Speak Out

momaster - choir, drama, etc ARE part of the curriculum, as is PE, open to all students; football (etc), cheerleading, travel, appropriate insurance, uniforms, extra contracts, and so on - are NOT part of the curriculum. Some of the art activities are now 'extra-curricular' because they were cut from the curriculum to make room for other expenses - but the Art Club can't get buses to the Art Fair once a year, while ALL of the sports most certainly get all the goodies. Keep PE and intramurals - they're fun and teach competition, sportsmanship, etc. If a choice has to be made, make it in favor of the greatest good for ALL the students.

May I repost it with out the adult language if I post it in 3 or 4 parts?

My I ask why my post was removed?

I have a question also--since we're still speculating:

Why do you get a penny for your thoughts, but have to put your two cents in?

People have joked about this before--George Carlin among them. But I've concluded there could be a real life lesson here. Maybe it's best to try accruing interest on the thought rather than lose the investment by putting the thought into words.

Will be interesting to see who and how many show up for the board meeting Tuesday.

Smokin' Cheetah I agree 100% with everything you posted you said it way better than I could have.

I agree, Gal66. My point to posting these policies was this: If I read them correctly, then Mr. Latham did nothing *against* policy and perhaps the personal attacks on him should stop. At this point all the slurs and attacks appear to be biased, opinionated, without merit, and without sufficient information from which to draw any of the above.

In each of the policies I looked at, these decisions can be made solely by the superintendant and are final unless the board reverses that decision. Checks and balances. It took me all of 5 minutes to find the online policy.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the accusations against Mr. Latham were deemed unwarranted because people failed to "educate" themselves?

I don't owe Latham anything except fairness--no less than each of us owe one another. From what I've seen, he's a stand-up guy...head and shoulders above many, even. (Hope the pun is evident:)

Thank you commish and momaster.

I found this in the online policy as well. I guess an answer to one question begs another? Are coaches considered support staff?

http://policy.msbanet.org/marshall/showp...

Coaches and other sponsors do have contracts. Mr. Latham can only recommend that someone not be renewed. The board has the final say (and it sounds like it's going to be Tuesday night). If you want to see Coach Thomas retained, call a board member.

Hopefully, the decision to let coaches go is based upon more than wins and losses at the high school level. I hope that many voices, administrators, parents and students are heard on the matter.

And those of you that think that sports are still king need to attend a game or two. Participation is down from what it used to be. Some teams have problems just having enough players for freshmen, junior varsity and varsity competition. There's a core of students who play two or three sports each, and there's a growing number of students who do no extracurricular activities at all.

Cheetah..yes the coaching and activity sponsorships in MPS are by contract.

While I agree that the Marshall-Saline Developement Corp is useless to an extent. I am also under the understanding that a certain group of 'local business owners' (some larger companies not just small mom and pop shops) have a lot to do with the lack of new business.

Of course a local big employer won't want competition. With out competition you lack economic growth. Joe Blow can keep paying low end wages as long as Jon Doe doesn't want to put another company doing the same thing and paying better. Then Joe has a say as to if Jon can start a business here. I have to wonder how many shoulda, coulda and woulda business prospects failed because of that group alone.

Eric,

My post about the possibility of a coaching decision being made in a previous board meeting was completely conjecture on my part. After posting, I too searched board minutes and found nothing. That search led me to the MPS Online Policy from which I posted excerpts later.

As a general question, does anyone know if coaching positions in Marshall are by contract?

Notgvnasht,

To equate wanting kids to be able to have the skills necessary to compete in today's world with being un-American and communist is laughable. I love sports just as much as the next person, but we are no doubt infatuated with them at the expense of other, more important things in this country.

I think that was the point Hunterfisher was trying to make. Just because a person doesn't like or think sports shouldn't triumph over education, doesn't make them un-American or communist. That way of thinking is part of the problem with youth sports today.

MyObs: I have heard that the county has tolerated a county development corporation that has not brought one new job to this county for the last 10 years - I guess it depends on how or who you're looking at.

I do believe this is the end of the 10th season for this coach. The opening of this year was a resounding 45 Wins and 49 Losses. Add this year to this and we are still under the 50% ratio. Who reading this blog or working in this world can function at less than 50%. Would any of your bosses, companies, or even families tolerate your function to them at less than 50% for a 10 year period? No, I do not think so.

If any of you think that athletes are born with the ability or not to be good or bad, then so be it. Stop reading this now.

My opinion is that it takes basic fundamentals, hard work, and dedication from an athlete, a worker, a co-worker, a mother, a father, (a coach)or anyone that will bring success to that individual, company, or family, (school). And not necessarily in that order. I believe that family is first in all of the catagories I just spoke of.

In my opinion, this is not a case of a good person or a bad person. It is about success. I do not feel that too young, too inexperienced, or whatever is an excuse. Take a look at the Chillicothe program and the success rate of 75% over 12 or 13 years and maybe even a little more than that.

