SPEAK OUT

Ten Commandments

IN ANSWER to the item in Speak Out called "The law of love," I will defend my statement that the basis for all law and conduct in civilized society is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were given as a law of conduct for all mankind. On the other hand, when Christ spoke, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself," he was speaking to his followers. The first law is combined with a threat to punish the transgressor; whereas, Christ's reference is a keeping of his law of love toward God and our fellow human beings.

Food for thought

ANYONE WHO thinks young people pay our way in Social Security taxes has a distorted way of thinking. They've been listening to too many Wall Street analysts and too many Republicans. My wife and I have to work part time to pay for our medications. Social Security just won't cover it. Our prescription bills are twice as much as a young person's. We pay for it. They don't. We're still paying taxes, working part time. They take a hunk of money out of our paychecks for Social Security. It's a lie that our children pay our way. We paid the way for them, and we still pay our own way. We badly need a national health-care plan. We more than deserve a good plan like the Canadians have, which George W. Bush is opposed to. We'll never get national health care as long as we have a Republican president and Congress.

Credit-card scam

I JUST read a very interesting article on credit-card phone fraud in the Southeast Missourian. This happened to me one night a few weeks ago. I immediately called the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department to report the scam, and also the Cape Girardeau Police Department. I told them it was a foreign-speaking female. The Cape Girardeau policeman was very nice and said most of these calls were coming from outside the United States. They both said they had not had any calls at that time. The only reason I called was to alert other people of this fraud.

Pardoned criminals

IT'S GETTING a little stale hearing about how good things have been for the last eight years. As a person who works for a living, it hasn't been that good for me. I can see how it may have been a good eight years if you're a tobacco lawyer or someone receiving some kind of government aid, but for a working person I can't see where it's been all that good. I'm tickled that we're going to have somebody with integrity in the White House once again. I'm certain whether George W. Bush lasts four years or eight years, in the last days of his presidency you're not going to see a list of convicted criminals pardoned like you see with President Clinton. And if you have any doubt about the character of Clinton, just read the Missourian and take a look at some of the criminals he pardoned. I feel much safer now that he's put them back out on the streets.

It wasn't correct

JAMES NALL recently tried to ingratiate himself with the Republican Party by proclaiming that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled correctly in Bush vs. Gore. Americans, being the decent people they are, are quite willing to accept the Supreme Court decision and George W. Bush as president. But please don't try to convince us that the decision was correct or constitutional. We know better. Historians and constitutional legal experts will judge the decision to be the worst in history. No one can convince us otherwise.

Holiday thanks

IT'S CHRISTMAS vacation. Like most, I'm thankful for all the great gifts we've received. I'm thankful for God and the gifts that he's given me with my family. And God gave me another gift: decent athletic ability. I was a two-time All American wrestler and got to represent our country all over the world. In this season, one man that I owe is Dr. William Thorpe. Through a couple of surgeries to repair injuries, Dr. Thorpe allowed me to continue my lifestyle. I coached in this area for several years, and Dr. Thorpe attended to many of my athletes and did a wonderful job. I think the Cape Girardeau community is lucky to have such a skilled surgeon and such an outstanding man with outstanding character.