Speak Out B 12/3/01

Usable team name

HAVE ANY other SEMO students been to the bookstore lately? There is nothing at all for sale containing the name of our athletic teams. Everything just says "Southeast." Apparently the university isn't proud to have the name "Indians," and I understand that. So if we can't use it, why don't we just lose it? I think it would be much better if we would have a team name we can use. It's time that Southeast Missouri State do its students and fans a favor by following the lead of other universities and giving us a team name we can cheer for that the university feels it can use and promote.

Impact of unions

TO THE person making the comment that a union could save Dana Corp. here in Cape Girardeau should speak to the Dana's Fort Wayne employees who are drawing unemployment and ask them what a union did to save them. The past track record speaks for itself. Union plants are not competitive and cannot survive in low economic times. In the past at Dana, union plants were in high numbers but now they have become fewer and fewer leaving nonunion plants with the competitive edge. Staying nonunion is what is keeping them alive in this economy.

A little yeast

TO THE person who suggested reading the Harry Potter books before making a judgment: Should I also read a Playboy magazine before making a decision as to whether my child would gain any insight from it? The Bible tells us that it takes just a little yeast to leaven the whole loaf. If there's even one part that's bad in something, then the whole thing should not be suitable for your child. We know fact from fiction, but what do you want to grow up with?

Parade critique

WE ENJOYED the Christmas parade. However, spacing was terrible. Some units were leaving a block to a half-block gap in between. Also, no undecorated vehicles should be allowed in a Parade of Lights. Headlights don't count. These problems were causing people to leave early, as this parade was entirely and needlessly too long.

The marvel of magic

I'VE BEEN reading the comments about the Harry Potter movie. I'm a Christian and not just a surface Christian. Yet I see nothing to object to with the Harry Potter books and movie. Children's minds are much less narrow than those of adults. They can marvel at magic and still understand that it is not real. We all grew up with fairy tales full of witches and evil stepmothers and gnomes and talking animals. Did anyone really believe it was real? Who of us made a decision to accept or reject Jesus Christ based on a movie we saw or a fairy tale we heard as a child? The Salem witch-hunts have been over for centuries. We don't need to find more to burn at the stake. The story of Harry Potter is a great improvement over the violent fairy tales most of us grew up with. Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, and many other familiar old stories had much darker overtones than today's books about this boy wizard.

Learn to say no

A LARGE part of the problem with social-welfare agencies in this country and welfare in general, especially at this time of year, is that instead of taking care of the needs of the truly needy, they get involved with supplying the desires and wants of the lazy and slothful. Let's take it from Mrs. Reagan: Just learn to say no.

Recycling help

WHAT ARE the duties of the employees at the Jackson recycling center? I'm a senior citizen. I take my recycling to the center, and when I pull up to the center, the employees stand in the back of the building and talk and smoke and don't attempt to help me unload my car. What are they there for?

Hornets nest

WATCH OUT. If you're driving into Jackson on Bainbridge, just past the one-lane bridge is a large hornets nest hanging over the middle of the road. Sooner or later it has to fall.

WITH ALL the street improvements, it seems the 1900 block of Merriwether keeps going unnoticed. It's the only block in the entire area, just one block off William Street, that is not paved and is in bad shape. There is stagnant water on one side at all times, and there is an intersection which is lower than the street. It's under water and muddy. This needs attention now. Numerous calls have been made by neighbors about this, but nothing has been done. Why do we pay taxes?

Support for Israel

Israel's economy is booming. It's a leader in high technology. It has created one of the most advanced agricultural systems in the world. It is one of the world leaders in economic growth rate. It has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world, and it is the world leader in exports per capita. One would think that the world, especially emerging nations, would wish to learn from Israel's example.Unfortunately, almost the exact opposite is the case. Goaded by the Arab nations, the United Nations has more than 100 resolutions censoring and condemning Israel's actions. It seems as if the United States would be more supportive of Israel, which has based its society on America's freedoms and democracy.