I’m from a group called Love Letters to Yourself and we are hosting a Girl Rising Event at AMC 17 in Lombard at 7:30 Dec. 5. The movie follows nine girls, a documentary, and their struggles in various parts of the world with lack of education, poverty and other risk issues. It’s narrated by Academy Award winning actors and actresses, including Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep and we have to sell 103 tickets in the next 18 days to bring this movement to Lombard. It’s a beautiful inspiring film and it will inspire any young girl or young boy.

Pre-order tickets at loveletterstoyourself@gmail.com.

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Will the woman who walks her dog on West Wilson every day please stop going up onto people’s private property, often right up to the front of the house? That urine burns out grass. Every other dog walker has the courtesy to stick to the sidewalks and parkways. Remember: You walk the dog; the dog doesn’t walk you.

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To the people who think our president is so horrible, what do you think of the Congress that you have, that shut down the government, that will not pass a jobs law, that wants to de-fund everything that’s in sight, and all they can do is try to repeal Obamacare 50 times, they’re on vacation, they work one week and they’re gone for three, and you think we can’t get anything done because of our president? You have a useless Congress and maybe you ought to start voting them out of office instead of blaming our president, Barack Obama, for everything.

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To all of you drivers who think that the left lane is a driving lane, not only a driving lane but a slow driving lane, at least when you get to the corner, and there’s a left-turn bay there, at least please pull all the way up to the car in front of you so the people who want to make a left turn aren’t frozen out of that lane and stuck behind you waiting for the green light. It seems like people are texting and they’re not paying attention and they’re leaving two, three, four cars between them and the one in front of them at the stop signs. Please pull all the way up if you insist on driving in the left lane.

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So we all have a financial problem. Well, higher wages; higher hourly pay; higher this, that and the other thing do not solve the problem. It does not solve the problem and now we’re in trouble deeper than ever. If you don’t work, you don’t get. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. And if you don’t contribute, get out of the way and take care of yourself. Stop this freebie stuff and stop with this bond issue. A bond issue is a loan; it has to be paid back with interest and it costs us all more. And, if your government doesn’t know how to run on the money we have, then let’s start removing them from office. Let’s start calling in their jobs and tell them to get out of the way and put somebody in office who knows how to get rid of the problem, knows how to spend money correctly and knows how to stop getting us in deeper and deeper in debt and stop promising things to the unions and anybody else who wants something for nothing.

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Hello, Lombard and Villa Park. I find it interesting that on Nov. 5, a Gallup Poll, the presidential approval rating of Barack Obama, down to 39 percent. For those of you who watch MSNBC and CNN, that means that only 39 percent of the country approves of Barack Obama. Thirty-nine percent. What I find very funny is that when President Bush’s approval rating moved half a point, it was national news. Gallup, one of the longest and oldest approval polls, has him at 39 percent. Have a good day.

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I’m calling in reference to the end of the free leaf pick-up this year. In past years, when November would end on the 30th, the leaf pick-up was extended to Dec. 7. That would afford the people who are picked up on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to still take advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend to clean up their yards. Thank you.

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To the “Spew Out” person in SPEAK OUT, I have the right to my opinion. I have the right to say what I like. Just because you don’t agree with my opinion, please don’t tell me I’m re-igniting conversations on Fox News. I bet you are a liberal left-wing person who doesn’t rely on fact. You apparently believe in fiction, like MSNBC and CNN. I’m an American. I can say what I like about the president, whether you like it or not. I disagree with him. I disagreed with Bush. I disagreed with Carter. And I disagreed with Clinton and Reagan as well. I have the right to my opinion.

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If you agree with me, repeat what I’m saying. We have a serious deficit problem in this country. The whole country is going to go broke or collapse or something if something isn’t done. We’ll start like this: Everybody takes a cut, OK? A little less this, a little less that, but we start with the president on down. He takes fewer vacations, he flies less and he takes a cut in his expense account. Then, the congressmen and senators take a cut in their pay and their benefits, and then when the little guy has to take a cut he won’t complain at all. That’s the only way it can be done. The very top caused the problem, the very top spends all the money, so the very top should take the cuts first, and if they take the cuts, other people will not complain when they have to give up a little bit. Goodbye, folks. Speak up. 

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Lombard here. I think Trustee Ware totally missed the logic regarding his $6.67 tax levy comment. It’s not just $6.67; that amount will always stay on your taxes, and then next year another amount is added on top of that and will grow exponentially every year.  So that $6.67 will always be there every year you pay property taxes.  It’s like these increases are on auto pilot. Additionally, Trustee Ware’s comment “it’s only…” is the same comment District 44 told us (twice), District 87 and the park district Paradise Bay referendum with each of their tax increases. They each told us “It’s only $50 or so” a house. Well, those numbers add up. I don’t care if it’s 6 cents or $6, it’s my hard-earned money and not the village’s.

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The last day for free leaf pickup may be Nov. 30, but if your trash is picked up on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the free leaf pick-up ends before Thanksgiving. 

