Speak Out 11/3/06

Military is let down

GOD BLESS America and all the military personnel who have fought for us and are fighting for us and are going to fight for us. I think we need to pull out of Iraq. We don't belong there. We should let those people take care of their own problems. We have enough problems here. There are people here living in cardboard boxes. I don't understand why the government isn't helping the people here in the United States. Our service personnel can't even come back here and get medical services for their emotional state and physical state. It's not that I'm against the military. My husband served in the military 23 years. When we retired, they started closing all the bases, and we lost a lot of benefits. Our government sure has let us down.

Refund woes

THREE TIMES in this past week I have been in retail stores that have made errors in the checkout line, and I was told to go somewhere else to get a refund. Today I refused to go, and I will continue to refuse until the stores change their policies or let you see what you're paying before you hand the cash over. My time is just as valuable as anybody else's and I shouldn't have to go to another department and stand in line to get a refund.

Let government pay

I'D like to express my disagreement with the Southeast Missourian writer Rudi Keller's op-ed article, "So tax me, I'm a smoker and I'm in favor of higher tobacco taxes." I'm not a smoker, and I'm not in favor of higher taxes. The money from the proposed tax increase on cigarettes would go to people who are on welfare and who take advantage of the government. I'm a lower-middle-class working parent who's worked all my life. I have to work to support my children and put my son through college. I resent the fact that people go on welfare and don't have to work and want the government to pay for everything.

Time issue

I WILL vote for any candidate who promises to try to get rid of daylight-saving time forever. I'll even give him money.

Education model

THE GOVERNMENT education system is built on the Industrial Revolution factory model. Being on time, switching from this to that, behaving like assembly-line robots and stifling individuality have served us well for a long time. However, the Industrial Revolution is over in the western world. We live in a post-industrial world. The government education system needs a top-to-bottom overhaul, but it will be resisted and stopped by vested interests for at least 200 more years.