Neither side responded correctly

November 17, 2020

EDITOR: A couple of months ago a 17-year-old shot and killed two people and seriously injured another during the debacle that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Of course, both political parties responded with their expected rhetoric and buffoonery that has become all too common in this day and age. It was not that long ago, that the response from both sides would have been, what still today needed to be stated: “We cannot find it acceptable for 17-year-old teenagers to be on our streets with loaded weapons.” To think that a 17-year-old with a loaded firearm has the mental ...

LaFave should apologize

November 12, 2020

EDITOR: Monday, state Rep. Beau Matthew LaFave posted on his Facebook page a meme that said as follows: “If you are wearing a mask in your car, I’m going to assume it’s to control the urge to lick the windows.” For those of you who do not know what it means to be a “window licker,” it is a derogatory term toward a mentally handicapped person. It originates from handicapped children on the bus who lick at the windows. I am more than just a little appalled at this post — made worse by the person who posted it because of the office he holds. I have never been more ...

Think about the consequences

November 6, 2020

I am going to be 76 years old about the time you read this. I have a lung condition related to my military service. If you see me at all, I will have a mask on. You see, I am a scientist and I believe what other people of science tell me about staying alive. But I understand that you want your freedom. No mask. Taverns and restaurants. Time with friends. Partying. Enjoying life. That leads me to a question — how free will you be when you are in one of those cubicles in State Fair Park in the emergency COVID-19 hospital or some other hospital? (If you can get into one.) How free will ...

Learn more about diabetes

November 4, 2020

November is National Diabetes Month and the Florence County Health Department would like to remind people that diabetes affects millions of individuals. Diabetes is also a known risk factor for COVID-19 and is an additional reason that folks need to be aware of their health status. It is not too late to take actions to manage or prevent type 2 diabetes. One way that people can lower their risk for type 2 diabetes and more serious complications from COVID-19 is to quit using tobacco products. There is not enough evidence to say that people with diabetes are more likely to get COVID-19, ...

Ways to counter COVID fatigue

November 3, 2020

We are about to enter our ninth month of a worldwide pandemic. So far, 2020 has been one for the record books. Uncontrollable fires in the West, hurricane after hurricane in the South, record unemployment, racial injustice and unrest, contentious campaigns and a government that cannot put down their party flags to see the desperation of its citizens and give us the relief we all deserve. Of course, we can’t forget the more than 230,000 Americans who will not be with their families when this is over. Now, as we are bracing for the next wave of COVID-19, the seasonal flu as well as ...

A final thought before voting Tuesday

October 31, 2020

The presidential election is Tuesday. The issues facing our nation are wide-reaching. Setting the candidates themselves aside, we are left with their policies. Policies matter, feelings do not. What are some of these policies and the viewpoints of each candidate? Globalism. One candidate, Donald Trump, believes in nationalism. Making things here in the U.S. by people employed here in the U.S. The other candidate, who helped to pass NAFTA which enabled the outsourcing of millions of factory jobs at an unprecedented rate and helped to destroy whole communities, now wants things made here ...