Phil Willard is retired from administration, coaching football, knows where and what these kids are doing day in and day out. If you were at this game you could see he had more kids on the sideline than we had on our entire team. He has the same programs to compete (a smaller school)with as does Marshall. Thus, I do not see that as an issue. He has success and instills that in his program and his young people.

You cannot blame anything on the competition between sports. That is totally wrong, in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with options for our children. If you are a good coach and show them success then they will follow. We have spent the last 10 years in a fog as far as football at Marshall High School is concerned. All I can see is the print and the quotes. You look them up, you read them, and you decide for yourself.

You look also at the record, this is the worst 10 years of Marshall High School Football. From hearing that the coach does not want to bring his team on the field before the National Anthem (because it might break their concentration) to not allowing them an interview (because they might say something wrong). For most of the young people this will be the only, "Firday Night Lights" they will ever see. Are they all scholars, no, are they all going to college, no, are they all going to succeed, I hope so. But we know that is not in the cards for all of us. Do they get that, "Few minutes of Glory", I certainly hope so.

Let the cards fall where they do. It is time for a change. GO OWLS!

Gal66 in all fairness I don't believe it is accurate to say that I am wrong. Go to MSHSAA and you will find that Marshall is Class 3 in most sports. We are Class 4 in football and basketball only; we are even in Class 2 for some sports. I don't believe it is accurate to say we are a Class 4 school when the majority of our sports are Class 3 and below, which is also the case for the majority of the teams in our conference which includes Kirksville and Fulton, not Helias (they were taken out of our conference for a reason).

Can someone please explain to me what is happening with the kids wrestling club? I am hearing all kind of rumors!

No, freckles. Unless you were in on the decision making process, then all you're doing is drawing a conclusion/opinion from other (obviously jaded) opinions. Suit yourself.

All I did was pose a possibility. I don't know the details and don't claim to.

From the Marshall Public School District Online Policy, File "IGDJ" Basic:

"The Board will provide interscholastic athletic competition for secondary school students in a variety of sports. Students will be allowed to participate in the individual sports on the basis of physical condition and desire. Qualified professional staff will be provided for coaching, and for the supervision of all athletic events."

Note the "Professional Staff" part of that.

Now, from the same Online Policy, File "GCPE" **Termination of Professional Staff Members**:

*Employees without Contracts*: "The superintendent may terminate employees who are not under contract. The superintendent shall report any such termination or suspension to the Board of Education, and the decision will stand approved unless reversed by the Board."

If Thomas did not have a contract to coach, then this decision did not require a board decision.

Call me crazy, but isn't it possible that the board made this decision during a PREVIOUS board meeting and only asked Mr. Latham to be the mouthpiece?

And wouldn't that be a little more personable than stringing the guy up in front of the whole board for a big 'ol public display?

kobe you are wrong Helias is a class 4 school as are we.

If you think we should only play schools in our own class the we should not play Moberly, Kirksville, Fulton and Chillicothe right?

OKR - The biotech crops article is pretty interesting! Although I didn't grow up on a farm and don't know a lot about that industry, I do know the effects of continued chemical usage, as evidenced by the 6,000-square-mile dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico around the mouth of the Mississippi River due to runoff into rivers feeding the Mississippi.

The talk about escalating prices for pest/weed resistant seed, coupled with the forced (I'm concluding) increase in the use of herbicides and pesticides reinforces my belief that greed merchants are institutional.

I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of some area farmers around Saline County on this subject.

aikman...I am a sportsfan and I understand this one. We only have so many home games each year. We also have to schedule our games when the OTHER TEAM isn't already scheduled. Then there is trying to work around other athletic and scholastic schedules to have the most students free for homecoming activities. ALso, when you make the comment "this isn't the motherload of talent" maybe you should be more specific, I assume you mean football talent because from what I see MHS does seem to have talent in other areas.

This is sort of a nod to the long vanished Third Child. Where did he go, and why? Did the Government sweep him up, and deposit him on some wretched island to despair in solitude the rest of his life?

At any rate, the following link will provide any who care to click it with intrigue, empire building, and most of all a good dose of paranoia. Truth, or fiction? You decide. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?c...

Evenin' folks.

A belated your welcome NanaDot.

Lotsa good progressive stuff at this web site: http://classic.buzzflash.com/

ND - I'm glad we're both relieved that we didn't offend one another. :)

KF was talking about shedding tears, sometimes for unknown reasons, and sometimes for unknown reasons my Irish sort of gets a bit out of control. :)

aikman8,

The last time this subject came up you got on everyone for posting comments and not putting their name on what they had to say well looks like the pot calling the kettle black to me!!!

Got the guts?

ND - I suppose his "personal" reason had to do with getting his insurance payoff money laundered.

Slater - you didn't 'step on my toes' - I thought I had offended you...

