Speak Out 7/8/08

Annoying signs

WHY ARE people complaining about workers holding up signs on street corners when there are political signs posted everywhere? The political signs are way more annoying.

The speculators

THE REASON the price of gasoline has gone up dramatically can be traced right back to the speculators who now own 69 percent of oil stocks, compared to just 29 percent just six years ago. Take out the speculators and the price of gas would decrease by about 50 percent. Congress is considering just such action, but don't hold your breath.

Staying young

ALTHOUGH I am a grandmother, I gain a fresh perspective that gives me encouragement about youths today by reading the neXt feature section each Friday. The movie reviews are spectacular and have led my friends and myself to see two great movies recently. I also love that we get an insight into the lives of recent area graduates. How about some easy summer reads reviewed along with the movies, so I can keep feeling youthful and knowledgeable as these young people so obviously are?

Political backbone

NOW THAT former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton is out of the picture, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder feels that it is wrong for officeholders to work as political consultants. Why didn't he have the backbone to stand up and say it was wrong before now?

Judicial perspective

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM occurs when the courts impose their will on society by overriding the will of the people. The conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices succeeded in doing just that when they overturned the District of Columbia's ban on handguns. But wait, conservatives argue. They are enforcing the Constitution. It appears that whether or not a judge is acting properly comes down to a matter of political perspective, which isn't justice for anyone.

Just hold on

APPARENTLY, COLUMNIST David Broder is worried about the permanent dumbing down of the presidency. I would like to assure Mr. Broder that if he can hold on for about six more months this admittedly disturbing phenomenon will have passed into the dustbin of history.

Progressive policies

COLUMNIST MICHAEL Jensen seems to think that those approaching senior citizen status or are already senior citizens are conservative. Mr. Jensen needs to be reminded that many of these folks are aging baby boomers who have not deviated from their 1960s desire for progressive political policies.

Absolutist positions

A COMMONSENSE pragmatist would say that the constitutional protection of free speech doesn't protect the right to shout fire in a crowded theater. Apparently, a self-proclaimed absolutist like David Limbaugh would say it does. And, for that matter, the publicly proclaimed moral absolutist Limbaugh should oppose the death penalty for any reason because of the clear-as-can-be "Thou shall not kill" biblical injunction.

Long live the king

I FELT a little sad celebrating Independence Day this year because there seems to be a growing body of evidence indicating that tyrannical rule of the states and the people was less under England's King George III.

Oops! The truth

I LOVE political pundit Michael Kinsley. He recently defined the word "gaffes" as referring to those times when a politician tells the truth.