You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or e-mail comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message.
The U.S. spends far more on healthcare than any other country, but we don’t live as long, and health care outcomes aren’t all that great. The United Kingdom, which has a national healthcare system, has nearly seven times fewer diabetes lower extremity amputations per 100,000 individuals than the U.S. The UK spends only 9.4 percent of its GDP on healthcare; the U.S. spends 17.7 percent. Costs for drugs, surgery, hospital admissions and stays, and chronic illnesses are all higher in the U.S., yet Republicans in congress have voted dozens of times to repeal the most significant healthcare reform in decades. Repeal would snatch healthcare coverage from over 16 million people who didn’t have it before. If congress really cared about quality healthcare and efficiency, it would support a single-payer or Medicare-for-all national plan. Our present health care system is wasteful and obsessed with making profits. Taiwan spends a mere 1.6 percent of its healthcare budget on administration costs; the U.S. spends an estimated 30 percent. Doctors here pay an average of $80,000 a year for administration costs. A certain brand of inhaler that costs $15 in Chile sells here for $120 to $140. The higher healthcare burden on U.S. employers makes it tougher to compete against other industrialized countries. Adopting a national healthcare plan would benefit almost everyone except the healthcare industry profiteers. A system of public insurance and private delivery of services – with a free choice of doctors and hospitals – would create an efficient, competitive, and inclusive market for all Americans.
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To the cold Hearted person that dropped the kittens off on Smith Creek Road in Lounsberry, it is a shame your parents did not drop you off on the side of the road as a baby in the cold and rain of November. Only one was saved, the rest were not found in time.
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I would like to thank the person who found my purse at Tops. May you be rewarded with many blessings.
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I went to the Dancing with the Starz fundraiser on Saturday night and what an enjoyable time we all had. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun in Owego. The dancers were fabulous, my favorite was Reathea Woodburn – she looked so beautiful. Thank you to the Tioga United Way for putting on such an entertaining evening.
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I was wondering if anybody found keys in the Rite Aid parking lot. Either take them into Rite Aid or have someone call into the Pennysaver.
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Wage increases. Did anyone else hear the Republican buffoon candidates for president say that American workers are paid too much? There will be no increase in hourly wages under their administration. This is coming from the millionaires and billionaires who want to lead the country down the well-worn path of richness only for the few.
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When parents drop their children off at Tioga Central, they pull in front of the school along the road. There are signs that clearly state no parking at any time. This causes a dangerous situation, as this is a public road in front of the school. I don’t know of the many times when I am driving through kids getting let out on the side of the road and the cars pull out in front of me. After dropping off the kids I would hate to see an accident or someone getting hurt. This law needs to be enforced. I know when they designed the construction at the school several years ago they made a drop off point for the students so this would not happen.
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The people that put the burn barrel in back of Woodlawn Avenue, come and get it and dispose of it where it should go. It is not a nice thing to look at. I know who you are now so do the right thing so I won’t need to get anyone involved.
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I was saddened to hear of the loss of a Taylor Garbage service employee. It’s hard to understand how you could miss seeing a truck that large. These workers are out in all kinds of weather – hot, cold, rain, snow, wind and ice, and they work hard! Please keep him, his family, friends and coworkers in your thoughts and prayers. Shawn, may you rest in peace.
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Does Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson hear yet with his nonsense? He’s certainly not all there.
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We don’t need Benghazi to tell us Hillary is a big liar. I’m still waiting for the 200,000 jobs she absolutely promised us New Yorker’s.
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How did Nichols become so messed up that you can’t live on your own property in your own camper? Laws are a mess.
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Concerning the Paris attacks, as usual our ostrich in chief has his head buried in the sand. His defense of Islam is totally misguided. His actions to oppose Isis are always too little too late. Obama’s concern is mainly about his legacy and shoving off any decisive actions onto the president. There have been many surveys of Islamic opinion. They all show about 15 percent of Muslims in western countries agree with imposition of Sharia law in support of violent actions. That means about 225 million potential enemies worldwide. Europe will never be the same because of massive Islamic immigration. The United States should declare a moratorium on all immigration for at least five years. Let’s hope the next election returns sanity to U.S. voters.
