I’m Livid!

I don’t often loose my temper, but I have today. Mindful of the fact that youngsters visit here now and then, I won’t be using the words that are actually on my mind. I don’t intend to use the cutsey symbol replacements for certain letters, but don’t let all that lull you into thinking that I am kidding about being angry!

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Boil It! Part 2

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!
What a bunch of fools!
The water department is STILL trying to figure out where the coliform contamination in the water is coming from. Finally, today, they listed information on what to do during a Water Boil. They have known about this problem for one full week, and they have just NOW informed the citizens of the safety proceedures.
The Water Department has been testing thirty sites throughout the city. The contamination they are finding at some of the sites could simply be due to a dirty faucet, since at least two of the sites are in public restrooms. However, there is sufficient evidence that the 4-million gallon, underground clearwell is contaminated to justify shutting it down. We are now drawing water from two one million gallon above-ground reservoir. Unfortunately, the water from the contaminated tank has to be flushed through the system, and our appliances, such as the water heaters, so we are boiling our water.
If you would like more detail on what you must do during a Water Boil, read on.

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Totally Ticked Off!

Yep…..that’s me. I am totally ticked off!
Like my friend, Jamie, I have been visiting the doctor to try to determine just what’s going on, healthwise. Seventeen months ago I was handed off to a new doctor in the practice that oversees my medical needs. My doctor of more than ten years was leaving private practice to research ways to more effectively deliver health care. How could I complain about her going, when it was for such a good reason?
So, here I am with a new doctor, having to break her in on the changes that have taken place in the last year. I complained about something that was really bothering me, and she said “That is probably arthritis.” So, I let it pass for a year, and then brought it up once more last October at my next physical.

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WGN Errs

I have been a loyal WGN Radio listener for low these many decades. I listened to the House that Wally Built as a child, and I remember listening to Roy Leonard talk about his six boys. Bob Collins……..Well, Bob had to be my favorite radio personality of all time. The day he died we lost an incredible man.
I’ve been there as WGN found new people and tightened their ship. I’ve gradually adjusted to the new format, with the exception of the inappropriate verb use during the news, but……now they’ve gone too far!

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Cotton

I LOVE cotton! I wear cotton clothes, and use cotton linens and towels. All my quilts are cotton, the fabric, the thread and the batting. Cotton breathes. It keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
BUT……and isn’t there always a “but” hanging out there somewhere….. when you wash cotton turtlenecks in warm water and then dry them in a dryer, the arms invariably shrink so that they are three or four inches too short!
The body of the garment doesn’t seem to shrink, so just what are the garment makers doing that consistantly makes the arms shrink??? I have a closet full of three quarter length turtlenecks. What sense does that make? My wrists are perpetually cold, and it aggravates me to have to keep pulling the cuffs down. Once they shrink, you can never stretch them out again.
I demand longer sleeves! I demand sleeves that don’t shrink!
(stepping off the soapbox….dusting off my hands)
Thank you for listening.

Inconsistencies

Inequality. Unfair benefits! I want to know why Federal employees are not covered by the same Medicare plan that they foist off on the rest of us? I’d like to see ONE health plan for all Americans. Since coverage is better for federal employees….I want to be covered by THAT policy!
Of course, the next question is, how do we get them to do it?
Another issue I’d like to see addressed is the pension the legislators “earn.” Awarding a person a pension for life without regard to length of service is a gross misuse of funds. Each year I get a note from Social Security about what they will pay me IF I continue to work until I’m 70. Medicare is afraid to do the same sort of mailing because it’s likely the legislators will have spent everything before it’s time for me to retire!
Perhaps we need to consider one year of reimbursement for each year served. And perhaps we need to average their income over that time, rather than basing the pension on the salary of the last year in office. Our government is like a good old boys club, with members voting in as many freebies and benefits as they can, despite the fact that we are just beginning to rise out of a recession. They are handing out golden parachutes right and left, when people barely above poverty level are being taxed to pay for those benefits.

