Speakout: July 6, 2009

July 06, 2009 03:25 am

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SPEAKOUTS
The Press-Republican has received a number of Speakouts both insulting and praising the candidates for Essex County district attorney. We won't be using any of those.

People who want to endorse or criticize political candidates are welcome to write a signed letter to the editor of no more than 300 words and send it to: letters@pressrepublican.com

Also, we have received many Speakouts for weeks now debating whether people should tip wait staff and how much. We will use all the Speakouts we have received so far but then will be cutting off the topic for a time since all the pertinent points have been made.

Anyone else who wants to comment on that subject is welcome to send a signed letter to: letters@pressrepublican.com• • • • •

DELAYS
Haven't seen your Speakout? There are a few possible reasons.

We won't publish Speakouts that are longer than 100 words or that we consider libelous or inappropriate, including personal attacks, merchant complaints that we can't verify and court matters.

Also, once a topic seems to have run its course, we will cut it. Writers are always welcome to send a signed Letter to the Editor of no more than 300 words for publication on the Editorial page.

Lastly, Speakout is hugely popular, so we usually have many backed up, waiting to get in.

If you have any questions, call News Editor Lois Clermont at 565-4131.

Manure
Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to enjoy a beautiful summer day in Chazy? Unfortunately, instead of smelling the sweet scent of flowers and fresh air, we have toe-curling, fry-the-hair-out-of-your nose manure. The manure trucks fly through North Farm Road every 30 minutes to an hour daily, leaking mess all over the road and forcing residents to close up windows. I'm grateful to farmers for all their hard work, but really, how much longer is this going to go on?

Tickets
Motorcyclists who take the ferry: Don't put your tickets in your mouth. It's rude and unsanitary. Don't you think about the people that have to collect and handle those tickets? I would hope you wouldn't put a five dollar bill in your mouth; have the same courtesy for us, as well.

ER
Before you criticize the ER because you got bad service when it was not busy, you should realize that just because you think they are not busy does not mean that they are not. Very seldom do they come out and explain every detail of the confidential treatment given in the back room. As for the attitude you received, well I find that it often has to do with the attitude you project.

Bigot
"Death to gay marriage, death to gun control, death to taxation without representation; long live freedom. From time to time, the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees the obvious ignorance in this Speakout. Long live freedom ... but only for straight people! You, sir/ma'am, are a bigot.

Pregnant
I'm all for people who wish to become a family and raise children. Way to go! But, come on: You have no high-school diploma, no job, no desire for a job, no desire for a future and no hope of raising that child with any sense of what life is supposed to be like. And, you want to get pregnant again? Some people should be banned from reproducing. I'm tired of paying for your continuous mistakes. Raising children is expensive ... but you're not the one paying the price.

Cats
OK, so you want to let your male unfixed cat roam the neighborhood and spray our homes with their ungodly scent. What I wish I could enforce is for you to pay the vet bill after your cat has attacked my cat and injured her. My cats stay on their property and are unaggressive. They prefer to hide in bushes and watch your cat pass by. And you think it would be cruel for me to haul your cat away to protect mine from injury. As a loving pet owner, it is my job to protect my pets.

Abuse
Is everyone who works at the Press-Republican tone deaf? I refer to the article in the June 20 issue about the trap of sexual abuse, which appeared with the box title of Love Stories. What kind of Love Story has to do with sexual abuse?

Spying
News report today stated that Obama and "Janet from Another Planet" of Homeland Security have decided to stop all spying to find any domestic terrorists in the U.S. After all, according to Obama, there are no acts of terrorism anymore, just "overseas contingency operations," with nothing going on in the U.S. Forget about any sleeper cells in our large cities, forget about finishing the wall on our southern border and the new command to stop intensive security to stop illegal crossings. We're all friends now, we've heard the "Peace on Earth" speeches. Feel safe and thank the liberal Democrats.

HD cable
I would like to thank Charter Cable for expanding its high-definition lineup and hope to see more channels offered in the near future. I would also hope that the option of subscribing only to the HD channels would be made available to subscribers, as I very rarely if ever watch the non-HD channels but yet pay monthly for them.