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For the last two weeks, someone has been playing commentator with his or her “weekly recap” of the previous week’s SPEAK OUT. I hope this is not going to be a regular feature of SPEAK OUT. We can read for ourselves and put it all together, you know.

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After watching the president speak about Obamacare, and following up the facts by the news, all I have to say is thank you, President Obama, for allowing me to keep my health care, that I pay for, for one more year before you decide to take it away again. Anyone who votes for any party or person who voted for Obamacare should have their head examined if they vote for that person again. My, my, my. Where have we gone to?

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In case you’re interested, Laura Fitzpatrick, the $6.67 we’re saving on our real estate tax—that you told people to take your family out to dinner, go do this, go do that—you cannot even buy a book of stamps for $6.67.

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Lombard calling. I’d like to thank Bonnie MacKay for addressing the $6.67 tax issue that Laura Fitzpatrick supposedly wanted to put a freeze on. I find it amazing that Mr. Fitzpatrick is the one who e-mailed you. I’m just amazed at how he seemingly controls his wife and the issues that are at hand. It’s like it’s his suggestion, not hers. Thank you again for putting things straight. That’s all I need to say. Thank you.

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I have a question. So if CNN and MSNBC don’t report that President Obama said, “If you want to keep your health insurance, if you want to keep your doctor, you can, period,” then that statement must not exist. If both of those stations are not reporting that this health care rollout is not a debacle, it must not exist. If those two stations are not reporting that Iran is probably going to get nuclear weapons and President Obama is now turning his back on Israel, it must not be correct. If those two stations are not reporting that the debt has tripled since President Obama has been in office, it must not be correct. Not every news channel has the people of this great nation in mind. Don’t you get it?

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Weekly recap on Speak Out calls: Please stop by and read the updated fliers on Villa Park Recreation bulletin board; nobody can explain why Lombard has an assistant village manager, maybe the new village manager can figure it out and eliminate the position?; Thank you again Trustee Fitzpatrick for the tax freeze, I am using my savings to buy Thanksgiving dinner for your buddy and perennial political candidate Trustee Breen; if you must kick the neighbor’s dog, make sure they aren’t looking; if Illinois did not pass the gay marriage bill, the state would have no debt; Fox News is still good; please no calls about the Affordable Health Care Act; hooray for the driver paying attention, do you give lessons?—you’re supposed to pay attention when driving, no accolades for that; can someone explain why one guy, who lives in Winfield, is crying about condo garages and we have not heard from anybody who lives there?, note to the village president, no dialogue is allowed in public participation, by rule, tell Reid; yeah for the veterans; geese are blocking traffic, if they weren’t walking across the street, they would be flying and dropping presents on your car, it’s OK, if you are in that big of a hurry, leave earlier.

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Thanks for publishing the unintentionally hilarious comment mentioning Fox News and Obamacare in the Nov. 6 SPEAK OUT. “If you listen to Kentucky and some other states where Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act is working, you might see a different picture.” Hello—Obamacare is a fiasco, disaster, debacle, train wreck, rolling catastrophe, etc. Even some of Obama’s most ardent supporters are admitting it. The Web site doesn’t work, people are losing their plans, losing their doctors and being forced to pay more for inferior service. The president’s promises simply were not true. Democrats up for re-election in 2014 are in full panic mode. Also, this isn’t being reported only on Fox News. Take a look in the mirror. Think for yourself. Broaden your own horizons. Seek other media outlets besides MSNBC and the “Daily Kos.”

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I’m thankful that the Lilac Bakery re-opened. Their chocolate cake doughnuts on a Saturday morning are the best.

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The Tribune has exposed that a lot of politicians are getting free tickets to special events and some of them getting special ticket prices. It seems our government is very corrupt, so when election time comes, put nobody back in office. We've got to get rid of this so-called den of thieves, and the sooner we do it, the better off the whole country will be. Goodbye.

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The Illinois Legislature passed same-sex marriage recently. Please share in the joy this brought to so many couples in this state, including couples in Villa Park and Lombard. Also, realize there are many LGBT veterans who had an extra joyful Veterans Day as now we also can have the same rights as other married couples. And for those of you who think being LGBT is a choice, you are very misinformed. God made us this way. God does not make mistakes.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Finley Road, I can’t believe it, from Madison to Crescent, is very sad. It’s been almost six months now and it’s not even done and there are some people who don’t have blacktop on their property yet on the apron. It’s sad; now its snowed, it’s cold, nobody's working. It’s bad enough they took three weeks off during the summer. I don’t know who did this contract but I think it really got messed up. Thanks, Lombard. You did it again.

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Obama purging military commanders, “TheBlaze” Web site Oct. 23 by Sara Carter. Nine senior generals have been fired this year; not only purging commanders they don’t agree with, but striking fear into the hearts of those still serving. Amateurs taking over from professionals. That’s what we get from this administration.

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To the person who called in asking us to look at how Obamacare works in Kentucky and other states, I don’t care how it is working elsewhere. That’s nonsense. Apples and oranges comparing Illinois to any other state.