I just heard about the Senate bill, and that Max Baucus suddenly had to jet home for personal reasons - ....

Hey NB,

Well, the local weather guy showed a video of a big meteor over Utah last night, believed to be from the Leonid shower. Been out on the garage roof having a gander? I asked the cat to wake me at 3 (which she usually does anyway), but she snoozed right on through.

Hope you're over the broken feet and pneumonia now. When you get to be my age, you can get a pneumonia shot. :) The last time I saw my quack he offered me one, and I thanked him for the offer but declined, saying I didn't want a case of pneumonia.

Good health to you and your family!

Better yet....maybe the Athletic Director should be released from his duties since he scheduled our football team to play Jeff. City Helias for Homecoming this year. WOW, What was he thinking??

Taking the reductionist approach to identifying what ails America, here's my answer:

http://www.mtvmusic.com/artist/dire_stra...

You got that right Oldowlfan. Both parties are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Corporatocracy.

The reason I stated the "right wing" is because every social program that comes up that would benefit the common people, they moan loudly "oh it will ruin the children"s future". At the moment I can't think of much that they strongly support beyond cutting taxes. To consider cutting taxes in the current situation is foolhardy. We must do more to slow our budgetary free fall, raising the taxes on the rich back to the levels occuring in the 1970s would help. I doubt that the rich would starve from what would be really nothing more than an inconvenience to them. So why does that never get mentioned a remedy by the right wing (nor many on the faux left) these days?

It's not just the right wing

ND - A more cynical person than I could exist, but some days I wonder. :)

I agree that the future looks pretty bleak, but I'm doing my very best to keep the faith, and that aint easy when we learn about all the Max Baucuses in line and the insurance lobbyists drop the piles of cash into their outstretched hands.

A single-payer system would be best, ideally at least, except the human factor keeps getting in the way.

Sorry about stepping on your toes. :)

Slater - Welcome back! I've been concerned about your lengthy absence and hope all is well with you.

Sorry - my 'faith' in corporate nature is, admittedly, cynical at best..:>\

Slater, 'anyone with a predisposition to catastrophic illness' will be dropped by private insurers, and can only hope that they lose enough of everything to qualify for the 'public-option of last resort', which will THEN cost us ALL billions, and the GOP will gleefully hoot and howl, and tell us 'it can't be done - see, see, SEE!!' while people die and they MAKE billions off the lobbyists who hired them to screw us all.

The only real option is not-for-profit, single=payer, Medicare for ALL of us, and get rid of the insurance companies (which IKE wants to save) and the pharma monopolies, and SAVE OURSELVES... IKE can keep his insurance buddies.

There is a FREE CLINIC in Little Rock this coming Saturday, and another FREE CLINIC in KC at Bartle Hall on December 10.

Someone posted: "Obviously, anyone with a predisposition to catastrophic illnesses will have the opportunity for more frequent tests."

"Obviously" -- prove it.

Even if that were so, you are still left hoping that what YOU think is a predisposition is the same as what some faceless BUREAUCRAT thinks is a predisposition. The odds are against your hope proving to be accurate.

For anyone wanting to know more about the origin of the health maintenance organization concept (HMO):

http://books.google.com/books?id=_neYkFI...

This curtailment of specialized testing isn't anything new by any means. The intent under the new health care reform effort primarily is to keep physicians from ordering unnecessary tests just for the purpose of collecting more money.

Obviously, anyone with a predisposition to catastrophic illnesses will have the opportunity for more frequent tests.

AFbrat...that was my thought exactly when I saw this on the news last night. They're softening us up for Obamacare.

How ridiculous to stop something that has no doubt saved many lives.

Robert Reich on real health care reform. Read, and learn. http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/11/...

movaldude

You make an excellent point.

One of the things that I recall are U.S. armed services medical personell, and private medical contractors providing free clinical care to Iraqi citizens. When we invaded, and all hell broke loose for the Iraqis, their professional classes, including many Doctors, (those who could afford it) fled the country. Many still have not returned. This exacerbated the problem, and made it necessary for our medical folk to step in. I am not condemning these acts of mercy, but it would be nice if we could show as much mercy to our own citizens.

I couldn't agree more! I would much rather spend my tax payer dollars on health care reform than on killing someone in a foreign land. Don't spend billions of tax payer dollars over there, spend it here in the good ole USA. I'm tired of the USA being the world police, send our troops back home and lets take care of our own problems here on our soil.

She is fine, News Across. She is all grown up now and has kids of her own. It has been over 12 years ago when that happened. Of coarse I switched to a different doctor since then.

I am all for having nationalized medicine. I have no problem voting for something that our whole country would benefit from.

I know that alot of folks are opposed to it but I am opposed to folks paying through the nose for health care.

My mother struggles each month to pay for her meds.,pay her insurance premiums, and to buy food. It is such a shame that people who have worked hard all their lives find themselves in the "golden years" struggling to pay bills because of medical concerns.

