SPEAKOUT

No man would be safe if...

IF THIS Paula Jones gets away with what she's trying to pull on President Clinton, there wouldn't be a man safe in the United States from any woman who wanted to get up and tell a bunch of lies about him.

Government's duty to provide care

MARY KASTEN was all for this health care bill for employers who cannot afford health care. The state has a new bill out. It's a good start anyway for people to get health care. But she changed her mind. The government's in crime fields, the government's in police work, the government's in highways and the government's also in on paying her salary. So why can't the government be in on making sure people get health coverage? It's the government obligation and duty to take care of people who aren't able to take care of themselves or cannot afford it. This is for humanitarian reasons.

Vouchers OK if churches pay taxes

PETER KINDER doesn't seem to understand in his recent columns regarding school vouchers that the reason liberals are against them is because liberals understand the Constitution. It's not my responsibility to pay for you to instruct your child in your religion, regardless of whether I agree with your religious beliefs or not. It's a matter of constitutionality, plain and simple. It's called the separation of church and state. These vouchers would allow tax dollars be funneled directly to churches and to empower churches which pay no taxes. Here's my suggestion. I'm willing, as a liberal, to support school vouchers if churches are willing to pay taxes on the land they own to the communities in which they own the land. Sound like a deal? Let's hear from some of the religious leaders in the community and see if they're willing to go for that.

No animal rights in Oran?

BEWARE DOG owners in Oran. My 8-year-old son's 6-month-old puppy was picked up by city employees Friday afternoon. We went to go get the puppy out of the pound Saturday morning. The puppy had been taken to the Humane Society Friday afternoon in Sikeston and destroyed the same day it was taken down there. Do animals have any rights in Oran?

Truth can never be compromised

THIS IS in response to a letter to the editor on the topic of keeping religion out of schools. I would beg to differ with the statement that there are two kinds of Christians, false and accurate. I would have to say that there are only two kinds of Christians, those that have the whole truth and those who do not the whole truth. And determining which one has the whole truth is quite obvious. The Bible tells us the entire truth. Jesus said in John 8:32, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." There's one thing that cannot be compromised in this country and in our schools or anywhere, and that's the truth. If they are allowed to teach abortion, homosexuality and other humanistic views, I believe the truth has it's place right among those.

Hayti deserves just as much funding

THE ARTICLE by Tamara Zellars Buck is absolutely correct. It makes no sense to spend more money on poor people in St. Louis for their schooling than it does for poor people in Hayti. If Hayti has the same demographics, we shouldn't spend $4,000 per pupil there and $7,000 in St. Louis. It doesn't cost any more to educate people in St. Louis. We're just spending more money. We've already bought them new schools in St. Louis and with their new buildings, their heating costs and things like that ought to be lower. So we ought to spend just as much in Hayti as in St. Louis. This is obvious discrimination.

Make the smokers go outside

I LOST my husband through cigarettes. I lost my father through cigarettes. So please, who wants that smoke in their face? That's the same as throwing food in your face from others. I think it's a shame. I think it ought to be against the law. I don't care where you're at, it should be against the law. If they want to smoke, they should go outside where it's open air and no place else. I know, one of my friends died from second-hand smoke. So please do something about it before it's too late. There are so many young people out there who are smoking in their teens. And it's a shame, because I do know what's going to happen. They're talking about Medicare going broke. It will. Give it time with all those teen-agers coming up, because I know what my husband went through. It's something to think about.

No more rides with Christians

I JUST finished Donn Miller's letter saying he does not believe in God. When he gets out on the road with a sign wanting to ride to Cape from Tamms, maybe he should put on that sign that he will not ride with a Christian. I'm a Christian, and I won't stop and give him a ride again because if I would I might speak about God and that would make him miserable and I wouldn't want that. But we'll be praying for him, because God loves atheists too.

St. Vincent's hoopsters play a thriller

CONGRATULATIONS TO the St. Vincent's seventh and eighth grade basketball team. They won a tough tournament game against IC. Anyone who missed it missed a thriller. Their players can really handle the ball and consistently get it in the basket. Great work, girls. You earned your title. I can't wait until your next game.

Take Abe Lincoln's advice

I'M REMINDED of what Abraham Lincoln said as I sit and read this letter from the person who's blaming the liberals for teen-age pregnancies, government handouts, lazy people and all those other things that the self-righteous proclaim. Lincoln said, "It's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." So this person should take heed.

What would Dr. King think about this?

I JUST wonder if the late Martin Luther King Jr. were living today if he would be appalled about over 40 million people not having health care. I think it's a disgrace. It's almost a disgrace like segregation was. It is really bad that people cannot afford to go to the doctor or get their prescriptions filled. I just wish there would be a march. I would participate, and I have health insurance. I'm challenging you people to stand up and be counted and demand you get health care. You've paid taxes long enough. This is your country. So why should the privileged prosper and you have to suffer?

School food is better than the '50s

THIS IS in comment for the person who says that the school lunches serves too much pizza and hot dogs and it's not like back in the '50s. No, it isn't like back in the '50s. Back in the '50s the government gave lots of ground beef and pure butter. They wanted us to serve whole milk. They had a lot of fried food. They had real cheese. And look what all that fat has done to your heart and arteries. Today they have gone to a low-fat diet. They have low-fat turkey hot dogs and skim milk and 1 percent milk instead of whole milk. We have margarine instead of butter. We have something better for our children today than we fed them back in the '50s.

Keep mothers in the home

I WOULD like to state publicly that I agree wholeheartedly with columnist Mona Charen's column, "Child-friendly or feminist agenda?" I appreciated what she said. The person who is doing the most for children in the country at large is the mother who is forgoing an income to raise her own children. President Clinton wants to make her more scarce. Mothers are the most important people in the world, and I would hope that our government and our society would do everything possible to keep the mothers in the home until the children are at least toddler or school age.