Speak Out 11/19/03

Pray for safety

IF A person's really a Christian and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ and believes that his prayers work, can he not pray for God to keep a protecting hand on him and keep him safe from harm's way without carrying a concealed weapon? If he can't, I'm afraid for his other prayers.

Waste of money

I'D LIKE to know what gives Jo Ann Emerson the right to waste taxpayers' money by going to Iraq. That's money that could have been spent on the schools or other things.

Bad punch line

SO LONG as it continues to favor funding for football over funding for philosophy, Southeast Missouri State University will remain an academic joke: a bad joke.

Fickle Christians

THE CHIEF justice of Alabama, Roy Moore, was removed from office for not removing the Ten Commandments from a public building, thinking more of his pledge to God than some hypocrite judges. This supposedly Christian nation sits on its hands while liberals and atheists remove every mention of God from our country. I'm totally disgusted with church leaders who disagree with this removal of God from our public lives but do absolutely nothing. I think God would want a line to be drawn somewhere.

Fair and prudent

I THINK the university regents deserve credit for dealing with difficult financial issues in a fair and prudent way. The situation isn't easy, and their decisions will displease many, because that's the nature of the problem. When there isn't enough money to go around, hard decisions must be made, and it appears the university is doing that. Ken Dobbins also deserves credit for what is a thankless job.

Reverse discrimination

TO THE person who believes that reverse discrimination could not exist: Think about what you have said. If the minority group has power and domination, it is not the minority group. Therefore, it would be simple discrimination. Reverse discrimination occurs when preferences are given to a person solely on race and excluding otherwise eligible or more eligible persons because of race factors alone.

Smarter graduates

AS A caller said, it is painful for university graduates served by the Southeast Missourian who attended Harvard and Yale and similar prestigious institutions to compare their academic ability to that of SEMO graduates. It must hurt them deeply to realize we SEMO grads have turned out so much smarter.

Campus workload

TO THE person who believes most faculty members work three to four hours a day: I spend nine hours a day at campus Monday through Friday, take work home in the evening and usually spend five to six hours on Saturday and Sunday trying to catch up on the work I didn't get completed during the week. I'm not alone. Are there those faculty members who do not have anything near that commitment to their jobs? Of course. It happens everywhere. There are also staff members who spend several hours a day playing with e-mail and the Internet. Why not comment on these people? Your ridiculous statement does nothing to help the situation at the university, nor perceptions of residents of Cape Girardeau about it. It's time to get in touch with reality.

Freedom of choice

TO THE person who said we need roses not taverns: Feel free to plant all the roses you want. I'll visit all the taverns I want.