I would vote yes in a heartbeat!

litlmissme,

I read your comment regarding your recent experience with the medical system. I was shocked to hear that they actually turned your child away with out treating her for her strep...after all strep throat is a serious matter.

However, mostly it made me sad to read it. Tomorrow I am seeing my doc about an allergy I have. Its no big deal, but I have to go see the Doc to get the prescription I require. I will call the doctor's office around 9 Am to set my appointment, and I will probably get down there to see him around 9:30. I will get there and wait about 5 to 10 minutes to see the Doc. Money will never be discussed, there won't be any mention of a co-pay or a bill, or insurance, and I won't ever get a bill. I will see the Doc, get my prescription, wave good bye to the receptionist, and head home.

In most Nations around the World, your daughter would have been treated ASAP...with no co-pay problems and no bill...and that is only right and just. Its a tragedy that nice folks like you and your family have to suffer while big insurance and the fat-cats who run the "machine" get a little richer -- at the expense of your daughters health. Our Nation needs to catch up with the rest of the Western, Industrialized nations and socialize medicine care in the USA or the suffering will simply continue. After all, if we have money to kill with, we have money to heal with. Perhaps its time for a little less military spending and a lot more health care for our people.

I hope your daughter is recovering well now.

Here is a good one at Missouri Valley Physicians I had my mother in law take my daughter there for a 4 pm appointment she had strep throat. I had to stop at the sitter and get my youngest and arrived at 4:05 pm. When I got there I was told that the doctor had already gone and she could not be seen. The reason: my mother in law did not have any cash, or a check to pay the co-pay.

All the while I had a credit on another account they could have taken the co pay from, which they did not pay back to me I had to use it up to get the credit back from a billing mistake on their part.

red dog: Although I'm not an attorney, I'm pretty sure that tactic is myth, not fact.

Gal66...I have many concerns regarding your question about voting YES on the next school building issue. Some of which I posted on the article pertaining to it being presented again in April 2010. In the past I had voted YES for the initiative, however these days are presenting with an entirely different economic paradigm.

#1. Tax collections are down everywhere and I have concerns about our State being able to continue providing the school funding supports presently allocated. It is very likely that services provided by the State, County and Cities will be reduced or our taxes will be increased just to provide basic services.

#2. The advent of significantly higher fuel prices due to peak oil and no alternative fuel source that can SCALE to meet our needs is a reality. How will we be able to bus our children around when oil gets to $100+ (some estimates are suggesting $185 in the next couple of years)? I realize a new school would be more energy efficient and a real savings would be realized, however if/when things get really bad will the old neighborhood school design be more economical?

#3. Are bigger centralized schools really better? We have several small rural schools that are providing an excellent learning opportunity and experience to our children. Is their a benefit to a child's social learning and development when they have to interact with older children?

Finally, in summary I am not against a new school building(s), however I am not convinced that now is the time to enter into any further tax-supported debt. I say that we give it a couple of years to see how things pan out with our economic recovery, jobs and energy issues. What do you other folks think?

All this talk of hospital collection tactics.

What would Jesus do?

Nanaof5,

I know exactly what you speak of. The exact same situation happened when my mother became ill and was sent to Boone Hospital. Her care was the best, however, the tactics their financial department used was horrendous and not at all in line with their mission statement, nor is any other hospital's! All along making payments that they could afford; after my mother passed...they kept up these tactics with a grieving husband and threatened to put a lien on the house and had actually turned this over to an attorney to do just that! My dad had to file bankruptcy, eventually got rid of his house and auctioned off everything. What a wonderful way for a hard working person and veteran of the armed services to spend his last years!

p.s. What every person should know and something the majority doesn't know is that institutions, especially (not for profit organizations)have financial insurance policies to cover a percentage of the costs of unpaid patient balances.

To my shame, I worked in a medical-dental collection agency one college Summer. Beating on the poor doesn't yield much revenue. I got fired for low production. So I went back to painting dorms.

That being said, at least years ago, as long as the patient paid something say $100/mo (in today's dollars) most hospitals would leave them alone. As for collection agencies, use caller ID and either don't answer or hang up on them. They are in business to get $$$, not to waste time. So, make them waste time. They'll stop.

Gal66,

You are in the minority in this country unfortunately. You have good insurance and the reason you can still be insured at a reasonable price or insured at all, is that you are part of a larger group. Therefore, your risk to the insurance company is spread out over healthier individuals in your group. Let me predict your future though. Your premiums will keep going up year after year taking more and more of your paycheck while getting less and less coverage. That is the good part, hopefully you won't get laid off, or decide to work somewhere that you can't get coverage because there is no large group insurance plan to spread your risk out. Someday in your lifetime you will be excluded for your pre-existing condition or your rates raised to un-affordable levels I am afraid. That is just the way the present system works.

