Speak Out 02/04/03

Not real bright

PEOPLE TALK about kids today having no sense. I can remember countless stories my grandparents told me about people getting hit by trains while walking on the tracks when they were younger. That wasn't real bright either. Is it possible that kids are just kids? People too old to remember being young should give them a break.

Praise for workers

TO ALL the folks griping about potholes and dirty streets: This is a cold winter. Things happen. I admire the people who repair our streets in freezing weather. They don't get enough credit from those who sit at home by the fire and whine. The other outside workers of our city also need praise for braving the elements.

That's our space

I AM very angry that the city of Cape Girardeau would allow the Osage Community Centre to be used for anti-war protests. We are at war whether anyone will admit that or not. For them to be able to rent space that our taxpayer dollars have paid for makes me think that perhaps the city is just as treasonous as the anti-war protesters.

God's message

I THOUGHT President Bush gave a good State of the Union speech, but he looked so pale and had a tired look in his eyes. He is carrying a great burden. He doesn't know that God is doing a great work all over the world. Many people are accepting Jesus in all the countries. It is thrilling to hear the e-mails read on Christian TV. We don't need to go to war because God's message is touching this world.

Begging the question

A RECENT comment said God has sent us a savior in George W. Bush. I guess the caller thinks the Savior that was sent 2,000 years ago wasn't getting the job done. That begs the question: "Who would Jesus bomb?"

Stooping to their level

IF AMERICANS live in fear -- so much fear that we strike out with violence -- then the terrorists have truly won, because we have stooped to their level.

Time for prayers

MY PRAYERS are for the families of the seven astronauts. My thanks to God for a president who summarizes the feelings of a people so truly. God be with America.

School sanctions

IF A school is to be effective, its jurisdiction must extend beyond the schoolyard and school day. School-imposed penalties for out-of-school infractions are legally and morally justified and, whether they realize it or not, are in the best interests of students and their families.

Judges have fun

JUDGES IN small-claims court make up the rules as they go along. They are not bound by rules of evidence such as prohibiting hearsay or procedural due process. It's like Judge Judy: freewheeling and fun.

Godly assumptions

THOUGH MORALITY should never be the sole arbiter of foreign policy, Jon Rust was right as rain when he opined that there is a moral justification for righting the wrongs done by Saddam Hussein. However, Speak Out callers and others who say that God has sent us President Bush or that God has ordained us to act as the world's policeman are way over the top. To assume that God has chosen us or that our fate is in God's hands leads to a lessening, if not abandonment, of our human responsibility since we assume events to have been divinely predetermined.

Taking control

TO THE person who said that the real crime is the lack of respect for the rights of the woman to control her own reproduction: Maybe if women were controlling it this wouldn't be an issue. There are other ways to control reproduction without taking an innocent child. It's called the pill.

Reproduction control

I AM a woman, and I have respect for a woman's right to control her own reproduction. Women have that right by saying no. This goes for men too. If they don't want to be a father, they too can control their own reproduction.