Speak Out 8/29/03

Big fan of Tonto

I WAS raised during a time when I enjoyed listening to the Lone Ranger on the radio and also enjoyed the Lone Ranger on television. A Speak Out caller commented that when the Lone Ranger said, "Let's go, big Tonto," it was like calling him stupid. Most of us have the utmost respect for the American Indian. There are a lot of times we would have liked to be an American Indian. All I know is the Lone Ranger had me respecting the Indians. Tonto was as big an idol of mine as the Lone Ranger when I was growing up.

Better lighting

Jackson Boulevard has a small area with good lighting, other areas with weak lights and some areas with no lights at all. It's very hard to see turnoffs and drives in those areas.

Different handling

WE ARE wondering why baseball players get suspended for two weeks for drinking at a prom party in which no law officials were involved, but a volleyball player can get arrested by the police for consumption and sent to jail and nothing happened to her. Is it because baseball players are boys and they don't punish the girls? What's the difference?

Clippings in the sewer

I HAVE read several Speak Out comments about neighbors who blow grass clippings into the street and leaving an unsightly mess. My neighbor who used to leave his yard debris in the street has now found an even more ungainly disposal method. He blows it all into the storm sewer. What a mess the sewer system would be if we all did that.

Fireworks fairness

I LIVE in Jackson. They can take $5,000 of my tax money and give to the Jaycees to shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July, but I can't go uptown and buy $20 worth for my kids to enjoy one of the most important days of the year for our country. If we don't get rid of the Jackson Board of Aldermen, the mayor and the whole works, I don't know where Jackson's headed.

Not so forgiving

TO THE reader who obviously thinks Sheriff John Jordan is wasting his time investigating the mayor of Jackson: You are right. Nothing happened to the judge, and nothing happened to the former chief of police. Jackson has always done a masterful job of keeping its problems swept under the rug. However, I don't think the attorney general's office will be as forgiving as the misguided and misinformed citizens of Jackson have been. Sounds to me like the mayor and his cronies at City Hall are nearing the end of the line, and the good people of Jackson will be better off.

No more dings, please

I REALLY wish people would take care when getting out of their cars and not bang their door against the vehicle next to you. I am tired of having my nice car dinged by people who don't care. Please treat others how you would like to be treated.

Religious freedom

IF JUDGE Roy Moore was using only commandments six through ten to state his case, it wouldn't be that big a deal. But Moore is using the religious side of those commandments to press his own agenda. As judge he has ruled several times against people of other faiths, clearly because he didn't agree with their beliefs. Moore is one step from the Taliban and would gladly deny everyone else's freedom to worship if it didn't match his own. This isn't about shutting down a religion. It's about keeping power-hungry people from ruling this country through religion.

Defying the law

I ASSUME that the Supreme Court chief justice of Alabama took a solemn oath to uphold and defend the laws of his state and this nation. It seems to me that his defiance of the law by refusing to remove the granite icon of the Ten Commandments is a direct contradiction to his oath and means he has taken the Lord's name in vain.

Aggressive drivers

I THINK some drivers in the area need to reconsider their priorities. Ask yourselves: Why am I speeding? Why am I tailgating the car in front of me -- even though that car is doing the speed limit with a line of cars in front of it? If drivers are this aggressive, how are their kids going to drive? Note: traffic fatalities are at a 12-year high.

Time to move

IT'S ABOUT time someone addressed the traffic problems and ill effects on Jackson businesses caused by Homecomers. Tradition has its place, but it's not on the most congested corners in town. If the organizers would move it to the park, we would go.

Monumental ego

THE IN-YOUR-FACE advocacy of religion with the Ten Commandments monument in Alabama is beyond the pale. Acknowledgment of the historical role of religion in public places? Yes. Blatant advocacy of religion? No. In reality, this monument had little to do with the monument and everything to do with the monumental ego of Judge Roy Moore.