I am a medical professional working inside the city of Hathian. I am writing to the Observer to address a recent article regarding the Mayor of Hathian, Robert Boxer, banning the use of cleats on soccer fields and baseball diamonds. The article states,
‘The city hall reports that Louisiana alone suffers from nearly three cleat-related injuries a year, while the United States as a whole is estimated to have upwards of fifty annually. “That number is just far too high,” claims Mayor Boxer. “I’m glad to be the first mayor in America to take steps to prevent such horrible injuries.” Sports professionals claim that cleats actually help to reduce the amount of injuries suffered during play, as they prevent sliding and assist in quick changes of direction.’
Am I the only one that laughed out loud holding my paper outside The Grind while I read this fact? Simply put, he literally bans something that helps reduce accidental injuries, then admits it. Ok – Let me educate our Mayor on some more prudent facts for Louisiana for 2011 alone:
- 27 reported cases of rape [some women never report it]
- 555 cases of violence against another
- 401 aggravated Assaults
- 122 vehicle thefts
- 114 robberies
Want another scary fact? Drug abuse related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the U.S. according to a recent study. Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death killing at least 37,485 people nationwide, and fueling the surge in deaths are prescription pain and anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol.
Among the most commonly abused are OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma. One relative newcomer to the scene is Fentanyl, a painkiller that comes in the form of patches and lollipops and is 100 times more powerful than morphine. Such drugs now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. The death toll for drug related deaths has doubled in the last decade, now claiming a life every 14 minutes.
So what am I trying to say here? Find a better way to get my vote for the upcoming elections Mayor Boxer, this is obviously some bizarre and impotent means to show the public you are actually doing something instead of just spending our hard earned tax money. If you want my vote, work towards lowering the Drug related deaths in Louisiana, the violence in the streets, the rapes and help our youth. I want to see an article about helping the homeless on our streets, the heroin and crack addicts – work with the other state departments, hospitals and police to better the lives of our citizens. Otherwise, don’t waste precious paper resources or our time with ridiculous bans that will actually cause more accidents than save them.
Your average American Voter.
