St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Friday, Jan. 18, 2013
Opinion Our View
Fight the flu this season by noting preventive tips Cold and flu season is inevitable. It happens every year. Making it through this dreadful season without catching either is a different story. Minnesota is in the middle of one of the most severe flu outbreaks in several years, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. More than 1,100 people have been hospitalized with flu-like symptoms statewide this season. Twenty-three of the 27 flu deaths in the state and 62 percent of the hospitalizations have been in people 65 and older, the department said in a recent weekly update. Some hospitals have even restricted visitation to protect patients and staff. Minnesota is not alone in the fight against the flu. Most states have classified the flu as widespread. It is, and we have to be mindful about how to avoid it. Staying well requires action. Note ways to avoid the flu this season. The Centers for Disease Control suggests three ways to fight the flu. The first is to take the time and get a flu vaccine. That is recommended as it protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be the most common. Everyone 6 months of age or older should get the flu vaccine. People at high risk include those living with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart or lung disease. The second step to take against the flu is taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of the flu. This can be done by avoiding contact with sick people, staying home for at least 24 hours if you are sick with flu-like symptoms and covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. One of the biggest preventive measures is washing your hands often with soap and water. Washing our hands often seems like a simple reminder but can be inconvenient, in which case having hand sanitizer close by is the next-best thing. The third action the CDC suggests is taking flu antiviral drugs if they are prescribed. The prescription medication can make the illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. While the flu season we’re in seems bad, health experts say this is what influenza looks like. When it strikes, it strikes hard. Data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows Minnesota recorded 67 flu-related deaths and more than 1,800 hospitalizations during the 2009-2010 season, 70 deaths and more than 970 hospitalizations in the 20102011 season, and 33 deaths and more than 550 hospitalizations in the 2011-2012 season. More information about how to fight the flu this season can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu. Stay well.
Fairness and ethics
Newsleader staff members have the responsibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741. If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.
The evil ‘they’ are out to get ‘us’ My fellow Americans, tyranny is at hand! If they ban assault weapons, a new Hitler is going to crush our freedomloving America! If they limit weapons, next they’ll take our huntin’ guns away! Soon, we won’t be able to defend our homes, our lives! Sound familiar? “They” are the black-hatted villains of Big Government. “Our” includes the gun-totin’ heroes with white hats defending our freedoms. So goes the NRA propaganda machine. We’ve all seen that cowboy movie. Too many times. The slaughter of children in Newtown, Conn. shows those lamebrain assertions for what they are: preposterous lies. There’s no end to the verbal contortions the NRA leadership goes through to justify their beloved assault weapons. One of the most mindlessly parroted phrases, encouraged by the NRA, is “THEY’re gonna take OUR huntin’ guns away!” That phrase encapsulates the paranoia gun fanatics feed upon – THEY the sinister government, US the “real” patriots. That US, it should be noted, does not include such misguided nuts as peaceniks, bunny-huggers, nerds and eggheads. Those misfits don’t own guns; they don’t even like hunting, for cryin’ out loud; there’s something wrong with them; they’re un-American. Probably communists. Why is “the gun” so sacred to so many Americans? It actually approaches the dimensions of a genetic disease. Some people store guns up like they’d hoard food in preparation for the end of
Dennis Dalman Editor the world. There are basements and attics chock-full of guns. Guns are the stockin-trade of hate groups and of so-called survivalists and weekend warriors. Why isn’t there a clinical name for gun mania? Come to think of it, there is. It’s called arrested development. In all fairness, the NRA has done some good things, such as gun-training and gun-safety programs. And most of its members are rational, reasonable, good people. The latest polls, in fact, indicate at least 70 percent of NRA members are in favor of some form of gun controls, especially those regarding assault weapons. It’s the stone-head monomania of NRA’s top echelon that is the problem. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the NRA membership demanded the resignation of that leadership? Wouldn’t it be even better if huge numbers of NRA members resigned in protest against such bullish intransigence? In the meantime, the many good NRA members should be calling, emailing and writing their representatives at all levels – demanding a ban on assault weapons and multi-ammo clips. It’s well and fine the brainstorming in Vice President Joe Biden’s task force includes mental-illness issues, violence in the media, school-security methods, universal gun checks and the possible banning of multi-ammo clips. It’s about
time those issues are addressed legislatively. They’ve been on the back burner for too long. However, if the task force does not recommend a ban on assault weapons, its members are cop-outs. And if President Barack Obama doesn’t fight for an assault-weapons ban, he too will be a cop-out. Isn’t it astounding how many in the U.S. Congress heed the advice of unelected tin gods like Grover Norquist (no new taxes) and NRA’s Wayne LaPierre (no gun bans)? Why aren’t our elected leaders heeding the advice of the grieving loved ones who lost their precious children to vicious killers, most of them armed with assault weapons? The answer should be obvious: fat-cash bullies (aka gun lobbyists). The NRA brags about a recent boost in membership. It now claims close to six million members. Are you impressed? Well, I’m not – for the simple reason there are 305 million Americans who are not NRA members. And most of those people, most of US, want a ban on assault weapons. Now. Not to mention many NRA members who do, too. I heard a great quote today submitted by a TV viewer: “Using an assault rifle to hunt is like using a chainsaw to sharpen a pencil.” If the U.S. Congress doesn’t ban assault weapons, its members will prove themselves once again to be gutless wonders. If there is any hope at all, it’s in the heartbreaking testimony of the grief-stricken parents of those children. Maybe our leaders, at long last, will really listen to them and heed their advice for a change.
Letter to editor
A tribute to lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary by Ron Marquette, Sartell It started out a normal Connecticut school day in December, with anticipation of Christmas in the air – children happy with futures full of promise and life fair. Who could have imagined what would take place that morning – the horror – when evil came crashing through the door. A gun was drawn and 20 innocent children and six brave adults were taken from us so fast, and the pain seems to last and last. And now there is sadness where love used to be. Years taken and dreams shattered. Oh, the laughs, the smiles, the hugs are what really mattered. Grief so strong for those who knew the fallen...mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and friends were all in despair and so many others who tried to show they cared. Love con-
quers all, even after the fall. The names ring in our ears – Benjamin, Catherine, Dylan, Victoria, James, Grace and on and on – and then come the tears. A rickety old swing hangs motionless in the backyard where a child once was – toys strewn across the room never to be played with again. A baseball glove rests on the ground...and just for a moment you hear the sound “Dad! Did you see me catch the ball?” A puppy awaits the bus that will never again bring her favorite person home...a mother weeps and weeps for that little girl who she will never again hold so tight. There was a boy who loved tacos so much, he wanted to grow up and be a “taco maker” because he was afraid the world would run out. There was a girl who broke open her piggy bank last Christmas to buy toys for needy kids.
There was a girl who danced to music whether it was in the air or in her head. There was a boy whose parents said was “just so good.” And a girl who every day practiced random acts of kindness, just because. All were precious; all made the world brighter and better...and now leave a void. The teachers, the educators – so heroic and brave, now motionless lie...they taught us all how to live and to die. Those who left us that day now are “angels in starlight”...if you look heavenward now their light will always shine bright. Let’s now work to stop all the violence and say, “enough is enough.” Let’s all try to get along...and make their lives mean something and their memories strong. Love to all and God bless each soul.
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