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The U.S. Government gave the Department of Veteran’s Affairs approximately $150 million in bonuses. Why? They’re not doing a good job. The veterans still have to travel hundreds of miles and wait and wait for healthcare. The VA is overwhelmed, there’s not enough staff, there are not enough nurses, and there are not enough doctors. Vietnam Veterans are getting older and they need healthcare. When Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans come home they will need healthcare. The V.A. is another over-bloated inefficient government agency. The V.A. has been around for 77 years and can’t take care of its veterans. It is no wonder there are organizations such as Disabled American Veterans and Wounded Warriors to pick up the slack. It’s time for change. The benefits should be beneficial. Many veterans have lost faith, confidence, and trust in the V.A. Who can blame them? Stop these bonuses and the waste of money. These Republican candidates such as Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and even Mike Huckabee have suggested it’s a good idea for the veterans to go to their local hospital or have the option to go to the V.A. One Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, says the same thing.
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A while ago I got a call from the IRS scammers. I called the number and a person with a foreign accent answered. I told the person, look this is a scam and I am going to call the police, he then turned around and tried to threaten me. What I did was after talking to them I called the sheriff and told him what happened and that is where I got the number for the Attorney General. I haven’t got a call from those scammers since then. They better watch out, those scammers!
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I’ve read a lot of complaints about the new OES building. I saw it and it looks to me more like an apartment house. My issue is this – why did they have to build that in the first place? It would have been better if they had fixed up the old building instead of tearing the old building down and putting up a new one. I know everybody is worried about the possibility of another flood, which I hope and pray that it never happens again in my lifetime. I don’t think we really needed that new building in the first place.
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I usually don’t like to go to a restaurant that has entertainment during my meal. I prefer nice conversation and quiet to enjoy the meal. I changed my mind Friday night at the Calaboose. There was a young man named Tyler Kai who came to our table and performed magic tricks. He was personable and he didn’t intrude on our meal. He entertains on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Calaboose and I look forward to seeing him perform again.
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I would like to comment on the excellent singing of our National Anthem by the Military Master Sergeant at the New York Giants / New England Patriots football game last Sunday. It was great to hear it sung as it was written for a change.
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While shopping in the Village of Owego on Saturday, Nov. 14, I lost a gold and silver link bracelet. Please, if found call 625-2509.
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How many people know that Syrian refugees have already started to come to the United States? Last week hundreds of refugees from Syria came to New Orleans to settle. This is part of President Obama’s plan to let 10,000 refugees come to the U.S. over the next year. I think these people should settle in the Middle East. Have some of the Middle Eastern countries take care of them, that’s where they’re from. This is a very dangerous situation now with terrorists coming to the U.S. with the refugees. The first priority for the United States is the safety of our people. Also, we cannot afford to take them in.
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I just wanted to say that I give my support to the Bernie Sanders campaign for Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton might make an excellent president but Bernie Sanders is the only candidate running on either side who is untouched by corporate money. He’s never taken corporate money in his entire political career. He is as clean as a whistle and name-calling doesn’t change that very important fact. He’s the only candidate running who has no debt to pay to corporate interests or banks.
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Can we please have some patrol on Glenmary Drive? I’m getting tired of those who don’t obey the speed limit. People are passing me on double lines. There are children standing out waiting for the buses. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
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I appreciate the person who called in to remind everyone about putting their headlights on when it’s raining out and it is a law that your wipers need to be on when it is raining. Also, remind everyone to put his or her lights on when it is foggy in the morning and when it is snowing.
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Free Black Friday bowling at Owego Bowl from 1 to 5 p.m. Free pizza, free soda and free bowling for school age kids. See you there!
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Have you been to Tioga Downs lately? I just went this week and it was so much fun. The parking is easy with a friendly shuttle driver, Chris. The buffet was excellent – so many choices and prepared deliciously. You can bet a small amount and still enjoy it. The people were so friendly and made it a good time all together.
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The Republican buffoons have given up on everything including the thumb sucking. They are about to take another vacation. What, more time off? Anyhow, this is worse than the red scare when there was a commie behind every tree. Now there’s an Isis representative among all the orphans and widows that are feeling the violence abroad. Give me a break! How about waking up to reality you Republican goons!
