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We welcome letters. Please include your full name,
address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters,
Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958;
e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
SPEAKUPFORHEALTHCARE A group, the Health Care Justice Campaign, is working
to create a quality health-care system for the state of Illinois. More
people are losing their health insurance or experiencing less support. Some
people have paid into health insurance for years and gotten laid off,
ultimately with no insurance. Logic tells us that good health and good
education are necessary to have a future productive society. The health group recently
traveled all over Illinois to discern the type of health care needed or if
health care was available. We need to use these findings and identify some
solutions. It is important that business organizations, lawmakers,
health-care workers, and consumers work together. It is important that
everyone contributes their concerns and collaborate to improve
the situation. Providing quality access and treatment will be cost
effective in the long run, as this diminishes the high cost of acute and
chronic care. Overall universal health care would be a benefit to our
community and society. Contact your senator,
representative, and the governor to relate your concern and support
for access to quality health care. Jon Kronenberg Springfield
IFYOUTALKTHETALK. . .
I have an idea for a new military-recruiting ad. It
goes like this: “Do you support the war in
Iraq? Do you think it is vital for us to win? Do you think if we lose, they
will follow us here? “If you think the stakes
are so great that we must not lose, will you please talk to your kids and
grandkids about enlisting — so fresh troops can replace the ones who
have to be used over and over again in Iraq? “If you talk the talk, are
you willing to walk the walk? “Uncle Sam needs yours . .
. ”
Tom Ferrari Tovey
PROSECUTETHEPROSECUTOR The Duke lacrosse case is all about race, class, and
status of the accused athletes. Their only real crime was being affluent,
white, and privileged students whose wealthy families have deep pockets. There are consequences for the
unjust financial shakedown of the indicted and their unsuspecting families.
There are consquences for falsifying a prosecution. There are consequences
for systematically hiding evidence that exonerates the innocent and
indicted. There are consequences for pretending evidence exists
simultaneous to the manufacture of evidence at will. There are consequences
for the systematic lack of integrity in a profession that administers
convicted defendants to jail or death penalty. The nutcase here is not the
female accuser but District Attorney Michael Nifong, who thought he could
get away with yet another false and malicious prosecution. Nifong
won’t feel regret until he himself is railroaded into financial
shakedown, disbarment, jail time, and treated to the full extent of the
law, as is the case with any common citizen. Tim L. Thornton Springfield
TIMETOSINGANEWTUNE When I heard yet another all-too-cheery person tell
me things will get better, we just need to stick with our president and
look on the bright side and maybe we ought to have a sing-along, a little
part of me snapped, and I came up with these slightly altered song titles to bring to the sing-along. Feel free to join in. Here they are: “In a White
Room at the Hospital (But Not for Long — No Insurance),”
“Bye, Bye, My Piece of the American Pie,” “Poorhouse of
the Rising Sun,” “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling . . .
and Your Job, and Your House, and Your Car,” “Sweet Little 16
Will Get Hired Before You,” “Workin’ in a Coal Mine
— Not!” “Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss Your Benefits
Goodbye,” “Stand by Me — in the Unemployment Line,”
“If I Had a Hammer, I’d Probably Have to Sell It, Too,”
“Workin’ 9 to 5 but Only Three Days a Week,” and “I
Hear You Knockin’ and I’ve Got a Gun.”
Jean Stables Decatur
HOPETHEILLINIAREN’TCURSEDNOW I admit that I am not a big Illini fan. I also know
that they fought hard this season and could have won. I am a Cubs fan, and
you have all heard about the Cubs’ billy-goat curse. I hope that people do not rename
the Fighting Illini the Surrendering Illini because they gave up their
mascot without a really good fight against the forces of political
correctness. I could see every losing season being blamed on the
“curse” and those who passed it through. Patrick Johnopolos Springfield
THANKSFORSUPPORTINGOURMUSEUM On behalf of the board of the Springfield
Children’s Museum, we wish to thank the greater Springfield community
for supporting the museum’s rebirth and our exciting public/private
partnership with the Springfield Park District in Southwind Park. The Springfield Children’s
Museum is extremely excited to be the educational partner in the park
district’s Southwind Park. This is an exciting opportunity for both
organizations to work cooperatively to establish the premiere
children’s museum in Illinois dedicated to teaching children about
wellness, the human body, and the environment’s impact on global
health. We would like to thank St.
John’s Children’s Hospital for partially underwriting the
Springfield Children’s Museum’s pre-campaign planning and
feasibility study, being conducted by Capital Quest, of Knoxville, Tenn. We
also wish to acknowledge other generous supporters, including
Frye-Williamson Press, Hanson Information Systems, Omni Communications, the
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, the Springfield Art
Association, Springfield Van and Moving Co., Walgreens, and Walton &
Associates. Last, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the
Suggs family for the loss of Michelle Suggs. Michelle was a tireless
supporter of the Springfield Children’s Museum, and her positive
attitude and high energy will be greatly missed by our board as we embark
on this exciting new chapter of the Springfield Children’s
Museum’s history. For more information about the
Springfield Children’s Museum, please e-mail thomson@insightbb.com or
call 725-1247. Rachael Thomson Board president Springfield Children’s Museum
IMUSDESERVEDACHANCETOGROW MSNBC and CBS succumbed to the evils of political
correctness, advertising dollars, and racial pressure by firing Don Imus.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama stated that he would not appear on the Imus show due
to the recent remarks. Proctor & Gamble, General Motors, and Staples,
among others, pulled their advertising from the Imus show. Sharpton and
Jackson continued to stir up the racial hatred and demand he be fired. They
contend Imus is a racist because they know a racist when they see one. They
should know. Do a Google search on “Gavin Cato,”
“Freddy’s Fashion Mart,” and “Tawana Brawley”
to learn about Sharpton. Try “hymies,” “Hymietown,”
and “Farrakhan” to learn about Jackson. The nation doesn’t need to
see Imus sent away. We need to see him learn and grow from his mistake.
Black people need to see a person like Imus learn and grow — but,
maybe even more important, white people need to see a person like Imus
learn and grow. I believe people of all races can
be racist. It’s not just a black, white, brown, or yellow thing.
It’s a human thing. And we need to get a handle on it, or it is going
to destroy our nation. Chris Babb Rochester
GODGAVEYOU ABRAIN — USEIT As soon as this April cold snap hit, I was sure that
some people would decry global warming as myth. And sure enough, letters to
the editor implied that if we were undergoing climate change, there would
have been no cold snap. This argument relegates scientific predictions to
mere conceit. Simply put, global warming deals
with averages. While specific regions experience cold temperatures, it is
undeniable that the average global temperature is climbing. It is also
indisputable that glaciers are melting and the ice caps are thinning. The
conceit lies not in trying to understand this fact scientifically, nor in
implementing solutions. God gave us brains after all. The conceit lies in
the belief that we can gorge ourselves on the Earth’s resources like
gluttons at the feast and think there will be no consequence. Historians,
archaeologists, and scientists believe that climate change and
environmental damage may have led to famines in Europe and the dissolution
of the Mayan, Mississippian, and Anasazi civilizations. There is a
lesson in that. If we do not change, and change
damn fast, the consequences will be global in scope and biblical in
proportion. William C. Fairchild Elkhart
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2007.
