Rants & Raves

I appreciated the nice article entitled "Music Duo Sees the Light" in your Oct. 21 issue! I would have loved to go see them perform but I didn't read the article in time.

God bless them!

Protesting medical bill

I just received a bill from Health First Medical for routine blood work that is suppose to be covered by my health insurance. The bill listed, "needle insertion" and charged $6. Insurance covered $3.26 which tells me that insurance companies approve the charge for, "needle insertion" for routine blood work.

I'm so sick of seeing Health First Medical's advertisements as being exceptional. If you have to charge money for, "needle insertion" for routine blood work something is seriously wrong with our healthcare!

Hospital in need of more handicap items

I recently went to a local hospital for my mammogram. I am handicapped, unable to walk any distance, so my brother inquired about a wheelchair since he couldn't find one in the lobby. He was told by the site manager, there were none on the premises, as a cleaning company picks them up and returns them in about a week. After she left, a security guard kindly pulled one from a closet which they use to shuttle patients leaving the hospital. Another incident occurred when my mother was a patient and I needed to use the restroom. There wasn't a single elevated toilet seat in the hospital. I went home which is luckily nearby and upon returning, brought a newly purchased seat. The hospital reimbursed me!

So, I am advising anyone out there who is handicapped, you may want to double check to see if the hospital is set up for handicapped people.

Netflix criticism opinion

Regarding the Netflix controversy: if you were against fossil fuels, you probably wouldn't look for a job with an oil company. Why then would anyone against freedom of speech, take a job with a media company?

Netflix should remind the protesters that they work for a media company and if freedom of speech offends them, then they should look for a job with another type of company.

Raving about auto repair shop

I want to give a big shout out to Spada's Total Auto Repair, Inc. for recommending me to Fine Line 11 Collision & Paint, I needed my molding replaced around my windshield and took it to Spada's. They looked at it and wasn't sure they could do it and didn't want to mess it up, so they recommended Fine Line.

Fine Line did a great job at replacing it, They ordered the parts and replaced the molding. They didn't use the brackets they ordered for it so they did not charge me for them, instead they where going to send them back.

I would highly recommend both these places. They are honest businesses and aren't out to take advantage of people.

Road rage on I-95

Where is it OK to shoot to kill someone during a road rage incident? Why, Florida of course. In reading the Hometown News article about the shootings on I-95, I was really not surprised to read that the Highway Patrol considers road-rage shootings just "assaults". Since when does "tapping the brake" in front of someone justify attempted murder? That's what this actually, attempted murder, and should not be charged as just assault. An assault would be a punch in the nose or a push to the ground, shooting should be charged as what it is, attempted murder. I support the right to bear arms and I do believe it's what's keeping this country free, but if this shooting stupidity keeps going unpunished we will be losing our rights. Consequences for poor actions can go a long way toward solving this problem. I learned that growing up. Grow up people.

Divided states

Nine of the top ten states dependent on Federal revenue are red states. People aren't fleeing to Florida, they're retiring baby boomers seeking a better climate and lifestyle in their golden years. My advice to anyone thinking of relocating to Florida is, bring a pile of dough, because you won't earn what you were making up North. Florida is set up for retirees, and it isn't going to change any time soon. Any notion of dividing the country along state borders is dangerous. Encouraging people to move to a state where they happen to agree with the political party in power is courting disaster, and playing right into the hands of China and Russia. We need to start acting like adults and countrymen again. We're still a beacon of light in the world. Let's not extinguish it with our own bickering.

RE: A house divided

In response to the biased slant on Florida's receiving federal funds, the author avoided the amount or retired seniors that paid into Social Security and Medicare for decades. They also failed to mention how Democrat states got massive bailouts, results of mismanagement by liberal governors and mayors even with the abusive amounts of taxes they levy! I don't think Americans want a divided nation, but the progressive socialism must stop!

More Raves and less Rants

I agree with the letter writer several weeks ago who wanted to see more Raves. There is too much divisiveness and negativity everywhere else – other media are doing a good job of covering all that. My Rave goes out to Jack, who walks my neighborhood every day. He's in his 90s and is a World War II veteran. He says he has to walk every day; a good example for all of us. We need "gentle" Rants like ones against the grocery store bagger who puts the bag of salad greens next to the carton of ice cream or the still warm bread from the bakery next to the frozen pizza. Or when you've just dozed off for a well deserved afternoon nap and the phone rings – and nobody is there. Or the walker who throws their half-full soda cup in your relatively clean trash cart – now it's wet and sticky. Or that it's October already and we still have 90 plus degree highs. Or that you can't find a decent baking sweet potato that isn't a gigantic mutant. What upsets me is that many of the printed Rants are so full of anger and vitriol; they disparage those with different views and call them names. What worries me most is they are almost always based on conspiracy theories, misinformation and/or disinformation for which there is no evidence and which have been proven false by numerous reputable sources. Perhaps the section should be called "Rages" instead of "Rants"?