Speak Out 8/13/06

Free vacations

WITH ALL due respect to the person making a blanket judgment that the use of credit cards is a sign of economic incompetence, such is not necessarily the case. My close friends and family use credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month religiously. Besides the efficiency that this allows us, we receive membership miles that have paid our way to several vacations. Paying with cash or by check would not have afforded us such rewards.

Power of voters

I HOPE you voted. But if you didn't and fail to vote in November, remember you only have yourself to blame on the outcome. With things going the way they are, I would not be surprised to see other countries telling you what you can do or not do. Stand up and vote. It might be your last chance in November.

Time for backlash

REGARDLESS OF how Rush Limbaugh and the other talking heads spin it, there is an anti-incumbent, anti-war fervor in the land that will not bode well for most incumbent politicians who have prospered off the phenomenon of what was until now thought to be permanent incumbency.

Pro-biz politicians

POLITICIANS OFTEN prosper by passing themselves off as pro-business. However, this doesn't mean he or she in any way favors free-market economics. That should have been made evident by the ongoing ban on garage-sale signs. To quote from a recently published book, "A politician who is in favor of markets believes in the importance of competition and wants to prevent business from getting too much scarcity power. A politician who's too influenced by corporate lobbyists will do exactly the reverse." Beware the pro-business candidate. He'll likely find all kinds of ways to curry favor with certain businesses, and you and I will end up paying for it, indirectly or directly.

Photo prep, please

SCHOOL IS starting up again, and schools will be taking pictures of our children. When I was in school and my children were in school, the teachers made sure the kids had their hair combed and look nice and neat. The last few years I have noticed that neither the teachers nor the photographers check to see how the kids look. I would like to see them do things different this year, especially since we have to pay so much for the pictures.

Switching stripes

IF THE word "liberal" has taken on an anti-Iraq War meaning and "conservative" carries the connotation of pro-Iraq War, then count me as a disillusioned conservative defector, now proud to be called a liberal.

School spending

REGARDING SCHOOL supplies and school landscaping: I am a teacher at Franklin Elementary School. My principal, Rhonda Dunham, did all the landscaping herself, with help from Julie Harrington, a teacher. Mrs. Dunham also purchased the flowers and plants herself. As for headphones, they cost $1 at Dollar Tree and follow the child through all five years of elementary school, averaging 20 cents a year. Personal headphones, kept in a zip-top bag with the owner's name on it, are required to prevent the spread of head lice. Kids may not care about landscaping, but they do care about head lice,

Tattoo's significance

IT REALLY doesn't matter how well done or tasteful a tattoo is. It identifies the personas a loser with self-esteem problems.