Why should you or any other individual have to cut back in many areas of their lives so they can get basic health care all while insurance companies sit back and make billions in profit off your hardship? I am sure you would agree this seems a tad off center? Health care should be a basic human right, not a privilege. There should be no profit off of your health or lack of, or anyone else's for that matter.

I am sure we can agree to disagree, but my hope is you would change your mind set that having access to basic health care should only be for those who are "earning their keep". There are many who "earn their keep", but in this present system are not able to afford or even get basic health care. People with good insurance tend to think that everyone can get good insurance if only they work hard enough. It is just not that black and white and it is my hope that you and others would come to see that.

For example, over 2200 veterans died last year because they could not get insurance or affordable health care. Are they not earning their keep I ask you?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/healthusinsu...

The present system where insurers rake in profits on the misfortune of others while limiting coverage and benefits if you don't meet their criteria is clearly wrong and broken.

Little Miss Me you make a lot of great points. How about we get MME to give some. They got a 30 year 100% Property Tax abatement. They have donated a lot of money to the MBR5. They could step up to the plate now for Marshall School District.

Gal66 you posted this hidden in a larger post but I saw it. [quote] I ... am very over weight (working on that have lost 82 lbs since 4/14/09) [/quote].

Stupendous accomplishment, my friend.

A better economic climate is what it will take for me to vote "yes" on the school bond issue.

Read the previous posts regarding health care and health insurance. People of Marshall are having to make choices now on whether to buy medicine or pay rent/house payment.

I have no doubts that Marshall needs new schools. I hope that soon our community can afford to pass the issue and build the schools. But, I don't think this is the appropriate time.

M

Cosa Nostra,

That grey area is one of the things that needs work that is for sure.

I know there are a lot of people that really cannot afford insurance and that is sad, but I also know there are a lot of people that say they cannot afford it when if they would cut back on some things they do in there life they could.

Now I am not talking about the people that have pre-existing conditions that limit them, that is a part of this bill that I really like if it will make the insurance companys stop that practice.

You said If you are not a good financial risk, then you will not get insurance.

That is not true I have diabetes, am very over weight ( working on that have lost 82lbs since 4/14/09) and a ton of bad family medical history, yes I get my insurance thru work for my son and I and it costs $146 a month.

When my insurence went up the last time I had to drop my cable back to basic so I could afford it.

Maybe some people need to learn you can not have everything in life and just maybe insurance is something you need just a little more than that pack of cig's or that 6 pack of beer.

One pack of cigs a day for 30 days is almosy $135 dollars that would go a long way twords insurance and it would lower your risk if you stopped.

Gal66,

Scarpetta is indeed correct. There is a very large gray area where you can make too much for any government program and yet not be able to afford private insurance. It happens everyday to millions of hard working Americans. If you are not a good financial risk, then you will not get insurance.

Interesting how you state those people should be able to find help in the same programs you say are filled with problems. You speak as if you have great insurance now, but there will be a day where you are suddenly no longer a good risk for an insurance company and will be in the same boat with millions of others who are at the mercy of insurance risk planners.

The open market profit motive is the main problem now with health care. Too many hands reaching into pockets, not looking to help, but to grab your cash.

KF, I'm still plugging along, just been sidetracked by other things lately.

Thanks for inquiring! :)

Cosa Nostra,

Like I said we have medicade and medicare if a person can not really afford insurance then they should be able to get either medicade or medicare and in your fathers case I hope he was able to get help.

If they can not fix these problems then how can they run a new program?

I understand we need reform but why not try to fix the problems with Medicade and Medicare programes and open up the insurance market to where they have to compete for our business?

The lack of coverage of this honor by the Democrat News does not surprise me, but it is a disappointment.

We haven't seen comments from "Slater" recently. Anyone know how he is?

It's always good to get a second opinion before radical treatment. Sometimes you choose to pass on it.

"Unmentioned by Mr. Obama [as he praised the AMA's conditional support] was that 20 OTHER PHYSICIAN GROUPS came out against health-care takeover yesterday, which they wrote "will threaten patient access and harm quality." Led by the American College of Surgeons, these doctors argued the Senate's bill "will do little to fix" health care's "underlying problems, and may make them worse." The letter was signed by groups representing neurological and orthopaedic surgeons, urologists, anesthesiologists, gynecological oncologists and others."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...

Cosa Nostra,

Your side plays with the numbers all they want too.

Cosa Nostra said

"worry about your fellow man for once and not your own deductible."

I will worry about my fellow man when they all earn their own keep!!!!!

No one except for the people that are disabled, retired if they worked and the children need to get anything for nothing in my opinion.

If the goverment can fix medicade and medicare then I will beleave they can reform health care.

Does there need to be reform? Hell yes!!!

But it does not have to include a public option that our goverment would only make worse.

If the goverment is going to force health care reform on us the tax payers then they better be on the same health care plan period!!!!!!!!

