Poisoning of highway roadside should prompt protests
Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 16, 2009
The people of Warren County should be outraged. The highway department has poisoned and killed the most beautiful native population of Oakleaf Hydrangae, Hydrangae quercifolia, that existed.
Drive west on I-20 west bound just east of Vicksburg and look along the south bank. For seven miles there used to exist a continuous forest of the South’s treasure, this much-loved, beautiful plant. The responsible parties should be unemployed.
Either they are totally ignorant or mean-spirited. I have traveled the South for many years and this stretch was most beautiful ever and now it is gone forever.
I use herbicides professionally, so I am not a nut about the uses of chemicals. Whoever authorized this action and whoever did the application is a criminal. Not another stretch of this road received the herbicide. The erosion is will follow is another issue.
The native plants of such beauty cannot recover in my lifetime, if ever. I am sick. Not being a citizen of your state, there is little that I can do. Please fight to protect your environment.
Jim Berry
Grand Saline, Texas
Costs will have to be cut
Would Ms. Loyacono (letter of Aug. 12) explain to me how the liberal administration and liberal Congress will cut hundreds of millions dollars out of Medicare with out cutting care for the elderly and disabled who are using that service.
They have been trying to cut costs for years with no success. Baby-boomers are coming into that system in big numbers. Cutting costs will have to be about cutting benefits. I assure you that trusting a liberal with my health or anything else is not on my to-do list.
Phillip Fortenberry
Vicksburg
Some points in rebuttal
I enjoyed the letters in the Aug. 12 edition, especially Sam Heltzel’s, since I am one of the old people referenced.
However, as a flaming un-American conservative, I did not agree with much of what the perfect all-American flaming liberals, Ms. Loyocano and Ms. Soballe, stated.
I do not agree that the president and the liberals in Congress hate America, but the actions of the president, Reid or Pelosi are destroying it with their elitism and hate for anyone who disagrees with them. The president has gone all over the world apologizing for our country, while bowing to dictators. Financially, President Obama and his cronies have increased our debt more in six months than President Bush did in eight years.
I remind Ms. Soballe that the poor have health insurance called Medicaid that pays 100 percent. Seniors have, at a minimum, Medicare. If their income qualifies, seniors’ Medicare B premium is waived and their drugs can be provided through Medicaid.
Yes, many middle income earners need lower cost health insurance, but some would not pay for it if they could.
I end by noting Mr. McBride’s racial implication concerning his friend and other blacks who have screwed up and blamed it on whites. It sounds just like the president, the white cop and the black professor. Obama’s initial remarks were the only thing the president has come through on with his promise of transparency.
However, it’s nice to still have freedom thanks to all the old and young Vicksburg veterans and those no longer with us. Life’s good!
Tommy Hutto
Vicksburg
But some will suffer
An Aug. 12 letter to the editor endorsed the health-care reform legislation being pushed by the Obama administration. The writer expressed much compassion for the elderly and children who are purportedly going without health care.
I find it ironic that the socialized medicine she endorses will extract its cost savings from the elderly and disabled by rationing their health care, and will expand the murder of viable but unborn children through taxpayer-funded abortions. Good sign for the public.
Jerry L. Smith
Vicksburg
Communication helps
What a pleasant surprise. It was so refreshing and invigorating to see our city and county officials sitting around a table having a mutually respectful, collaborative conversation. (The Vicksburg Post, Aug. 12.) It reminds you of the table of brotherhood.
This is certainly a step in the right direction and we can feel an air of assurance in our community for change and worksmanship. The discussion gives us the feeling that there is going to be some cooperation of relationships and a lot more can be accomplished for the citizens of Vicksburg and Warren County.
Keep up the good work. Communication can bridge any gap.
Pearline Williams
Vicksburg
Look past applications
We all must keep in mind that God is in charge. You may have a job today, but it is gone within minutes. There are many people looking for jobs daily.
When looking for jobs you always find the section on applications to list experience and education. They ask if have different types of degrees and after you meet those requirements they want you to have so many years of experience. People must keep in mind that if you don’t get a job to give you the experience, when will you get the experience? Some places are checking your credit report for jobs. If you have been out of work and have bills not being paid, then your credit is shot.
We as humans must give somebody a chance to prove he or shee can do the job. Let a person’s education take the place of the experience and let the certification process also be a temporary factor. Judge a person on ability to do the job.
The economy has hit us all. Let’s think about what family has no food, clothing or home before we say no to someone about a job. Take the time to look at yourself in the mirror before you make judgment on someone else’s situation.
God has given all of us second chances. Give someone a second chance to prove their goal in life can be obtained.
Hope Walton-Montero
Vicksburg
Emphasize McNair’s positives
I am writing this letter in reference to the article, “McNair was drunk at the time of death” (The Vicksburg Post, July 21). As one of his former coaches my heart was saddened by his untimely death. My thoughts and prayers are continually with his family. I can only imagine the pain and suffering they are working through in the midst of this media circus. Nothing written or said can add or take away from Steve, his family or friends I knew.
It is an injustice to continue to paint a one-sided picture of this beloved, respected and talented man. Who profits when facts are abused? Headlines like “McNair Drunk” are used to sell papers and add negative marks to his record. This information added nothing to the fact that he was brutality murder.
If he was drinking, he appeared to be at home, not breaking any laws, on a holiday weekend. I would like to see headlines stating, “McNair sponsoring sports camps.” How about a headline entitled “McNair, a man with a giving heart who gave turkeys yearly and helped the community.” Maybe, “McNair the memory of a man who put Mississippi in the national spotlight through sports” The list of positive headlines could go on.
My purpose for this letter is to ask that McNair be presented in a fair and positive manner so those who didn’t know him could have an opportunity to see the entire man. He can’t defend himself. His family and friends deserve the right to some form of privacy and respect for their loved one.
I hope that future articles concerning McNair’s life be written in a fair-minded manner. The media should only reveal needed information to bring healing to this senseless act. Respect McNair’s young sons, wife and mother by writing about the entire man. Let Steve McNair rest in peace.
Alonzo Stevens
Vicksburg
Too much gobbledy-gook
President Obama brought this controversy on health care on himself. First, he let the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi write the bill. She’s a far-left representative from California, a state in bankruptcy, you know. The House, Senate and the president have different versions of what is in the bill, including taking billions from Medicare and saying seniors won’t lose anything. Yea, right.
There is so much gobbledy-gook in the bill you need three or more lawyers to decipher it. Also, why rewrite and change the entire health system when only part of it is broken? And you ask why this administration can’t be trusted. Why couldn’t Congress and the president complete one bill that they all agreed upon before voting on it and presenting it to the American people? It appears this administration does not want any input from voters unless you like it and if you don’t, tough.
There is one other thing I would like to say about this health-care bill. If I lose any of my Medicare benefits, other insurance benefits or have to pay higher taxes, I will do everything I can to vote its backers out of office.
Wilbur Ruhl
Vicksburg