Speak Out A 02/05/03

RAPE IS a horrible crime and should be severely punished. To falsely accuse someone of such a crime is in its own form a kind of rape, and it too should be severely punished.

Taxing the workers

YOU CAN see who Gov. Bob Holden likes to tax: the working man. There are more working people smoking than any other group. He wants more of your money. And he's for higher taxes on gasoline. If you drive to work, he is hitting you again. He's for more taxes on large trucks. Every loaf of bread and every gallon of milk will go up too, because they are hauled to the stores in big trucks. Now do you see who the Democrats like to tax? The working man.

Fair taxation

IN REGARD to the income-tax issue, if all the callers who keep crying that it is only fair that the wealthy pay more really believe this, then I am sure they would also agree that those who have never worked should starve. That would only be fair. Why should those who work the hardest and achieve the most be forced to supplement those who do the least and care less?

Jolted to reality

JUST WHEN we think we're on the verge of explaining and understanding all there is to know about the nature of the universe, we are jolted back to reality by horrors like the space shuttle tragedy. Knowledge of nature must continue, though we must always keep in mind that complete understanding will and should be forever elusive.

Information needed

I WANT to thank the SEMO Coalition for Peace and Justice for giving a great presentation at the Osage Centre on Saturday. We learned a lot about the effect of war on Iraqi civilians. There was also a lot about the effect of sanctions on millions of dying children. We also learned about the use of depleted uranium weapons. I commend this group for its courage to push past the regular media to educate us about these things at this critical time. We should have more citizens like the members of that group.

Cutting back on calls

I CANCELED all the services I could with SBC because we live in an outlying area that does not have direct dial-up connections to the Internet. All of our connections are long-distance calls. That includes physician, business and family calls. Not everyone can live within contact of all of life's conveniences. Lots of my contacts will go by the wayside, and only necessary calls will be made.

Response to terrorism

USING ISRAEL as a positive example of how to respond to terrorism is ludicrous. The first Intifada had youths throwing rocks. Israel responded by killing many, bulldozing houses, taking away Palestinian lands to build settlements and disrupting the Palestinian economy. No one could possibly imagine that the Israeli government will ever not react to violent acts with 10 times as much violence as the original act. Now the stone throwers have become suicide bombers.

Senior citizens testing

I UNDERSTAND that some young people are a little heavy footed, but don't label all of us, I am 23 and drive the speed limit. I hate it when I am in a hurry and every second I am moving counts when I have a million things to do and some old man or old woman is going 10 or 15 miles under the speed limit and holding everyone up. I think there should be a strict test given by the state for senior citizens.

THE SOUTHEAST Missourian recently published a piece by syndicated columnist Austin Bay, who articulated a rationale for virtually annihilating Iraq. Bay went on to say that "America's military strategists know the axis of evil must be utterly broken." If Bay's analysis is correct and if these unnamed military strategists have the president's ear, the question becomes who's next? Iran or North Korea? Of course, some may consider Bay an extremist who spends a lot of time baying at the moon.

Street lights needed

THE CITY did such a great job extending Mount Auburn Road toward Central High School. But as somebody who drives along that road to events at night, I hope the city will consider putting lights along there, especially for the sake of those who come from out of town and don't know the road.

Mostly fun parties

I AM 21 years old. I do not drink. For the past four or five years I have been host to field parties on my farm. There was alcohol there, but my parents and I didn't provide it. The attendees, ranging in age from 16 to 23 brought their own. I put a sign up at the gate that says: Get a sober driver or stay the night -- all are welcome to stay. My parties are every bit as big or bigger than the one where this explosion occurred. Don't condemn all fun-loving young people for one person's idiotic stunt. At the parties I have been to since I was 16, probably 97 percent of them had no potentially harmful occurrences. The other 3 percent were minor fights or arguments.

Working for wealth

SOMEONE SAID income taxes are a wonderful way to redistribute the wealth in a more equitable manner. Most of the people who pay income taxes worked to accumulate wealth. Quit expecting somebody else to reward you.

Mandela's poor timing

SEVERAL YEARS ago when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, he came to the United States to meet with our Washington leadership. When he stepped off the plane, he held up a briefcase and said, as he laughed, "This briefcase is empty. I've come to fill it with money." I don't remember the exact amount, but he left with several million dollars. This week at a time when our country is struggling in many ways, our president gave Africa $10 billion to fight AIDS in Africa. This was followed by Mandela condemning us for our position on Iraq, being a racist nation and even for bombing Japan. I must say that his poor timing is surpassed by his lack of gratitude.

Service, not ads

SBC's abrupt cancellation of the Local Plus plan is a nasty blow to many of its customers. It is destroying customer loyalty of those who live in rural areas. Instead of spending millions on advertising explaining its new name, the company should use the money to maintain and improve services.

Discrediting campaign

WHERE WERE Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn when President Clinton was sending troops to Kosovo and Somalia? Where were these anti-war Speak Out callers and letter writers when Clinton was bombing aspirin factories and killing innocent people in the Middle East? Why weren't these people marching every Thursday night during those times? I truly believe that with the overwhelming majority of these people it's politics, not peace. The anti-war thing is simply a vehicle they're using to try to discredit the president.