Speak out 100601

Stealing the flag

I THINK it is pathetic when somebody tries to show the country a little respect by putting a flag on his vehicle and people come along and steal it.

A case of hypocrisy

I WANT to comment on some irony and hypocrisy in your paper. Some pro-abortionist said people who are pro-life want to bomb the people who bombed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Here is the irony: The people who are willing to murder their own children and anyone else's are not willing to kill people who murdered 6,000 people in our own country.

Equipment issue

I AM a fireman's wife. Regarding the article in the paper, it was not due to the firemen's retirement that they do not have new equipment. They have the option of having a cost-of-living raise or retirement, so they chose retirement. As one who lives paycheck to paycheck knows, they have not had an increase in pay since that time. They more or less decided not to give a raise that year but to increase retirement. It didn't have anything to do with equipment at the time.

Buy war bonds

PEOPLE, PLEASE wake up. We are in a war that will determine our very existence. Terrorists can bomb every bridge over the Mississippi River at the same time and effectively stop all railroad and highway traffic. All business would be at a standstill. I also think it is very unpatriotic to give your money to a gambling boat when you could be buying war bonds and help yourself and the war effort.

Serve and protect

I'VE NOTICED a drop in police cars on the side of the road since the attacks on Sept. 11. I guess this means law-enforcement agencies finally figured out that their purpose is public safety, not government revenue. It's a shame something like this had to happen to get them out of the moneymaking mode and into the law-enforcement mode. I have a feeling that our taxes will go up. I don't think Cape can cope with the loss of revenue now that the police department is actually given a job to do.

Diplomatic success

THE UNPRECEDENTED allied act of providing humanitarian relief to innocents at the same time we bombed strategic Taliban targets in Afghanistan was a well-intentioned, altruistic response and a diplomatic success unparalleled in world history.

Proper balance

IN HIS classic, "Escape From Freedom," the late psychologist Erich Fromm explained that post-World War I Germany's experiment with democracy failed and that the people eventually opted for fascism because their long history of authoritarian rule dictated that they weren't adequately prepared for freedom. In a psychological sense, the Germans chose to escape from freedom and turned to totalitarianism. In the current struggle with the Taliban and terrorism, we will be able to establish the proper balance between the need for appropriate security and the preservation of our precious freedom.

Workers' worth

WHEN WORKING men and women exercise their constitutional right to strike, it often provokes hysteria in Speak Out. Take the comment by a caller who apparently felt threatened by a strike and referred to the strikers' "wild wage requests." The labor theory of value posits that workers should receive full value for the product they have produced with the sweat of their brow. While Americans correctly reject that Marxist theory, many, like the caller, want workers to remain or revert to the world's oppressed and, therefore, wretched of the earth.

Parking privilege

TO ALL the callers who have complained about parking up at SEMO, they should have complained. For those who said SEMO only has enough parking for half their students, that's correct. But they failed to add that SEMO charges nearly $100 for the privilege of parking on campus.

God is with them

I HAVE a daughter and son-in-law in the Navy, and I'm very proud of them both but also very anxious. I know, however, that God will be with them as he is with all of us right now.

Give God the credit

I'M AS patriotic as the next person, but I don't think all of this happened so we can worship a flag. Worship and praise God, not the flag. Pray to God, not the flag. It is good to show support for our country, but please remember the God who made it all possible.

Misplaced worry

SOMEONE COMMENTED, "I don't believe in an eye for an eye. There are a lot of innocent children there." What about all the innocent American children who are now without parents who were in the World Trade Center when it was attacked by terrorists? Did they think of all the innocent children that were going to be affected by this action? No. We need to start worrying about America for a change.

Palestine plan

ISRAEL'S PRIME minister, Ariel Sharon, has good reason to be angry at American policy, which recommends creating a Palestinian state within Israel. God gave this land to Israel as its perpetual homeland. Even though God allowed the Jews to be thrown out of this land as a result of their failure to repent of their sins and idolatry, God promised their offspring that he would return them again to their land to possess it in the latter days. We saw this promise fulfilled in May 1948. The British committed a terrible sin against Israel when it partitioned Palestine. The reason for all the trouble in the Middle East today is due to the Palestine mandate. All of Palestine belongs to Israel. The Palestinians are at odds with God's plan. They do not belong there.

Control the guns

WHAT WE need for our home front defense is more gun control.

He walks the walk

CONGRATULATIONS TO Cape Girardeau native Richard Kinder for maintaining his well-earned rank among the world's wealthiest people. Many cocktail party pooh-bahs pontificate by talking the talk of the endless opportunities for material success offered by the capitalist economic system. Kinder walks the walk.