Speak Out B 07/09/02

Here's the solution

OK, YOU godless people. Quit trying top force your beliefs on us by taking God out of the schools. If you had any smarts, you would tell your children not to say the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Who would know? Problem solved.

Time for good fight

I'M SO bored I almost wish someone would construct or at least publicly suggest the construction of another roundabout.

Not worldwide police

I JUST saw the president of Afghanistan was complaining about the innocent women and children getting killed there by U.S. troops. This is war. Innocent people get killed. What about the thousands of innocent people on the flights and in the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon on Sept. 11? Those were innocent people trying to earn a living for their families. They were killed for no reason except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Afghanistan doesn't like the way the United States is handling the al-Qaida, maybe they can let our American soldiers come home and they can fight their own war. The United States is not the worldwide police.

Still undecided

GARY RUST'S analysis of the River Campus issue was the most objective I've read to date. After scrutinizing both sides, I can now say with absolute certainty that I'm undecided.

Voters aren't fooled

RHODA REEVES' guest column knocking U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan for having the courage to stand up to Big Money interests will not fool intelligent voters. Given their well-publicized shenanigans, Carnahan is rightfully skeptical of the motives of corporate America and the sinfully rich. However, in favoring a repeal of the estate tax, the senator drew a careful and correct distinction between those who should be exempt -- small businesses and family farmers -- and those who should not -- the super-rich. Principled proponents of ordinary people and the people themselves are not swayed by vicious vitriol spewing from this page.

Tax the booze too

IT SEEMS like a lot of states and even the federal government are trying to correct their overspending problem by piling more taxes on tobacco products. This brings to mind words like "discrimination" and "taxation without representation." Why not tax the liquor industry this way? That bottle of whiskey does a lot more harm to a lot more people than my pack of cigarettes. Could it be that our lawmakers drink a lot more than they smoke?

Different party

THE DEMOCRATS are rushing to the aid of their unelected U.S. senator, Jean Carnahan. One feels that multimillionaires are manipulating small businesses and farmers to attack Carnahan. Another casts blame on the Southeast Missourian for publishing the facts on her voting record. Yet another blames the Republicans. I am normally a Democrat. However, I find myself agreeing with almost 100 percent of what has been published about her voting record. Someone said she was a Tom Daschle clone. Right on. Daschle and the ultraliberal element he represents are ruining the Democratic Party I used to know.

Still seeking freedom

I THINK all our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington included, would be rolling over in their graves to hear their names used to convince people that America is a Christian nation. The idea alone is what caused this country's first settlers to leave England in the first place. If they were alive today, they would have moved out of this country of zealots to get some of their freedom of religion and separation of church and state back.

Keep to the right

TO ALL people passing through Jackson: Please, will you get over? The traffic just keeps getting worse. You are suppose to pass someone and then get back into the right lane. That means no coasting in the left lane.

Natural process

THE COMMENT "Blame environmentalists" didn't really explain how the fires out West were environmentalists' fault. Environmentalists want nothing but the natural course of nature to take place, and most wildfires are naturally occurring. Just because people build homes in these areas does not make them unnatural. The seeds and cones of many plants and trees require the intense heat of a forest fire to begin growth. If you want to blame someone for this naturally occurring and necessary process, blame God.

Won't fall for it

STATE REP. Jason Crowell would have us believe that the governor of Missouri cut state spending for nursing homes and higher education for the sake of it. Crowell helped block the governor's sensible proposal to spend some rainy day funds. Crowell's constituents may be many things, but we are not crazy enough to fall for his disingenuous diatribe.

Take responsibility

AM I or any other reader with half a brain suppose to believe that the corruption in Enron and other big business began with the Bush administration? I'm sure it was going on long before Bush. I'm not saying it's a Clinton thing either. Unfortunately that's the thinking of too many people. Blame someone else. We need to start taking responsibility for our own actions and quit passively accepting things we feel are wrong or expecting our government to bail us out of every crisis in our life. Look to God for guidance and yourself for responsibility.

Recent addition

IN REGARD to the comment in Speak Out, "We are one nation under God. Our great nation was founded on Christian principles, and we have prospered because we have been a God-fearing nation. For those who do not accept this fact, they are free to recite the pledge omitting the phrase 'one nation under God'": The country is 200-plus years old. However, the line "one nation under God" was put into the pledge 50 years ago. It seems our forefathers weren't too worried about it then. Face it, it was a mistake in the 1950s to add those words to the pledge. The problem is, no one will step up to the plate and fix it.

I AGREE with the person who said the priorities are off at SEMO. Athletics are important, but isn't this supposed to be an educational institution?

Backing your beliefs

I BELIEVE our Founding Fathers wanted to keep church and state separate. The government should not dictate if you should be Catholic, Baptist, Methodist or Jewish or even atheist. However, our country was founded as one nation under God. If you don't believe in God, that is your right. But just as the government can't tell you to believe, don't tell the government or the majority of the citizens not to believe. A child feels peer pressure for many reasons: their beliefs, their clothing, their personal appearance, being too smart, not being smart enough, being too rich or too poor. You have to teach the children to stand up for their beliefs, to be proud of who they are and not judge others for being different.

No connection

YOU RECENTLY wrote in part that Cape Girardeau's public schools are the finest they've ever been. Since Cape's nationally normed student test scores peaked some 40 years ago, I assume you were referring to the quality of the buildings that, though admittedly very nice and the construction of which was a boost to the local economy, have no relation to student achievement or the amount of learning taking place.

Fireworks in river

I REALLY enjoyed Cape Girardeau's fireworks this year. I was disappointed they were not shot off from the barge as they were last year. I'd love to see them back on our riverfront next year.