SPEAKOUT

Who's going to make sure?

AL GORE says that he's going to make trigger locks mandatory. I wonder who he's going to hire to knock on every door to check with every gun owner to see if he or she has a trigger lock. There are a lot of guns in this country. That was the most ridiculous remark I ever heard any candidate for the office of president of the United States make, other than the remarks of Bill Clinton.

Dangerous suggestion

TO THE caller who said let's make Rocker a Supreme Court justice: I'd hate to see either the caller or Rocker on the Supreme Court. That would really scare me. That would be worse than putting David Duke and Matt Hale on the same court together.

Field lighting not a necessity

THE JACKSON School Board has promoted the bond issue as a minimal and temporary Band-Aid. Reckon I'm not in the same socio-economic class that sees the lighting of a soccer field as an educational right for so few when balanced on the backs of so many.

Time flies when ...

THE PAPER says it takes 40 days for new gasoline supplies to reach our town. They announce on TV that crude oil prices will be raised a dime. But the next day the gas prices go up a dime. That's an awful quick 40 days.

Applause for hard workers

THE "WE'RE in this together" caller missed the point. My daughter and other teachers deserve more pay and a lot more respect than they get. It was not about how bad truckers have it. They too deserve every penny they get, and I know it is a hard life because I have another son who drives and a husband who was in the business for years. I don't think many teachers use their conferences for personal business or have all their health care paid. If it's such a wonderful job with such great benefits, I wonder why there's such a shortage of teachers. I applaud teachers and truck drivers and anyone else who works for a living.

Let them do what they want

THERE HAS been a lot said about Bob Jones University and about their practices. It looks to me like they should be able to do as they wish. It's not a state-supported school. People should be allowed to express themselves according to their beliefs. This is a free country.

Don't care about the U.S.

I SEE from the gas station signs that they have raised the gasoline prices another 8 cents a gallon overnight. The general public can do a little bit to help this thing out. If they would only start carpooling and cut out unnecessary driving. We read in the paper that these oil-producing countries include Kuwait. Kuwait said it did not want to offend the other oil-producing countries by raising its production. I think the United States should pull troops and equipment from over there and let Saddam Hussein take over their country again and see who would help them get out of that mess. These people want to increase their profits so they can store more gold bricks. I don't know what it takes for the United States to wake up and understand that these countries don't give a darn about the U.S.

Clean out those ditches

I AGREE with the comment about cleaning out the ditches on Route P to Randles. One time last year the water was so deep they closed the roads off. We couldn't go to work. When the water is up, it is dangerous. What do we do?

Enjoyed the concert

THIS IS for Mr. Blackwell: I am a black woman. I was at the concert Friday night, and I enjoyed it. I was not the only sister there.

Remarks were uncalled for

I'M COMMENTING on Sam Blackwell's review of ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was offended at what he said about the Confederate flag. He insinuated that anyone there was racist. The way it was worded is, "Is someone who waves a Confederate flag proud to be from the South, or proud to be a racist?" I found it appalling that he would say that. I think it has more to do with Southern pride than being a racist. Also, he made the comment that he wondered how a black person would feel watching this display, not that any black people were at the concert. That was incorrect. I saw at least two black people there. Maybe the Missourian should consider getting someone a little more knowledgeable and less opinionated on music.

Pick up the litter

OUR STATE and particularly our town need a deposit on all aluminum cans. We also need a fast-food soda-container deposit as well. All the fast-food containers should be plastic, and there should be a deposit on them. We need homeowners who, when they come home in the evening, pick up the litter and trash around their homes. We need business owners who, when they go to work in the morning, pick up the trash around their businesses. Then maybe kids in our city will see adults who have pride in their businesses and homes. There's still going to be people who throw trash around, but we're just going to have make the effort to pick up after them. Our town could be a lot better. It's not a community. We could do a lot better.