"Damage Control," First Punch, May 21
Blocked Shot
Will local servers beat the defender? What is the matter with you people? You're taking LeBron to task for a misunderstanding. Didn't anyone see the report on Channel 19 that said the bitchy little crybaby server looked at the bill wrong and was actually left a very generous tip?
No one is required to leave any tip, regardless of the service, but these poor people should get a job that pays a decent living wage, instead of relying on someone's generosity. Why should I pay someone twice for the same job? Tipping should be illegal. Whether he left a tip or not, he owes that server nothing.
Davey Houston
Lakewood
Toxic Politics
Environmental cover-ups only part of the poison: Our system is killing us — literally — and our planet too. We the people must somehow be expendable in these corporations' and the government's view. The U.S. government and its corporate partners are the most formidable terrorist state in human history.
The current system sickens and kills people in myriad ways — toxic foods, drugs, and other products; poor-quality yet expensive or denied health care; poverty, war, terrorism, torture. We the people are the only ones who can change the travesty. I hope we come together to dismantle it before it's too late.
Sicily726
"Muddied Finances," First Punch, May 21
Doggone Dirty
This fund-raiser's a real cur: Shame on you, Scott. Being one of the volunteers, we thought we were helping Wags4Kids to continue to provide service dogs to families at no charge (a $15,000-a-year expense for Wags). Turns out, we were lining your pockets.
I spent the weekend there, and perhaps I should bill you for my time. Let's see, 16 hours at $125 an hour — I could use $2,000 for working for you that weekend. I understand from my cousin, who is a Cleveland firefighter, that the firemen were not too happy with what you gave them toward MS the previous year.
How many other charities have you ripped off? Shame for the shameless. I hope the IRS and attorney general catch up to you.
Jake Miceli
Like stealing puppies from children: As a foster family that opens our home to dogs in training and gives freely of our time, we have seen firsthand the benefit Wags4Kids provides to Northeast Ohio and the difference these service dogs make in kids' lives. We are disgusted that anyone would take advantage of any organization for his own benefit.
What makes it worse is that these funds were specifically earmarked to provide service dogs (free of charge!) to disabled kids. Scott Baltusnik should be ashamed of himself. What kind of man deprives disabled children of their chance to obtain a service dog, so they can live their lives a little more fully?
Chuck & Aimee Hunziker
Murphy says schmuck deserves a lickin': As a family that was blessed to get a Wags4Kids dog, I was appalled to hear what Mr. Baltusnik is doing to Wendy Nelson.
I can't begin to tell you how much a difference Murphy, my 12-year-old daughter's service dog, has made in her life. He goes everywhere with her — even to school. There is no way we could have afforded a dog like him, and yet Wendy gave him to us free of charge. My daughter's life has been enriched, and how you have the nerve to take much-needed money from Wags4Kids is beyond me.
Debbie Shetina
Sammy seconds that idea: How could you do something that is so horrible! Wendy Nelson placed a companion pet on Monday for my daughter Krista, and if you could have seen the look on my daughter's face when she met Sammy, it was awesome. Who the hell do you think you are, to take that kind of money from such a small organization?
Hey, buddy, your name is out there as being a thief who steals from handicapped children.
Michelle Daddario
