Letters to the Editor 01-19-2006
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- On Death And Dying - Right-Wing Absurdity - Gays - Rights - More On NIPSCO
On Death And Dying
Editor, Times-Union:This seems to be the season or time of year when retailers and Uncle Sam nudge you to get organized, so I waited until now to present my plight.
I lost my father 21 months ago and his estate was finally settled this past Thanksgiving. How often do we go from day to day and never think that today or this week may be our last? No one likes to think of dying or death. Everyone wants to live - I know and don't blame anyone for having that desire.
My question to each one of you as you go through this "organization process" - do you have everything ready should you die unexpectedly? Do you have a current legal will? Do you have all of your assets and holdings listed, or a big file that will take someone unfamiliar with your doings painlessly through the process of settling your estate? What are your wishes? Who will take care of your children? Have you gotten married, remarried, divorced recently? Have you changed the names of the beneficiaries on your account(s)? Is the ex-wife getting the life insurance policy or proceeds of other accounts when it really should go to the current wife or someone else? These are many things to consider, of course, and to each their own.
I also have learned through this process that if you don't dot all your i's and cross all your t's, you can cause more problems than good. The legal system is there to protect you, but can be your own enemy if you are not legally prepared. If you take the attitude that you will live up a party today and let your kids clean it up tomorrow, you will hurt your kids more than you know. The survivors of a death should be free to mourn, not feel like they want to pick up your casket and throw it to Asia and back. I felt that way. Don't take me wrong here, my Dad was a good man - just not prepared.
I guess the moral of this story is that while you are cleaning up, organizing your home and office and preparing for Uncle Sam, take some quality time, seek legal advise, and give the best gift to those you love by organizing and legally preparing that in the event that tomorrow may be your last and making sure your life-long assets go where you want them to go.
Jennifer Hyden
Winona Lake, via e-mail
Right-Wing Absurdity
Editor, Times-Union:"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson (1709-1794).
I have heard and read this statement several times over the years, but it was just recently that I realized what it meant. It is an apt description of the current administration in Washington and their right-wing "ditto heads." They ran out of excuses for our presence in Iraq, so left with nothing intelligent to say, they attack the patriotism of the dissenters. They tell us that if we leave Iraq now we will have sacrificed lives for nothing. This is nonsense. What it would tell me is our Constitution and our form of government works. The people are able to reverse the indiscretions of an incompetent administration. To say that the government made a mistake, but right or wrong the people must stay the course, is absolutely absurd. That would excuse many of the wars in the history of man.
Charles Carnes
Warsaw
Gays
Editor, Times-Union:"After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s" - that is the title of a book published in 1989. The authors are two militant, admitted homosexuals, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen.
This book is a laid-out detailed strategy of a plan to "overhaul straight America" through massive media, public relations and advertising propaganda campaigns. And although I did not watch it, the new NBC program "The Book of Daniel" seems to be following that agenda.
Hollywood seems to be desensitizing America about a lot of things. According to the 2004 study done by the Christian Film & Television Commission, movies with strong moral content earned six times as much as ones with immoral and violent content. And yet, statistics show that immoral movies get more press and far more rewards. Hollywood appears to be more interested in content than money.
If you are offended, you are not "politically correct." So what? When did this type of tolerance become a favorable characteristic anyways? No one talks about how the political correctness is offending the majority of us.
People need to start speaking out. Get active before the Christian way of life is "in the closet."
Lynette Sherrill
Peru
Rights
Editor, Times-Union:No, thank you, you may not have my constitutional rights. I'm still using them. At least, what's left of them.
Already our medical records, financial records, products we buy and books we read are open to scrutiny. I wish to retain what's left of my privacy rights and not have my private conversations eavesdropped upon.
The greatest threat to democracy and freedom is the imperialistic, war-mongering, power-hungry cabal in the White House. When the Gestapo drags you out of bed in the middle of the night ostensibly "looking for terrorists," you may wish you would have taken your constitutional rights more seriously.
If you think you can trust your government, ask an American Indian.
Janet Collins
Etna Green
More On NIPSCO
Editor, Times-Union:Some nice neighbor gave me the toll-free number for the Indiana Regulatory Commission. It's 800-851-4268. Now, let's all get together and bombard them with calls.
Like I said in my previous letter, just one of us can't make a difference. It will take all of us. So, let's get busy and do our job. What NIPSCO really needs is competition, let us have a right to choose who we want. Prices would come down in a hurry.
On another note, with the high prices of our gas for heating, how could anyone ever afford another $80 per month for a sewer system. Do you want Leesburg to be a ghost town? That's what will happen.