Cosa Nostra and Kathy,

Two things about medical bankruptcies:

1. The dramatic increase in % is caused by the elimination of most "too many credit card" filings due to the recent legal reforms, thus automatically inflating the % from other causes,

and

2. Virtually all medical bankruptcies are due to catastrophic illnesses (very serious and/or incurable) which everyone in the debate, EVEN THE REPUBLICANS, are willing to subsidize away -- fixing this problem is cheap by Washington standards and doesn't require nationalization of the entire industry.

This issue isn't what, it's how.

AF Brat, you forgot to add one more fact to your list.

(11) Once an American gets a significant illness we might as well kiss everything we have worked for our whole lives goodbye.

62.1% of bankruptcies in the US are due to medical bills.

Sad, sad, sad.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/ban...

It's bad to depend on the nine year-old WHO Report's POLITICIZED conclusions which lead to the patently ridiculous claim that the US is 37th in medical services when some real FACTS about America's health-care system are available.

For instance, did you know:

"(1) Americans have better survival rates from both common and rare cancers than Europeans?

"(2) Americans have significantly better survival rates from cancer than Canadians?

"(3) Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than Canadians?

"(4) Americans have better access to preventive screening for major cancers than Canadians?

"(5) A marker for inequality of access and quality of health systems, the "health-income gradient" (i.e., that higher incomes achieve better health and lower incomes mean worse health) for adults 16 to 64 years old reveals a more severe disparity in Canada than in the United States?

"(6) In the United Kingdom and Canada, patients wait far longer than Americans (about twice as long, sometimes even more than a year) to see a specialist, have elective surgery like hip replacements or cataracts, or get radiation treatment for cancer? [Many Brits go all the way to India for faster, competent surgeries.]

"(7) Sixty percent of Western Europeans say their health systems need "urgent" reform?

"(8) More than 70 percent of Germans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and U.K. adults say their health systems needs either "fundamental change" or "complete rebuilding"?

"(9) Although targeted by policymakers, an overwhelming majority of America's leading physicians themselves recently listed the computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the most important medical innovations in improving patient care in the previous decade?

"(10) By any measure, the vast majority of all the innovation in health care in the world comes out of the U.S. health-care system? "

Oh yeah, and King Abdullah comes to the USA for his health care. So does Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and tens of thousands of Canadians (paying with their own money).

There are factual facts and politically-juiced "factoids." Lets concentrated on the former. Then we can make our own sound decisions.

Citations to support the above are available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009...

It is not only the parents and teachers responsibility to educate our children! It needs to be taught first and foremost and it is also most importantly the children's responsibility! They need to learn there are consequences for not studying. This is THEIR job, at least until they turn 18...graduate. Parents, push your children as hard as you can, teachers push your students and all try to draw their intelligence out! However, be able to step back and say....this is YOUR grades, not mine! Did you do your best, are you happy with this?

http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/rc09... This is a comprehensive look at how our district has been performing the last few years.

Renegade, could you please direct me to this information? That is in no way a slam yet a request, because I would like to read this.

Gal, I will agree with your point. At my polling location, I was the youngest voter there. I would say not another single person was under 65. Of course voters with non school aged children don't want to pay an increase in taxes for schools.

Seems very funny to me that for all the comments that have been made why is nobody holding the school district accountable for Uh-Humm...providing an education. Most do not know but I did receive a letter from the district about them being on an improvement plan to raise the district's scores. I may not remember the exact figures but I am with a point or two. The state minimum for students scoring "proficient" on reading and math is around 51 and 54 respectively. Our district scored 20 and 21 percent proficient. Yes that does mean that roughly 80% of our students in this district cannot read or add at a "basic" level. Yet they ask for 20 million dollars, give me a break, perform first ask for a bonus later.

Eric Crump asked: "What factors made Marshall different from all those other communities?"

I will just give a few things that are going to be *my opinion*.

1. Location, location, location - While yes I realize it was the best suited place for the money, still does not mean people will vote for it just because they don't have a choice...because they do they vote no. Also it didn't seem like the school board wanted to beat the streets. They had people come to them, some times you gotta get off your bums folks.

2. Tax Increase - Face it with the number of things voted on and passed (i.e. 911 & court house) in the recent past, we are taxed out. It isn't personal.

3. Not fully planned out - The whole traffic was an issue that needed to be addressed *before* it became a problem not after. They didn't want to do that.

4. No change in this town for decades - I remember as a kid seeing the population sign of Marshall 12,711...now it is what 13,000+/-. Same people same vote, it isn't rocket science.

5. The whole do it for the kids thing - Give me a break, I can say for certain my elementary aged child didn't care that he got a new school. In fact on November 4th, he complained that all the teaches were doing was complaining that the bond didn't pass. That as a voter convinced me it wasn't "for the kids".

