Speak Out 10/4/11

Mule jumping

MY family and I attend the Altenburg fair every year. My children enjoy watching the mule jump, especially Sonny Seyer and his daughter Kasey. They enjoy cheering them and their mules on every year. Sonny and his daughter have so much fun and you never know how their mules will do. We also love the names of their mules. Keep it up, Sonny. Hope to see you and your daughter in the years to come.

Georgia trip

I was in Georgia this month visiting my military family. I was impressed with Hinesville. The sidewalks were in such good condition. The streets free of litter and potholes. The pine trees, palms and Spanish moss were a sight to behold. I understand why Zac Brown loves to sing about his beloved Georgia. When we took my grandson to Tybee Island one afternoon, this granny felt like a carefree teenager. It was a trip I will hold in my heart forever.

Electric cars

THIS idea of the electric car conversion is a great idea and I'm sort of into it, but you obviously don't want to buy a brand-new car and then spend $15,000 converting it to electric. Can you do that on a wrecked car and make that work out? How do you make this go? And is it legal to drive these cars on the interstate after they've been converted? What happens to all the federal registrations and things?

Change mascot

REFERRING to Jackson's mascot, as a Native American I do not like it and it should be changed. Regardless of how respectful they may be, you are missing the point. The key word is mascot. Webster's Dictionary defines mascot as a person, animal or object that's supposed to bring good luck. Well, as a person of interest, I do not want to be compared to an animal or object for good luck.

Big talk

I think these Republican presidential hopefuls need to be a little careful with how they're putting out all this big talk. If not, they'll probably end up just like Obama is ending up and be a one-term president.

Wasting money

IT seems like the senior citizens are always getting left behind. We're sending money overseas all the time, $25 million here and $25 million there. We need to try to balance the budget and quit throwing the money away. We might have a better chance for the senior citizens to get more.

Facebook law

SO many people are pleased that the teachers were able to get the Facebook law repealed. You need to ask yourself why in the world do you really want teachers socializing with children? It's a social networking site, and connecting in that way, similar to attending parties together, is inappropriate. I'm absolutely shocked that adults are glad that their children and their teachers can now socialize together as friends.

Income disparity

IN the last 30 years or so, average middle- and working-class income has remained relatively flat when adjusted for inflation. Income for the very wealthy has risen more than 400 percent.

Opting out

MISSOURI should allow a decent interval of time to pass before opting out of the No Child Left Behind Act. It would make us look bad if we did otherwise. I'd give it at least 45 seconds.