Editorials

DEAR ABBY: My boss wants my cell phone number for “work purposes.” He has trouble with limits, and I am reluctant to give it to him. I don’t want to receive text messages, unsolicited calls or contact outside of work. My private life is just that -- private.

Republicans won big victories in New Jersey and Virginia, taking back both governorships from the Democrats. But they suffered a stunning defeat in a congressional election in upstate New York. And if they don’t learn the lessons of that loss, their comeback could collapse.

People often talk as if warming temperatures are the only evidence of human-induced global climate change. But the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also has increased dramatically.

Slightly more than 17 percent of Newton voters turned out to vote in Tuesday’s city election. That’s nothing to write home about considering nearly 83 percent of voters opted not to exercise their right, but the 17 percent total actually is above average for a Newton city election. And certainly the turnout for Tuesday’s city elections was far better than the 1 percent turnout garnered by the school board elections earlier this fall.

DEAR ABBY: Please print this for me on behalf of myself and all the other well-intentioned folks out there who have lent money to others.

Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government’s health insurance programs for the elderly and poor, play a big role in the health care reform proposals being considered on Capitol Hill. President Obama and Democrats in Congress hope to cut Medicare spending by nearly a half-trillion dollars over the next decade, and reform plans call for a big expansion of Medicaid during the same period.

“All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written ‘al-Qa’ida’ in order to make generals race there, and we cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses — without their achieving anything of note!” — Osama bin Laden, November 2004

Recently, a local blogger wrote how I contacted the Iowa Attorney General’s Office over my concerns about the future of the Baxter Clinic and Skiff Medical Center’s refusal to let me, as the mayor of Baxter, know whether or not the facility might be closed.

The Iowa Department of Revenue notified Iowa’s county auditors on Aug. 14 of the assessment adjustments on agricultural, commercial and residential values. John Deegan, our Jasper County Assessor attempted to appeal the issue to the state, but was denied any action, and advised that home, commercial and ag landowners would have to make their appeal to their respective county assessor.

I got much of my business education under the tutorship of Harold A. Lufkin, who was vice president of sales. He was a firm believer in “on-the-job” training for youngsters like me who wanted to grow into a business. With two years already at Newton Manufacturing Co. part time while in school, I decided to stay on, and give my best to this business for a few years. Looking back, I’m mighty glad for this decision.

DEAR DR. GOTT: I read your column every day and have found it informative. For example, several years ago, my wife was having stomach problems, and you told a woman with similar problems that she might be lactose intolerant.

The Sept. 28. issue of Newsweek Magazine gives us an exclusive ranking of the “Greenest Big Companies in America.” What is this “greenest” all about?

Tired of waiting for the immigration reform bill that Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York promised to introduce by Labor Day but seems to have misplaced, and obviously frustrated by President Barack Obama’s foot-dragging, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., has decided to take matters into his own hands. He says that in the next few weeks he will propose a 10-point plan for comprehensive immigration reform.

Q: Where did the saying "I can do that in a New York minute" come from? -- M.G., e-mail

DEAR ABBY: Thank you for your response to "Alarmed in Apple Valley" (Aug. 28), who was concerned because her teenage nephew shows so much affection toward his mother. I raised a very affectionate son who, to this day at age 30, hugs and kisses me no matter where we meet. I raised him with the principle that because he is male does not mean he has to hide his feelings as generations before him did. My daughter-in-law tells me often that she could not ask for a better husband and father to her children.

“Do you have NOPQ? If so, ask your doctor about Nopquease.”

DEAR ABBY: I have a 19-year-old daughter, “Caitlin,” whom I love very much. Despite a few rocky periods, we have a great relationship.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation making it a federal crime to assault somebody due to his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

Where is Tom Hanks when you need him? Something sinister is happening in the Catholic Church, at least according to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. And the way she writes, it reads like the beginning of a treatment for a Dan Brown extravaganza. Her plot, you see, is just that absurd.

I usually buy vine ripened tomatoes. Oh, I know, the “vine ripened” tomatoes ripen while boxed and in transit from wherever, probably Mexico. But, still, the idea of “vine ripened” is appealing, sorta like pigs raised outdoors — more natural, more freedom. The vine ripened tomatoes are smaller, but they are juicier, and a brighter red. They’re great in salads or my famous dagwoods.