SPEAK OUT

Spur revitalization

TO THE Speak Out caller who indicated that tearing down the Marquette Hotel is the "successful" way to manage a property: Tearing down a building can often be the worst thing to do in a decaying downtown area. All you'll be left with is an empty lot. Thousands of business owners have instead chosen to rehabilitate historic buildings and make them the cornerstone of revitalized downtowns. Tearing down the Marquette will only result in the downtown area declining even more than it already has.

Grandmother's plea

THE RECENT article in the paper, "Grandmother raising child needs help," was complete for the Christmas season. Toybox sees to that as many children as possible have toys for Christmas. I am the 45-year-old manic-depressive grandmother raising her 2-year-old grandson due to his parents being in prison. The Salvation Army has kept us alive. They provided food. They supplied our coats. They are even going to put Christmas dinner on our table. This is a plug for the Salvation Army's work year-round. If you are looking for a worthwhile organization to sponsor, please consider the Salvation Army. Now for a little good news. My grandson's mother has been released and is home with us. Thank you for hearing me out.

Not Gore's lawsuit

WHOEVER CALLED the comment in about Al Gore trying to get absentee ballots thrown out in a couple of Florida counties is mistaken. If you've been following the situation, you should know that Gore's name was not on that lawsuit. It was filed by another group of Democrats. So Gore was no more responsible for that legal action than Bush was for his subliminal message of "Rat" in a campaign ad that aired earlier in the year.

Buckle up, folks

IT LOOKS as if your new president is George W. I guess I'll be without a president for four years. Buckle up. Here we go again. Bush promised "no child would be left behind." That's true. Since everything will be standing still, nothing will be left behind.

Keeping those secrets

HASN'T ANYBODY thought about all the commotion the Democrats are making? Could it be Clinton and Gore fear that some of the wrongdoings will be discovered if they can't stay in and keep it covered? Clinton's good at that. Remember Bosnia? All the good times you hear about Clinton, yet we have food pantries handing out food. That's like Depression days.

Told you so

LET THE public see just what a fool George W. Bush really is. He will not hurt me in any way. I have enough money to see me through the next four years, and after that Hillary will be president anyway. I have nothing better to do than to count my money and to call Speak Out every week and remind every one of you who it was you voted for. I have a deep commitment to Speak Out. I will call if only to say I told you so, and I'll enjoy every minute of it.

Not all imbeciles

I'VE ALWAYS been proud to say that I was from Jackson until today, that is. I got rather embarrassed as I was going home to Jackson. I was following a car that had a little Calvin-like character with a Jackson football helmet urinating on what is most likely a tiger paw from Cape Central. That is probably one of the most tasteless things I've ever seen. Two communities this close should be cooperating. Having something like that displayed on a vehicle is poor taste. Tell the people of Cape that not all of us are imbeciles.