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I guess the new OA school buildings’ cost concept is way too complicated to understand for some folks. Let me try again. Yes, the FEMA and state money comes from taxes. Yes, you pay state and federal taxes. BUT try to understand this. Getting the money from them did not increase your state and federal taxes. And more importantly, if FEMA and the state did not provide any money it would not have lowered your state or federal taxes. Thus as I stated, from your personal pocketbook’s perspective the new buildings are essentially free. No added tax costs to you. And conversely, no savings would have accrued to your tax bill if none of that money were provided. Exactly zero impact to you, thus essentially free. On the other hand, if we did not get the money from them we’d have had to pay for fixing or rebuilding the buildings ourselves, thus raising our local taxes. Perhaps there are people who would prefer that route. I’m not one of them. I hope this makes it clearer. And oh by the way, the 770 student capacity of the new OES building referred to by a contributor is calculated based on having the maximum allowable class size of 32 students per classroom, not the actual class size. Put raising class sizes to 32 to a vote of the teachers and parents and see how well that would fly.
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Some folks have not done enough homework on the new OES and/or not kept up on modern methods of construction and outfitting. Yes, the building is larger. Per the analysis for FEMA it is 115,000 square feet as opposed to 70,000 square feet for the 50-year-old former OES (which by the way isn’t twice as big where I learned math). However, the new building will have significantly better construction resulting in it being better insulated. In addition, it will use geothermal heating like OAMS, resulting in very significant savings on heating bills. Furthermore, the lighting system is all LED, another very significant savings in lighting costs. Just as new cars require less maintenance than cars 50 years ago, maintenance will also require less effort. The good old days were not as good as we like to think they were. The new building will cost less to operate than the old building.
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Thank you to Lalor Dental for the turkey I won in your contest. Happy Thanksgiving.
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The real “War on Women” is being carried out by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party with their endorsement of the abortions of several million female babies. There are far more female babies put to death than male because of sex selection. Let’s have a live TV show of a real abortion and let the people see if it is just a glob of tissue being removed or a real baby being killed.
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Tioga County, the Town of Owego, the Village of Owego, the Town of Tioga and the Village of Waverly all have a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. It can be seen at http://tiogacountyny.com/departments/emergency-management/. It is reviewed annually and updated as needed. Evacuations plans and routes will vary according to the emergency.
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Under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), certain preventive healthcare services must be covered by your network provider without your having to pay a copayment, co-insurance or deductible. Preventive care includes screenings for high blood pressure and high cholesterol counts, evaluations for several cancers and diabetes, and vaccinations. (You can find a complete list at http://www.hhs.com.) The patient is entitled to one free checkup per year. Obamacare patients going to their doctors for the free annual checkup are finding out they may have to pay for the preventive healthcare visit after all. Without being forewarned by their physician, patients learn later that mentioning a current health issue during the checkup will likely trigger co-pay. One local woman was charged a co-pay when she mentioned having occasional minor shoulder pain after the physician asked her if she was having any health issues. The physician provided no treatment or follow-up to the patient, but merely by asking the question she enabled the local hospital system to bill the patient for a co-pay. The patient’s health insurer did not authorize the co-pay, but the hospital system demanded it anyway. This seems unethical at best. Obamacare patients should be forewarned that some health care providers will bill them for “preventive” and “not preventive” services during the same visit. One way to avoid this problem is to schedule one visit for the free annual checkup and, if necessary, a separate visit for current health problems that you may wish to address.
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“Cows are tremendous teachers of humility and patience. You will never ever win anything by being violent with a cow. Or even bullheaded. The more you treat them with a gentle, acquiescent patience, the more they will return the favor. I have never met a successful dairyman who was not fairly gentle and peaceful by nature. If only presidents and kings had to milk cows as part of their training, half of our silly wars would never happen.” From “The Family Cow Comes Home” by Gene Logsdon written in the summer of 2003.
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Why are colleges and universities surprised at the turmoil on their campus? Liberal professors have been teaching dislike and distrust of this country and its rules, laws, history, and founding for years. Now they’re reaping what they sowed. What’s to be surprised at? Remember, “Don’t trust anyone over 30”? It’s coming home to roost, as Jeremiah Wright, Nobama’s pastor for 20 years so famously said.