6. Bring more business to town - Yeah right, nothing personal but ummm I hear there is a certain group of business owners in this town that has more to do with getting new business here. Don't try to blow smoke up our butts.

7. It seems that we weren't getting a very good deal - It could just be me, but the bid for the new school seemed kind of high. Now I understand stuff like that is expensive, but it seems that Springfield and Independence got more bang for their buck. I realize there are some costs here, but maybe we need to look into who did their bids.

8. Poor economy - Yep I know 'it was a great time to borrow', ok well sure it is for the government but not for the people of Marshall who just lost their jobs. Why would they want to raise their taxes on their homes, which they might not be able to pay for?

That is about all I have for now. I am sure it will spark debate, oh well Mr. Crump asked and I answered.

Pardon me NanaDot but this inaccurate comment was posted by YOU, not mrxray or me -- "- we are 47th in the WORLD - well BELOW all of those countries you say we 'look to'."

It's 37th not 47th and the entire WHO Survey is crap for the reasons stated.

It's bad to throw rocks if you live in a glass house.

;-)

P. S. Why, then, does King Abdullah (who can afford to go anywhere) come to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota USA ?

nanadot:

I am not sure where or how you are comparing the US to those nations listed and how you are comparing our health care systemt to theirs. Are you using those ridiculous WHO rankings?

AFB - In case you missed the point, ("Oman, Portugal, Greece, Colombia, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Chile, Dominica and Costa Rica") - NONE of these countries are anywhere near our economic peers OR belong to the G-8, (and only Saudia Arabia belongs to the G-20 for pathetically obvious reasons) - I'm talking about the top 85% of the global market. We can't cut it among our economic PEERS on healthcare, much less the NEXT 20 still developing economies.

Comparing the US to the worst of the worst is an absurd and abused tactic of saying "just because we're not the worst of the worst we must be the best!"

As a community we collected enough money to build a Cancer Center. I believe as a community we could raise some funds for a new school as well. Then once the community has kicked in, put it on the ballot again and see the out come.

Before any one says why don't you attend the school board meetings, I have. I have also talked on a personal level with at least two board members.

I hear ya, litlmissme. I agree it would be better to build for K-5 all at once. 1 bldg or 2 doesn't matter too much to me. But I remember reading that $20m is all they can borrow. So would you favor a bigger but cheaper building? I'd worry it would wear out faster and people would get mad about that.

Be careful of those who use politically-juiced "statistics."

"Let's first dispose of that 37th place ranking in the [nine year-old] WHO study, since it's become a staple of the indictment of U.S. health care.... To appreciate how strange the ranking is, you really have to ask yourself just one question: Would I prefer to be treated for a serious ailment or injury in Oman, Portugal, Greece, Colombia, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Chile, Dominica and Costa Rica as opposed to the United States?

"If you answered no, along with most other sane people, you have begun to see the problem: All of those nations, some of them quite poor, appear above the U.S. in the oft-cited WHO ranking. MEANING THE RANKING MUST BE QUITE FLAWED, AND IT IS.

"Glen Whitman, an economics professor at California State University, analyzed the WHO's screwy rankings.... As he explains, WHO based its list on five factors, three of which involve POLITICAL value judgments.

"For example, one of the criteria is 'financial fairness,' related to the percentage of household income spent on health. The use of this measurement, Whitman notes, 'necessarily makes countries that rely on market incentives look inferior.' ***

"It gets worse. The rankings are also adjusted 'to reflect a country's performance relative to how well it theoretically [in whose opinion?] could have performed.' ***

"A more relevant comparison, Whitman argues, would be to 'ask which health systems do the best job of dealing with whatever health conditions arise' -- by comparing, say, five-year mortality rates for specific ailments.

"It turns out that some such comparisons exist. Moreover, as Nobel-winning economist Gary Becker pointed out in a recent blog post, 'the U.S. health system tends to look pretty good' when measured on this basis.

"A study published in Lancet Oncology in 2007 calculates cancer survival rates for both men and women in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union as a whole, Becker wrote. 'The study claims that the most important determinants of cancer survival are early diagnosis, early treatment, and access to the best drugs, and that the United States does very well on all three criteria. . . . [T]the calculated five-year survival rates are much better in the U.S.'"

Every time I travel abroad (which is often), the first thing I purchase is evacuation insurance. I want to be in a UNITED STATES Level One Trauma center AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Just like King Abdullah of top-ranked Saudi Arabia. He is treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Because he wants the best in the world. ME TOO.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_126...

Eric,

Like I said, VOTE NO. On the grounds they won't address the traffic issue until they BUILD the school.

Here's a question that caught my eye. Under the story about the Marshall school bond failure, fvsol posted a list of schools districts that passed bonds Nov. 3. Out of about 30 districts with bond issues on the ballot, Marshall was one of two or three that failed. Ray later asked: What factors made Marshall different from all those other communities?

I'd be interested in what everybody thinks about that.

