WEEKEND COMING UP'S A BUSY ONE IN LIFE OF CAPE GIRARDEAU

We're in for something special this weekend. This Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 p.m., the Centenary United Methodist Church sanctuary will be the place to hear Tarina Kang, Cape Girardeau's remarkable talent on the violin. Tarina, who has studied under expert concert masters of North America, is recognized as one of the top six junior violinists in the United States.

A standout student at Central High School, a leader in her class, Tarina has exhibited the extraordinary discipline that will free her to excel in the future. This is worth your time.

* * * * *

This weekend in Cape Girardeau will be a busy time indeed. In addition to the Forestry Management conference at the University (sponsored by the Sierra Club, among other groups) there'll be the annual Southeast Missouri Homebuilders Show. The increasingly popular Homebuilders Show runs Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday at the Show Me Center. This is a great opportunity to take in the latest in homebuilding, home improvement, plants, landscaping, hardware and other home-related innovations. We welcome everyone involved with this show to our community.

* * * * *

"Economy Starts To Bloom Here" read the headline over a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story Friday that summarized a report of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.The story noted, "Businesses are hiring, construction is picking up and transportation companies ar busier, while businesses seem to be borrowing more.

"In St. Louis, more people are eating in restaurants, said the Fed, and more barges are moving on the Mississippi River here.

"... Nationally, reports ... describe a ... reviving economy marked by a rise in home building and growing retail sales.

"The survey also found inflation ... in check.

"... Hiring is increasing and firms are planning to hire more. ..."

Could conditions be better? Sure. But this hardly looks like the gloom and doom economy we hear described so often in the national news media.

* * * * *

I have hinted before at the problems I have with the presidential candidacy of Patrick J. Buchanan, a columnist I admire so much. I'll be writing on this subject again in the future. In the meantime, consider the comments of two perceptive conservative commentators on the national scene.

Writing in the New York Times, long-time conservative activist and two-time U.S. Senate candidate Jeffrey Bell had this to say:

"Many conservative leaders who do not share Patrick Buchanan's values seem to take comfort from his candidacy's impact in moving Mr. Bush toward their views on issues where they feel betrayed. They should ask themselves about the impact of the Buchanan challenge in areas they'd prefer to brush to one side. For example, Mr. Buchanan has taken credit for the President's decision to turn his trip into a festival of Japan-bashing corporate elitism led by Lee Iacocca.

"Then there is the issue of aid to Boris Yeltsin and the Russian reformers who are trying to institute American-style democracy and capitalism. Is there anyone who doubts that the recent inaction of the Bush Administration is dictated at least in part by the Buchanan campaign?

"Under Ronald Reagan, conservatism advanced an optimistic, populist vision for the world. Patrick Buchanan's isolationism, protectionism and nativism represent a profound departure from this vision and must be rejected."

Writing in the most recent issue of the magazine that bears his family name, Malcolm S. Forbes Jr. had this to say:

"If you want to see what a Pat Buchanan presidency would actually mean, turn back the clock to the 1920s and 1930s. After World War I, we went isolationist, politically. In 1924, we virtually banned immigration to this country. In 1929-30, we enacted a sweeping protectionist trade bill.

"These Buchananesque policies gave us a global depression, which enabled the Nazis to take power in Germany, which, in turn, gave us the Second World War.

"Whenever the U.S. turns inward, forces of evil arise that end up costing us dearly in both treasure and blood. ...

"Fortunately for us and the world, most of Buchanan's support comes not because of his message but because a number of Republicans see him as a way to convey to the President their unhappiness over his approach to the economy."