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Statistics

Dear Abby reprinted these statistics from the American Cancer Society today. They tell a compelling story.
“When smokers quit, the benefits begin immediately. Twenty minutes after the last cigarette, blood pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette. Eight hours after quitting, carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal. Twenty four hours later , the chance of heart attack decreases.
After one to nine months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatique and shortness of breath decrease, and cilia regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce infection. One year later, excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
After five years, stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. After ten years, the lung cancer fatality rate is about half that of a smoker’s and the risk of oral, throat, esophageal, bladder, kidney and pancreatic cancer also decreases.”
I brought these statistics to you because my sister was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her doctor didn’t even let her go home. Two days later she was recuperating from having the lower third of her right lung removed. I’m delighted to tell you that she is (at least) an eight year survivor. The important thing is, that she lived to see all three of her sons become dads.
Her experience has helped almost everyone in my family to quit smoking. When we built our home we announced that it was a non-smoking area. My mother would stand out in the semi-enclosed entryway to smoke, even during the coldest winter weather. When my sister had her surgery, Mother made the decision to quit.
I have had asthma due to allergies almost all my life. For me, the trend toward not smoking is one of the best things that could have happened. My family always made sure to seat me upwind of their smoke, but that doesn’t eliminate second hand smoke.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and today is the 27th Great American Smokeout. If you smoke, I hope you tried to do without them today. It could be the best thing you’ll ever do for yourself….and your loved ones!

State of Illinois Strikes Again

This morning I was listening to the third installment of the Petulant Politics of Illinois. We have a zealous young governor, Rod Blagojevich (BLAH-GOY-A-VITCH to the uninitiated), who was saddled with a 5 billion dollar deficit in the state budget when he took office. Of course his primary concern is cost cutting.
Well, he’s been initiated to the real world of budgeting, now. FOr example, it seems that agreement had been reached concerning funding for the office of the Secretary of State, but at some point, the legislature decided to add an extra five million to that figure. The Governor is up in arms, saying that the legislature is spending the public’s money like “a bunch of drunken sailors.” One legislator took offense, and said he’d never been a sailor!
A budget was agreed upon last Spring, and the legislature adjourned for the summer. During the summer the Governor cut additions that he felt were special interest in nature. When the legislature returned for the two week fall veto session, they began restoring that funding to the budget.
There’s a good explanation of the situation at this site.

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Did I Hear That Right??

I was cutting down the peonies today, and I never garden without listening to the radio. The news was on, and I was sort of paying attention to the report. I’m sure that I heard them say that the Illinois General Assembly voted today not to give illegal aliens legal driver’s licenses.
First of all, why in the world were they voting on this issue?? When we have such pressing matters concerning the residents of this state, why are we at all concerned with documenting someone who is here illegally? And WHY are we not packing them off to detention when they apply?
I know…..to be politically correct I should be calling them undocumented persons. In these times when we are so concerned about “Undocumented persons” within our borders, what possible reason could we have to discuss giving them legal driver’s licenses??
Please tell me that I heard that wrong, that I missed the boat, and that I need to apologize. Otherwise, it’s time to vote the jerks OUT!

Media faults

I was truly aggravated this evening to be shown over and over a sobbing relative of the military personnel lost in Iraq yesterday.
When did someone decide that it was appropriate to intrude on these people in their time of grief? What makes the TV stations feel that it’s NEWS to tightly focus on a woman who has just lost her son? Why do they send reporters out to stand on the lawn and comment on the serviceman’s home?
I just don’t understand this approach to news. I think it stinks! If they are newsworthy, then approach them in a few weeks, when they have had a chance to deal with the first rush of loss. Don’t push your way into their homes and harass them in the hope of raising your ratings. Both network news and local news ought to be more circumspect. We don’t need our newsrooms sinking to the level of a Jerry Springer show.
If the families are newsworthy, give them time to grieve, and then make a podium available to them. Otherwise you’re exploiting them.