I posted somewhere here a somewhat facetious post concerning old-line colleges and their ability to maintain old buildings. Think Ivy League and Missouri Valley College. Old alumni die off and leave big money to their alma mater. I mentioned it would be nice if some of the well-off Marshall High alumni would remember their alma mater in their wills.

I recently discovered the Morrison family (Gregg-Morrison Gym) has given some more money to MVC and the money is being spent to rehab old buildings.

How is it colleges and universitys get left money but the old high school gets left out? Wake Up America! (If you never heard of Earl Pitts, you won't understand the wake up remark.

PITTS OFF

Nanadot: Yeah I know...I love the whole part about making people criminals if they DONT buy what the government tells them to. The way this is set up it is NOT like care insurance. With car insurance they are attempting to regulate your action of driving a car with the potential of crashing into someone else or their property and doing damage. If you dont want to pay for car insurance then you can CHOOSE to not drive or risk the fines if you dont have insurance.

This just flat out says if you dont buy health insurance then you are a criminal subject to both fines and prison. I know this will get challenged in the Supreme Court and should get overturned. IF not then this is the next course of action that your wonderful government will take.

We already have seen the desire to tax everything in the name of "whats best for us" Sin taxes of all sorts. But they have alreayd stated that they want to tax you for every mile you drive, add a new sin tax by taxing fast food. And I had some other examples of current ideas being tossed around of things they want to decide for you. Granted some of you will say that obesity is a problem so the tax on fast food is good. However, if you are a steak lover and the greenie, the sky is falling global warming stupidity gets legislated, then they will start saying because of the methane emitted by animals, we must reduce their population so they will tax your steaks so high that most cannot afford them. They will tax your individual family dwelling because it is selfish to take up so much space for ONE family when the earth is overpopulated. They will tell you what kind of car you can drive, where you can work and how far you can commute, BUT you will have to take a bus but who cares if the schedule does not run efficiently for YOUR personal schedule and you have to spend hours of your time waiting on buses.

That is just a few of the examples of what our Government in the name of Liberal Progressive BS that they will attempt, are attempting to do and if the Supreme court does not stop the mandating of the purchasing of health insurance then it will open the door for Uncle Sam and Big Brother to make all your decisions for you.

Nana Dot: I know what your saying , and i have wrote E Mails to the Whitehouse ,that i though later, they would send the Secret Service to my house Ha. I'm very impatient about things in our Government! I'm not big on Parliamentary Procedure,and all this niceness they try to display! I personally think they should bring back Dualling ha! I do say the Democratic Party had better get some backbone, like way back when! My dad used to say Being nice go's, just so far! I don't know maybe i'm a reject from the old days in Marshall ha???? Glad you decided to stay with us Nana Dot!

notgvnasht: Very sorry to hear of the death of your father.

I realize today why i live here in this state and in a small town. I am in Reno Nevada right now. My dad just died last night. the people here just suck. they are horribley rude, irritating dont care about anyone but themselves attitudes. I cant stand it and i want to go home lol. Get me the heck out of here and back to missouri where i dont have to deal with these idiots anymore. Im from cvaliforna los angeles area but after being in mo for 7 years i wouldt live anywhere else.

the people in mo are pretty good people. I know if im in trouble people will help, not like here where they drive by, flip u off or stop and rob you. God i want out of this crazy place. It sure is pretty though with all the mountians but i cant stand the damn rude people. People of mo should be proud.

Jo - he always said that WE have to make the changes - voting is only the starting block...;>)) We have to join with others to make our voices heard over the millions of corporate lobbyists' dollars...

Just a small note: Even if they do mandate coverage, at $25K per year, that would amount to about $625 per year or $53 a month for coverage for the family... beats the everylovin' out of $600 - 1200 per month for COBRA or or a $1500 ER visit. Considering that most car insurance runs at least that much, and THAT is 'mandated coverage' -what's ur beef?

The GOP is ALWAYs whining that 'those welfare people' are gettin sumthin fur nuthin from all you hard working tax payin blah blah blah... this does address that issue - everyone pays a little - period. What is your alternative?

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain "acceptable health insurance coverage" and who choose not to pay the bill's new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

Add to this the wonderful example of the Obama/SEIU thug-like tactics used at the town hall meeting in Aug at ST Louis, I think we can all draw comparisons between the liberal/obama community organizing tactics and the tactics used by many of the dictators and even Hitler when they came to power. Direct attacks on the freedom of speech, both in the media and in policies such as the fairness doctrine and net neturality and even the thought police type policies like hate crime legislation can add to the comparisons. Heck, how many liberals are stating in public that they are jealous of Chavez and his control of the media?

I know someone will state that anyone comparing Obama to the likes of Hitler and Chavez is evil or wrong but I am not saying he wants to murder people in their homes, place them in detention camps or create a superior race. The comparison is strictly about the tactics used.