SPEAKOUT

Character really matters

I WANT to comment about the qualities of leadership in a president, and I want to compare two of them: Reagan and Clinton. Remember when Libya was sponsoring terrorism all over the world and blew up American bars in Germany and had the children machine gunned down there in Rome airport? Reagan sent the bombers over and dropped a bomb, and the terrorism stopped. It didn't take long for Reagan to do it, and he knew he better stop it before it got out of hand. We've had the World Trade Building blown up, now this plane has had some kind of terrorism and a bomb at the Olympics. All this terrorism that's going on is because of Bill Clinton. They know that Clinton is a sissy and doesn't have character or force of will like Reagan did. Reagan was a real man. This coward that's in there now -- who would be scared of a draft-dodger who stabs his own country in the back? People better get used to this. This is what you get when you have a person with low character and no leadership. If we don't watch out, someone's going to use the atomic bomb against us, and maybe then we'll see that character does matter.

Knapsack conviction

I OWN a knapsack similar to that which was found in the park in Atlanta at the Olympic Games that contained a bomb. Does that make me a suspect? The media has certainly made asses of themselves.

The rush to judgment

REPORTERS RUSH to judgment. I don't care whether they work for the newspaper, the radio or the TV. The police and detectives do not rush to judgment. That should tell us something about the O.J. Simpson trial as well as this person who is accused of planting a bomb in the Olympics in Atlanta. It is shameful because I used to be, in high school, a news reporter. Any news reporter wants to get something scandalous or important or fiery or outrageously interesting. But in this case and in many other cases, everybody in the news media has rushed to judgment, just as they did in the O.J. Simpson trial. However, O.J. Simpson is as guilty as sin.

Let grandkids pay too

I'D JUST like to say something to the person who called about "Working to protect grandkids." You are wrong 100 percent. I am a Republican, voted Republican, but never again will I vote another Republican ticket. I'll vote a straight Democrat ticket, and I'll tell you why. The Republicans are wanting to take everything away from the poor people and the people who pay taxes. It's the poor working person who is under slavery right now, and I'll tell you how come they're under slavery. They're working for peanuts for the big shots, and the welfare is taking the money out of their checks so they can lay on their rear ends and do nothing. And when Reagan was in, what did he do? Carter put a freeze on everything. They came into the United States, and what did Reagan do? He took the freeze off. It wasn't long before all the shoe factories were moved out. He said the shoe factories and textile workers weren't hurt. How much did they have to be hurt before he would do anything? Another thing, he put us in a bigger debt than any Republican president ever put us in. So I say, the grandkids who are coming up, let them pay their share just like I had to pay mine. They took that out of my checks, and I think I'm entitled to it. I think everybody ought to march on Washington if Dole gets in and tell him we're not going to put up with this bull if he tries to knock out our Social Security.

Pay percentages

THE TEACHERS' pay raise, according to the Missourian, is 3.5 percent. Would you take a raise on $30,000 or $22,000? The raise in all salaries should be the same. It cost a teacher making $22,000 as much as it costs a teacher making $30,000. This percentage raise is wrong. The higher paid gets paid more than the lower paid on the raises. People with an education are dumb or they are cheating.

REPLY: Not every teacher got exactly a 3.5 percent pay increase. Some got more, and some got less. Overall, the teachers' salaries are increasing about 3.5 percent.

Somebody has to pay

CAPE LOSES in taxes if they let new industry come into Cape without any tax, the Cape City Council will have to make up the tax from the taxpayers by raising the city taxes somewhere down the line.