Speak Out 10/6/05

Spending lesson

DON'T BE too harsh on the GOP. The party has learned (perhaps too well) from the Democrats that the thing that will keep it in power is government spending to a degree that would shock a drunken sailor.

No human factor

WALTER E. Williams has warned us that "evacuations can be costly." For those who might be thinking that failure to evacuate might be more costly in terms of human lives, please remember that Williams does not factor human lives into his coldly calculated equations, because it would be too difficult since the dollar figure would vary with socio-economic status, ethnicity and moral worthiness.

Real-world justice

THERE MAY be hope for the U.S. Supreme Court. President Bush has chosen someone who has never been a judge and has, for most of her adult life, lived in the real world.

Respect for Scouts

I WOULD like to congratulate Blake Oldson on earning his Eagle badge. Boy Scouts work very hard, but some people look down on Scouting. Blake has worked for nine long years doing stuff for people in our community. Please have respect for our Scouts.

Give me a chance

LATELY I have seen a lot of focus in the news related to recovery from addiction. I am one of those recovering addicts. I entered a recovery program after being arrested on drug charges more than 10 years ago. I got clean, obtained my GED, found a job and went to college. I obtained a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 2003. Now I can't find a job because I can't pass a background check. Getting arrested was the best thing to ever happen to me. It saved my life. Now if someone would give me the chance, I would like to give something back to society: myself.

Open-air drugs

ON THE corner of Jefferson Avenue and Middle Street at 6:30 a.m. Saturday there were at least a dozen people milling about this residential intersection. As I was preparing to turn, a man pulled alongside my car. When I rolled down my window, he asked me if I had a pipe. Another man came walking up. I did not wait to see what he wanted. I thought the open-air drug market in this area might slow down when the two church groups came together to buy the old church building at Jefferson and Frederick Street, but it hasn't.

Clear mandate

IT CLEARLY states in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution that one of the purposes of the national government is to "promote the general welfare." That is a clear-cut endorsement of the fact that we are our brother's keeper and that the federal government has a constitutionally based obligation to take care of us.