Shelba Cooper
Leesburg
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- On Death And Dying - Right-Wing Absurdity - Gays - Rights - More On NIPSCO
On Death And Dying
Editor, Times-Union:This seems to be the season or time of year when retailers and Uncle Sam nudge you to get organized, so I waited until now to present my plight.
I lost my father 21 months ago and his estate was finally settled this past Thanksgiving. How often do we go from day to day and never think that today or this week may be our last? No one likes to think of dying or death. Everyone wants to live - I know and don't blame anyone for having that desire.
My question to each one of you as you go through this "organization process" - do you have everything ready should you die unexpectedly? Do you have a current legal will? Do you have all of your assets and holdings listed, or a big file that will take someone unfamiliar with your doings painlessly through the process of settling your estate? What are your wishes? Who will take care of your children? Have you gotten married, remarried, divorced recently? Have you changed the names of the beneficiaries on your account(s)? Is the ex-wife getting the life insurance policy or proceeds of other accounts when it really should go to the current wife or someone else? These are many things to consider, of course, and to each their own.
I also have learned through this process that if you don't dot all your i's and cross all your t's, you can cause more problems than good. The legal system is there to protect you, but can be your own enemy if you are not legally prepared. If you take the attitude that you will live up a party today and let your kids clean it up tomorrow, you will hurt your kids more than you know. The survivors of a death should be free to mourn, not feel like they want to pick up your casket and throw it to Asia and back. I felt that way. Don't take me wrong here, my Dad was a good man - just not prepared.
I guess the moral of this story is that while you are cleaning up, organizing your home and office and preparing for Uncle Sam, take some quality time, seek legal advise, and give the best gift to those you love by organizing and legally preparing that in the event that tomorrow may be your last and making sure your life-long assets go where you want them to go.
Jennifer Hyden
Winona Lake, via e-mail
Right-Wing Absurdity
Editor, Times-Union:"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson (1709-1794).
I have heard and read this statement several times over the years, but it was just recently that I realized what it meant. It is an apt description of the current administration in Washington and their right-wing "ditto heads." They ran out of excuses for our presence in Iraq, so left with nothing intelligent to say, they attack the patriotism of the dissenters. They tell us that if we leave Iraq now we will have sacrificed lives for nothing. This is nonsense. What it would tell me is our Constitution and our form of government works. The people are able to reverse the indiscretions of an incompetent administration. To say that the government made a mistake, but right or wrong the people must stay the course, is absolutely absurd. That would excuse many of the wars in the history of man.
Charles Carnes
Warsaw
Gays
Editor, Times-Union:"After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s" - that is the title of a book published in 1989. The authors are two militant, admitted homosexuals, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen.
This book is a laid-out detailed strategy of a plan to "overhaul straight America" through massive media, public relations and advertising propaganda campaigns. And although I did not watch it, the new NBC program "The Book of Daniel" seems to be following that agenda.
Hollywood seems to be desensitizing America about a lot of things. According to the 2004 study done by the Christian Film & Television Commission, movies with strong moral content earned six times as much as ones with immoral and violent content. And yet, statistics show that immoral movies get more press and far more rewards. Hollywood appears to be more interested in content than money.
If you are offended, you are not "politically correct." So what? When did this type of tolerance become a favorable characteristic anyways? No one talks about how the political correctness is offending the majority of us.
People need to start speaking out. Get active before the Christian way of life is "in the closet."
Lynette Sherrill
Peru
Rights
Editor, Times-Union:No, thank you, you may not have my constitutional rights. I'm still using them. At least, what's left of them.
Already our medical records, financial records, products we buy and books we read are open to scrutiny. I wish to retain what's left of my privacy rights and not have my private conversations eavesdropped upon.
The greatest threat to democracy and freedom is the imperialistic, war-mongering, power-hungry cabal in the White House. When the Gestapo drags you out of bed in the middle of the night ostensibly "looking for terrorists," you may wish you would have taken your constitutional rights more seriously.
If you think you can trust your government, ask an American Indian.
Janet Collins
Etna Green
More On NIPSCO
Editor, Times-Union:Some nice neighbor gave me the toll-free number for the Indiana Regulatory Commission. It's 800-851-4268. Now, let's all get together and bombard them with calls.
Like I said in my previous letter, just one of us can't make a difference. It will take all of us. So, let's get busy and do our job. What NIPSCO really needs is competition, let us have a right to choose who we want. Prices would come down in a hurry.
On another note, with the high prices of our gas for heating, how could anyone ever afford another $80 per month for a sewer system. Do you want Leesburg to be a ghost town? That's what will happen.
Shelba Cooper
Leesburg
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