Speak Out A 08/30/03

Graven image

IT SEEMS to me that if you want to honor the Ten Commandments, the best way would be by keeping them. Turning them into a graven image violates one of them.

Not officially

NO ONE is preventing Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore from worshipping or acknowledging his version of God. He simply can't do it in his capacity as a representative of the government. He can stand on street corners and preach to his heart's content. He can pray in his home till the Second Coming. He just can't use the imprimatur of the government to push his personal religious agenda.

Attorney's role

IF PAUL Sander is being investigated by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department and by the attorney general and is represented by Al Spradling, then what is the Jackson city attorney doing holding news conferences and seemingly acting as the mayor's attorney? Are the citizens of Jackson paying the tab for this? Or is Tom Ludwig donating his time at no charge to the city? I would understand if the city were being investigated, but according to the articles in the paper and what I saw on TV, Sander and maybe other individuals are under investigation, not the city. I think the reisdents of Jackson should be entitled to a full accounting of the city attorney's involvement in this matter.

No basis for law

IN ALL the stories about Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and his illegal monument to the Ten Commandments, no one has questioned Moore's basic argument: that the U.S. Constitution is based on the Ten Commandments. It's just not true. In fact, only three of the Ten Commandments have parallels in U.S. law. The Constitution says nothing about worshipping only one God, nothing about graven images, nothing about taking God's name in vain, nothing about keeping the Sabbath holy, nothing about adultery, nothing about coveting stuff. The Constitution is based on widely held rules of civilization far older than the Ten Commandments.

Dangerous weapon

THE PATRIOT Act is indeed a strong weapon. Unfortunately, it's a weapon pointed at our Constitution and our basic civil rights. Stalinism is no less evil just because a failed Missouri politician is running America's KGB.

One term is enough

THIS COMMUNITY needs to know just how biased the Southeast Missourian really is. It's not hard to figure out why so many people around here will not even consider the fact that the Republicans could be wrong. Only about 35 percent of the population supports the GOP exclusively, yet they call themselves the silent majority. The truth is, the majority of voters do not vote along party lines. They vote for the person they think will get the job done. I think that man is Dr. Howard Dean. Another one-term President Bush is all this country can afford.

Get a grip

I THOUGHT President Bush was the education president. Less than a third of Missouri students scored at the proficiency level on the MAP test. Yet the Bush administration sings the Show Me State's praises. These guys in Washington need to get a grip and go back to school.

Big ramifications

NEITHER THE Southeast Missourian nor the Washington Times seem to concerned about the ramifications of the Patriot Act. I have a slightly different take. I think the law will lead to an extreme usurpation of all individual liberties and make an Orwellian state seem like a haven of freedom.

Another perspective

I CANNOT help but wonder what right-wing conservatives would say if some judge, who happened to be Muslim, were to put a statue in his courthouse that had verses from the Quran engraved upon it?

Great football sections

MY COMPLIMENTS to the people who put the football preview sections in Thursday's Southeast Missourian. Outstanding job.

Masses allow it

IF SPECIAL interests rule the country, it is because the masses have allowed it. We can take back our country by electing better officials to serve us in our republic.

No band support

I THINK it's terrible how everyone disrespects the marching band and especially the color guard. The audience has a split opinion. Half don't even watch the band, and the other half make fun of the band. These people work hard in the heat and in the cold. They are intelligent and musically talented, yet no one gives them respect. The Central High School Marching Band has won many awards and recognitions, but in the fall we see football on every headline. People say they want to support the arts, but the public obviously does not agree.

Religious sense

THE U.S. Constitution says that the government shall pass no laws establishing religion or prohibiting free expression thereof. To me that means the government can't make any laws starting a government-run religion and force the people to join. It does not mean the government has to ban everything religious. The courts need to use some common sense when making their decisions.

All-day flashing light

I'M WONDERING why the intersection at Bloomfield Road and Minnesota Avenue has the red light flashing all day this year. It used to be on in the morning when Jefferson Elementary School students were going to school and in the afternoons in time for dismissal. It would be nice to not have to stop there all day long.

Business pressures

THE PUBLIC (and by this I mean everyone who draws a paycheck instead of writing one) has no idea what it takes to keep a business running. If we receive more regulation in the form of mandatory health care and if our worker's compensation rates are not reduced, we will no longer be able to inject millions of dollars into the local economy. The stresses and pressures of maintaining the livelihood of 50 families, not just your own, are astounding.

Worse than before

I LIVE off Mount Auburn Road and take the road quite frequently. For me it is a way to get from my house to school, mall or interstate without a hassle. Now the road is being torn up constantly. Traffic lights have been installed, and the center line is so confusing. I have seen some really close incidents. Why couldn't the city just leave it the way it was?

Time to change

WHILE I realize that having Homecomers uptown is a tradition, some things need to change. Last week I avoided doing business with three stores because of Homecomers. I am unable to park blocks away and walk. The Jackson park is an appropriate place for this event. Think of the shade the park has to offer during these dog days of August. Please, folks, think about this matter seriously. The traffic was unbearable the week of Homecomers.

Can't find it

I READ with great interest David Limbaugh's Aug. 24 column, though I have a sneaky feeling if Chief Justice Roy Moore had put up a crucifix instead of a statue of the Ten Commandments, Limbaugh's writing would have has a different tone. If Limbaugh is to describe the federal courts with phrases like "egregiously exceeded their authority," "renegade decisions" and "obscene misinterpretations" over an Alabama statue, he must have really went off on the U.S. Supreme Court when it halted the 2000 presidential election. Could an alert reader direct me to that column? I can't find it anywhere.