Listen to Abraham Lincoln’s own words
Why is Abraham Lincoln thought of so highly today, especially within the black community?
Read Lincoln’s own words during his debate with Stephen Douglas in 1858 in Charleston:
"I am not nor ever have been, in favor or bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."
And yet, he made it quite clear that he believed slavery was "a moral, a social and a political wrong" and "that in the run of time there may be some promise of an end to it. If there be any man who does not believe slavery is wrong ... that man is misplaced and ought to leave us."
It was a different time when he said these things, but despite his views he did the right thing when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862.
Lincoln in his own handwriting wrote this: "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master."
Buy American and create demand, jobs
Neither stimulus money nor free- trade agreements nor cutting taxes will guarantee job-creating demand in America. The only thing that can create jobs is consumer demand.
We the people must create the demand that will create jobs in America. We must do what politicians cannot ask: Make a conscious effort to buy goods made in the USA. Whether you are employed, unemployed, under-employed or retired, you can make a difference by purchasing goods made in the USA.
If everyone took the time to read the labels when you shopped for every-day items and purchase items made in the USA as often as possible, we would create demand.
Whenever you shop, look at the product label for the "Made in USA" sticker. You can also visit this website for a list of products made in America: www.americansworking.com/index.html.
Even small purchases add up if everyone is doing it. The jobs we save could be yours or your neighbor’s.
Form over function not necessarily best at USA
I’ve often wondered who the "engineer" was who approved the limited-space double two-way stop now in use at the intersection of Center Street and the entrance loop to USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital.
It seems to me the loop split would be better on the north side of Center Street (which runs east-west ) instead of its present configuration. A single, east-west two-way stop would also be more effective. I suppose form wins out over function.
A couple of years ago, you could talk to an hourly USA medical system employee and they’d tell you the pay could be better, but the benefits were second to none. This year? Not so much.
It seems the benefits so highly touted by those employees have been altered somewhat in order to be more "in line" with those of Infirmary Health Systems.
Also, several clinical offices have had some holidays eliminated. For instance, quite a few of these offices had closed on Mardi Gras for years, and are now required to be open. I wonder how the cost/benefit ratio will look.
I’d bet there’ll be a goodly amount of thumb-twiddling going on at most, if not all, of those clinics on Fat Tuesday. Opening more net services for less net gain makes little sense.
Try this idea: Instead of administrators looking elsewhere to reduce costs, take a good, hard look at themselves. A salary reduction of, say, 5 percent annually until economic conditions sufficiently improve surely won’t put any administrator in the poorhouse.