Ask county to commit to care for disabled and elderly
My name is Felicia Smith. I am a provider with IHSS. Have you ever thought what might happen if you or your loved one suddenly became disabled or ill and needed full time nursing care or home care? Would you then quit your job to care for them or would they, to care for you? Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of the folks in this position or imagined the problems they encounter such as, the costs of nursing facilities or a home health nurse? There are many dedicated, compassionate caregivers in Lake County who deserve recognition for the position they fill in the community. They are the ones who are relied upon for the care of the most vulnerable people. When you are young you have your parents to care for you. When you are old you may not have anyone to rely on. These care givers take time out of their lives to nurture and ease the fears of those they care for by being available to help them with the daily chores of life ranging from getting a bath and getting dressed to eating and drinking etc.
Just imagine what you might need if you were disabled. Just for one minute, imagine the struggles of daily living one might encounter when older or disabled and the worry of being subjected to those costly and so dreaded nursing homes. Have you ever wondered how a person can survive on $6.75 an hour, with no health care benefits in these times? Let alone how a person can get quality care for that price.
Aren”t we all getting old and shouldn”t we care about improving the IHSS program and the quality of care? What is more important, the city streets or human lives? I am asking you to search your hearts and ask your Savior what He would want you to do about this situation. We need leaders who will competently work to improve the care of the elderly and disabled. We need leadership who will lift the people of Lake County out of poverty. Please join us in the fight for wages and benefits to improve the quality of living for every one. Call David Smith at 274-8280 to find out what you can do to make a stand on this issue and what your rights as a provider or a recipient are. Together we can make a difference; there are more than 1,500 providers alone in this county. Stand up for your rights and ask your county to make a commitment to care for the elderly and disabled.
Felicia Smith
Clearlake
Habitat welcomes volunteers
Habitat for Humanity, Lake County is calling on all the citizens in the community to help. Habitat needs people to join its construction team. All skill levels are welcomed.
The current Habitat project, located at 4067 Borie Ave, Clearlake, is in need of support from the greater community. The all-volunteer organization, which helps build homes for those who have no other means of homeownership, can only thrive by the support and participation of the citizens of Lake County.
Eliminating poverty housing in Lake County is a great cause and all of those involved do have a rewarding experience. The current construction work schedule is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. Please call 987-1101 for further information.
Richard Birk, president
Habitat for Humanity, Lake County
Penny and his staff are professional and competent
In response to your article “Vietnam veteran heads VA office” by John Lindblom in the Wednesday, Aug. 9 issue of the ObserverHAmerican, this is a letter complimenting the Lake County Veteran”s Service Office.
Bob Penny and the staff of the Lake County Veteran”s Service office are some of the most professional competent people I”ve run into during 40 years of dealing with the VA.
As a disabled veteran, I”ve been involved with the VA and VA hospitals off and on since the late ”60s, when I was discharged from the Air Force with a service-connected disability.
A few years ago my son Mark 9 much to his surprise 9 learned that he qualified for admission to the UC system based on his test scores at Lower Lake High School.
Bob Penny explained that, as the son of a disabled vet, Mark qualified for tuition reimbursement at a California university. Bob helped us fill out the paperwork and Mark was able to go to UC.
Working with the Lake County Veteran”s Service office is easy. Just call them and tell the person who answers the phone, “I would like to talk to you.” They”ll do the rest.
Tony Levelle
Clearlake
Don”t let ”framing” and ”fear” mess with your mind
Everyone feels uncomfortable when someone is messing with our minds. We must all become aware of framing! This is a technique, honed to perfection by Karl Rove, which uses words to obscure or eliminate ideas not approved of by the speaker. The more reasonable and useful they seem as a way of summing up a concept, the more they become a part of the Republicans” “talking points ” and our national dialogue.
Example 1: To claim that we are fighting a “War on Terror” is to guarantee that such a war will go on forever. That is framing. Terrorism is not an enemy. It is a tactic (unfortunately, a very potent one), increasingly used by extremist groups lacking in military and financial resources to confront anyone with whom they disagree. It will probably exist indefinitely and cannot be eliminated by bombing anyone, especially not innocent women and children. It can, as we have seen recently, be combated most effectively by close cooperation among law enforcement and intelligence agencies throughout the world.
Example 2: Mr. Bush says, “If there are phone calls coming from foreign terrorists, I want to know about it.” That is framing. Our choice is not between warrantless wiretapping and a complete failure to gather intelligence about terrorist plots against us. The real issue is that Mr. Bush wants to be able to spy on Americans whenever or wherever he wants 9 without any oversight. Otherwise he would just simply get a warrant. The FISA court says he could even get one retroactively! What we now know about the NSA”s “Data Mining” operations proves his intent to mislead the American people.
Words, like any powerful force, can be used for good or evil. Don”t let those “F-words” — Framing and Fear — mess with your mind!
Bill Barrows
Hidden Valley Lake
Birch Society campaigns to secure America”s borders
I notice the John Birch Society has concentrated its entire focus on its nationwide campaign to secure our borders and oppose any open borders legislation in congress, such as amnesty or “guest worker” bills, being promoted by the anti-American leaders we have been cursed with in The White House and Congress.
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado), a hero of the movement to secure our borders (and incidentally no longer welcome by the subversive White House crowd for obvious reasons), has warned that more than 51 mid-east terrorist suspects have been arrested crossing our southern borders, which I feel indicates the greater clear and present danger. I wish to absolutely urge all concerned citizens to go to the John Birch Society Web site at www.JBS.org or call (800) JBS-USA-1 for a free petition and sign, download or circulate the “Petition to Members of Congress” to secure our borders. Time is short!
Ed Nemechek
Landers
No proposal too outrageous
Demonstrating that there is perhaps no proposal too outrageous for those trying to break down our borders and our traditional social order, I noticed H.R. 3006, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their “permanent partners” for residence in the United States. The act would change current immigration law language by inserting the phrase “or permanent partner” after “spouse” each place where that term appears. H.R. 3006 has flown quietly under the radar, gathering 94 cosponsors in the House and 10 in the Senate. I found out about this from the June 2006 John Birch Society Bulletin, at www.jbs.org.
I suggest everyone contact their representative and senators now to oppose this stealth pathway to legal residency for non-married “partners.” It is too much to let some of our congressmen give citizenship to alien homosexual partners.
Matthew R. Davis
Henderson, Nev.
