Speak Out 9/12/08

Without a father

FATHERS ARE an important part of everyone's life, and every child should have that luxury. I do not have one. I am 32 years old and have never met my father. I know who he is, and he is aware that I exist, but he has never taken the time to call me, talk to me or acknowledge me. That's sad. If you do not plan to care for the children you create, why take chances in the first place?

Mortgage reality

BOB BRINKER, host of radio's "Money Talk," said, in reference to the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that the federal government should never have gotten into the business of promoting homeownership in the first place. Which of the two major party candidates for the presidency would agree and say so? Neither one. That would cost them the election in a heartbeat.

Parade schedule

WOULD THE SEMO District Fair board please consider moving the annual parade to next year's opening weekend of the fair? Several important benefits would be realized with the parade taking place on a Saturday afternoon or evening: More young and adult parade participants might be available on a Saturday opposed to a weekday with work and school schedules. And more free time would result to prepare and organize on the weekend. Larger crowds along the parade route might also be a benefit to a weekend schedule. Another major benefit would be the elimination of the weekday rush-hour traffic snarls. Many local businesses along the parade route might also be in favor of a Saturday afternoon parade.

Parade trash

I DROVE down Broadway and noticed all the trash left behind by the parade watchers. The fair committee should be forced next year to distribute trash cans at many locations for the parade.

Smitten by Palin

POOR PAUL Greenberg. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry reading his piece, "Sarah's night." The first of two thoughts that occurred to me was that for someone labeling others as the angry left, Mr. Greenberg seemed a bit irate himself. Does he feel the need to play strong knight to his damsel? Secondly, the piece was insipid. The poor man is smitten. Anyone who would call Sarah Palin's acceptance speech "ladylike" followed by the premise that it must be in character for her stands removed from those who know the woman and say that her snideness and insulting ways of addressing the actions and opinions of others are more representative of her character. Mr. Greenberg should stop embarrassing himself while America waits to determine if substance can replace style when Palin finally feels ready to take questions.

Fiscal socialism

I'LL LEAVE it to David Limbaugh and other anti-liberals to assess and answer the question as to how the Bush administration's nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the inevitable taxpayer bailout of these enormous entities mesh with the conservatism they've claimed is identified with the Bush administration specifically and the Republican Party in general. My guess is that they can't because they know as well as I do that this is out-and-out fiscal socialism.

Not family values

DAVID LIMBAUGH keeps harping on family values, thinking he and his party have a monopoly on them. Here's a family value question for you, Mr. Limbaugh. If a 13-year-old girl was impregnated as a result of rape or incest, why do you want the government, instead of the family, deciding what should or should not be done? That doesn't sound like family values to me. In fact, the Republican Party's absolutist platform on this matter seems the opposite.