SPEAKOUT

Men were meant to be in charge

I WAS reading in Speak Out that somebody wants Elizabeth Dole to run for president. Women keep pushing for more rights. Let me take you back to the Bible. If God had wanted a woman to be the front-runner for him, he wouldn't have sent his son into the world for us to look up to. I think the people here need to read the Bible more. If they would, I think their children would listen to their parents more, because the father would be the head of the family.

A quote worth repeating

TODAY I passed by the Baptist church on Broadway. The marquee read, "The way some people find fault, you'd think there was a reward." Amen.

A suggestion for powerless home

I DON'T normally call Speak Out, but I read it quite often. I was reading the story about Mr. Reed in Leopold. It seems to me that if Mr. Reed is really serious about building a house there, then he could go ahead and pay the money to Black River. Once his house was completed, Black River could give his money back. It would be a sort of deposit. Then it seems like everything would be settled.

Poetic tribute to world traveling

BEFORE I pay poetic tribute to the jaunt, let me say I am in full support of Dr. Dale Nitzschke's taxpayer-subsidized trip abroad. I think his effort to attract students to come to Southeast Missouri State University will be successful and will pay dividends many times over. Having said that, here is my ditty:

Let Dr. Dale's trip be the peaches

As he travels to far reaches

And SEMO students he beseeches.

Have a good time on the beaches.

President did the heavy lifting

DOGGONE, President Clinton shouldn't have done such a good job. The employment rate's way up. The country is the best it's been in 25 years. And who gets credit for it? The incumbent Republicans. They did nothing. The president did all the good work, and they get elected. President Clinton, you shouldn't have done such a good job. They thought that those governors did it. President Clinton, you did it all the way, and the Republicans got the credit. My, my.

Coverage of meeting is questioned

I WANT to comment about the gay meeting that Clinton spoke to in Washington. I want to complain that they put this in the back pages, not on the front page. They claim there were no photos taken of Ellen Degeneres. What would happen if he met with a member of the Christian Coalition? Why, it'd be all over the paper and the main topic of all these talk shows. But you let him meet with some drug dealer or gay group, and that hardly gets into the paper. If he met with a Christian group, the media would talk it up in a negative way.

No debate over global warming

ABOUT GLOBAL warming: of all industrialized nations, the United States is the only one on the face of the planet where there is even a debate over it. All other industrialized nations have verified its existence. The U.S. is the biggest polluter in the world. Many of the so-called scientific studies disputing global warming come from industries that pollute, much like the tobacco industry saying cigarettes are safe. As for a decades-long cooling trend, let's look at the real evidence. Ocean levels have slightly increased. Ocean temperatures have increased. The Ross ice shelf is melting at an accelerated pace. Many glaciers are disappearing. As for the economic impact, there are a great deal of scare tactics being used. The economic impact can be greatly softened. Regardless of what the economy are, they will eventually be dwarfed by the disastrous effects if global warming is not held in check.

Background on church-state issue

IT'S NOT true. The Founding Fathers never wanted to keep prayer and religion out of public places. The Founding Fathers included Thomas Jefferson, who never advocated such a doctrine as interpreted by recent court rulings, the ACLU and their liberal cronies. In fact, the wall of separation does not come from the Constitution, the First Amendment or any other founding document, but from a private letter Jefferson wrote 11 years after the writing of the First Amendment. By the way, Jefferson did not participate in the Constitutional Convention and did not consider himself an authority on the document. What's more, when earlier Supreme Courts did publish all of Jefferson's letters, rather than just the famous eight words, "a wall of separation between church and state," they arrived at conclusions very different from the recent interpretations.

Don't send troops to Iraq

I WANT to comment about this flare-up we're having with Saddam Hussein. You know, Saddam Hussein is not scared of Clinton. The Iraqis look on Clinton as a tyrant. They know what he did back there when his country needed him. Now here's the question: People knew what he was like. Now it's going to cost us the lives of young boys. It reminds me of what Jesse Helms asked Madeleine Albright when she was talking about putting troops over there during her confirmation hearing. He wanted to know how many battles she'd been in. That's what I want to know about Clinton. I just hope that all these people who support Clinton will sign up to go there. I'm not sending my kids or grandchildren. I may even burn the flag and go over to Baghdad myself and demonstrate against my own country. I'm sure Clinton would understand.

Emerson represents all, even critics

THIS IS addressed to the person calling in about Jo Ann Emerson. Emerson was elected in a landslide vote by the citizens of this district. The reasons were her character, her integrity and her belief in her ability to do the best job and represent all the people, even her critics. It's obvious she's doing a good job from the comments made by the person calling in. Unfortunately all the crises created by this administration have to be addressed, and I believe Emerson is very capable of doing this.

Warning on health-care fraud

IF YOU are a health-care provider who is charging for services not provided, look out. Medicare and Medicaid are probably investigating you. The Missouri taxpayer is tired of paying. We don't mind paying for those who need help, but we are sick and tired of paying for those who are merely greedy and lining their pockets, such as health-care providers charging for services not provided. Look out.

Role of men in the abortion issue

THE ISSUE of abortion has created great division among people. One side cries, "It's my choice," while the other side insists, "It's a child, not a choice." On the surface, the moral stance seems simple. Abortion is the killing of a prenatal baby. But if you look deeper, the issue is much more complex. Are women merely flower pots, containers of life, with no minds or dreams or futures of their own? Many insist that a woman can say no, can take precautions and must ultimately be the one responsible for her own reproduction. That may be true. But women are sexual beings too. What's missing here? There's a lot of talk about women and babies and fetuses, but where are the fathers in all this talk? Why aren't men charged with their share of the responsibility in creating life? Are male human beings incapable of morality, self-discipline, ethical behavior, compassion? From childhood, it seems that boys are socialized to get away with everything they can, to dodge responsibility, to see women as things, not people. Until men of this day and age are taught that being an adult means taking responsibility for your actions, don't give women the full measure of blame for their half of the equation.