Speak Out 10/5/05

Community glue

A PRECOCIOUSLY written piece in the winter issue of The American Scholar posits that the glue that has held our country together is gone. Though persuasive in ways, I don't buy it. Take Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area: wonderful churches, schools, businesses, voluntary and other organizations and institutions are thriving. I cannot help but believe this is generally true at the state and national level. And, as witnessed by the successful centennial celebration, the Southeast Missourian is a major ingredient in the glue that furthers the spirit of community.

Slanted news

I AM a teacher who is familiar with Channel One. In exchange for showing the 12-minute news channel, schools receive free TV sets and VHS players for every classroom. Most schools adjust their schedules so that the time is added on to the day and not taken out of class time. Is the news slanted? Sure, it is, but so is most of the mainstream media. At the high school level, most of the students don't even watch it. Occasionally, ChannelOne has really good programs about alcohol and drug abuse.

Relevant news

CHANNEL ONE is a wonderful source of news for our youths. It is informative and entertaining and reported by teen journalists better able to relate to today's young people. Those who complain about its alleged lack of objectivity have political axes to grind. In many ways it is more objective than the mainstream media and cable news programs.

Politics over science

THOUGH THE debate about the wisdom of using ethanol as a fuel will be endless, it is a certainty that the ultimate decision will be made on the basis of politics and not sound science.

Sage in our midst

BOB MILLER'S comments in the "He said/she said" column on fear should be a wake-up call for all of us. His heartfelt words made me stop and take a personal inventory. Thank you so much, Mr. Miller, for your words of wisdom. You are a sage in our very midst. Keep up the good work. I am a reader from Denver.

Reckless spending

WHERE DOES the U.S. comptroller general rank the United States' 2004 federal government spending among the most fiscally reckless in American history? No. 1. However, it may be short-lived in the sense that I predict it will be superseded by 2005.