some wins in Washington for area
This was, indeed, a medical miracle,
as the decision was changed
and the funding returned to the program.
OK, we all know, kids will be
kids.
Children really do not have the
reasoning ability to understand
consequences of actions or danger
in their frontal lobes until the age
of 20 or 21.We understand all that.
What we don't understand is the
lack of reasoning on the part of
their parents.
Last week, the City of Belleville
was once again faced with the
expense and inconvenience of
repairing and repainting the skate
park in their community because
of obscene graffiti. This isn't the
first time and it has become an
ongoing problem for the city, tak-
ing time from city workers who
could be doing other necessary
maintenance jobs in the city and
is an expense the city cannot easi-
ly afford in this economy.
Our question would be this:
Where are the parents of these
young reprobates who continue to
damage and defile public proper-
ty? Why aren't they the ones upset
enough to take their offspring in
hand and explain that such acts of
vandalism and destruction are not
acceptable in a civil society?
Sure, we know. Parents are
busy, working two jobs or looking
for one. It isn't easy. But nobody
ever said parenting was a job for
any but the brave, energetic and
determined.
Belleville certainly isn't alone
with this problem.
We know the graffiti problem in
Wayne, Westland, Romulus and
Inkster has plagued officials for
years. It isn't that it is really any
worse, it is that it hasn't gotten any
better. Now, with spring here and
school vacations coming soon, the
vandalism performed by unsuper-
vised youths will certainly be on
the rise.
We don't think the City of
Belleville should have to bear this
expense of clean up and repair,
but we also don't think that some
other communities' policy of mak-
See
Vandals,
page 7
See
Sarah,
page 7
Letters
'Friends' answer critic
To the editor:
A recent letter to the editor on
March 29, 102 brought into ques-
tion the mission and actions of
Friends of theRouge (FOTR).
Of specific note was that in per-
forming the annual Stonefly Search
and the Spring and Fall Bug Hunts
that "often the creatures die" and
"their quarry…forays destroy the
thing studied." Most state water
quality agencies that routinely col-
lect biosurvey data focus on
macroinvertebrates. This data col-
lected is used to track the health of
the stream or river over time. In
collecting the samples, state and
federal guidelines for benthic
macroinvertebrate collection are
followed. Sampling is relatively
easy, requires few people and inex-
pensive gear, and has minimal
detrimental effect on the resident
biota. The disturbance of the envi-
ronment is kept to a minimum -
keeping a few insects of each type
for sample verification and return-
ing the clams, fish and snails to the
stream.
Another item of note was in the
questioning FOTR's mission state-
ment and that "they rarely do any
actual work." Since our founding in
1986, the annual Rouge Rescue has
removed over 46,000 cubic yards of
trash and debris, 61 vehicles and
490 cubic yards of invasive plants.
Over time though, the amount of
trash and debris removal has less-
ened and nor more positive work is
occurring, including 16 sites in 2011
alone that planted rain gardens,
riparian buffers, native gardens
and prairies, bioswales and trees.
Other sites managed woody debris
in the river, maintained trails and
performed educational activities.
Since its inception, FOTR has
also operated the Rouge Education
Project (REP). Through the REP
and in working with many schools
and teachers throughout the water-
shed, over 25,000 K-12 students
have been given real live experi-
ence in science and the environ-
ment.
There is still progress to be
made. Much public funding has
been spent on removing some of
the sources of contamination to the
”
Ms. Palin does not fit into either
of those camps as her only motivation
is her unrelenting serial exhibitionism.
Defeated by my arch nemesis again
See
Letters,
page 7