Church chaos

GOING TO church is something I want to do to thank God for all his blessings. But after church last Sunday, I found myself so upset that I got absolutely nothing out of it and had to go home and ask for God's forgiveness. My parents taught me how to behave in church. Two families allowed their children to scream repeatedly, throw fits and cause chaos during the service. When children act up, leave or take turns going to church so the rest of the parish can get something out of it.

Government overhead

I'M A home builder in Cape Girardeau. Our city, county and federal government are making it almost impossible to build a home here and a make a profit. The city is costing us more with the sidewalks and additional stormwater protection it requires us to install. The county's new sales tax is adding approximately $1,000 to the cost of materials for a $200,000 home. Now OSHA is coming down on us with more rules and regulations. The three together are putting me out of business.

Harvey's conversion

HOW DID I miss Paul Harvey's conversion to the Andy Rooney school of bitter old men who don't think they should do anything to secure the future of America except complain and whine and moan and compare everything to World War II? Harvey used to be objective and used to stand up for American values. Now all he wants to do is complain and say we need to be isolationists. There are new generations, and we would like to be able to enjoy the same values his generation enjoyed.

Thanks for wallet

THIS GOES out to whoever found my daughter's wallet in the road in Jackson, Thank you so much for taking the time to pick it up. Without your doing that, it would have possibly never been found. Thank you.

Cultural change

"THE FALL Drag Show will convene in Academic Hall Thursday." This event reminds me of how much our culture, society and values have changed in my lifetime here in Southeast Missouri. This was an event in Academic Hall at Southeast Missouri State University to promote the homosexual lifestyle. The university could not ban this event for fear of being sued by the ACLU. Our freedom to protect our society and our children from this behavior is gone. Not only do these groups promote themselves at taxpayers' expense, they recruit members from your sons and daughters on campus.

Band winners

I WANT to congratulate the Marching Tigers from Central High School on an amazing performance Saturday in St. Louis. The band placed second and had its best performance of the year. Congratulations, Marching Tigers.

Climate costs

WE'VE HEARD much from Republicans about the cost of addressing global climate change. Kudos to the Southeast Missourian for reporting the news that, however much that cost might be, it's peanuts compared to the cost of not addressing climate change.

Bootheel boundaries

HAVING GROWN up in Missouri's Bootheel, the article by Mark Bliss, "Born-and-raised Bootheel" caught my attention. I was curious to see which Bootheel town was mentioned. It was Bloomfield, which is about 25 miles outside the Bootheel. The Bootheel begins -- going south -- four miles south of Malden and two miles south of Marston. If we want to label some place "Bootheel," shouldn't it actually be in the Bootheel?

Too many deer

IF THE Missouri Conservation Department is responsible for the re-population of deer in the state, shouldn't it be responsible for the consequences of its actions? Deer and vehicle collisions aren't really accidents when the deer population has been allowed to increase to the point that it is dangerous for people. How about giving five or 10 deer tags to people involved in deer collisions that they could use or give to other hunters? This would reduce the chance of accidents in areas near dangerous roads.

Education solution

THE REAL answer to our education crisis is to get the federal government out of education totally. The problem isn't funding. More than enough money is being spent on education. It's the U.S. Department of Education. Since it was started in 1976, more money has been spent every year with worse results. More time and money are spent on political correctness than basic education. Disband the department and return control of the schools to state boards of education. It would be cheaper with better results.

Education advantages

OF COURSE the first-year teacher at a private school isn't seeing the same problems that those of us in public education do. In a public school, there are federal and state guidelines as to what teachers can and can't do. Thanks to the government, there isn't much that we can do anymore. In a private Christian school, teachers have many more advantages. Students who come from a more privileged environment, being able to mention God and having more parental support are just a few. If I could mention God in my classroom, I firmly believe things would be different. Thanks to the federal government for taking God out of schools. A lot of good it did.

Real reform

OUR GOVERNMENT education system is a multibillion-dollar industry, and our children are a commodity that represents a dollar amount for every school. School administrators and teacher unions are adept at lobbying to squelch competition and fleece the taxpayers. This system will always be going through some kind of reform, because reform always means more money. When No Child Left Behind fails, as it seems to be, there will be yet another reform costing even more money. The only reform that will work is when parents have vouchers they can use to choose any public or private school.

Wonderful parade

A RECENT caller said there were drunk students at the homecoming parade. I was standing next to Houck Stadium. I saw no inappropriate drinking at all. This was a wonderful parade, and I appreciate all of the hard work that went into creating such beautiful floats.

Welcome hardhat

I REALIZE OSHA regulations are generally a pain. But perhaps they could've been used at a construction zone this week. If I had a 3-yard backhoe bucket full of gravel only 2 feet from my head, wouldn't I need -- even want -- a hardhat? And these aren't small-time contractors doing the work.

Annoying bashing

IS IT just me, or is this the most annoying election with all the candidate bashing going on?

Politics as sports

THUMBS DOWN to the 24/7 media for treating our election as if it were a sporting event.

Appalling story

I KNOW this is a religious area, but the front-page article on the Baptist convention was highly inappropriate. The speaker quoted in the article used paranoid and racist rhetoric to label American Muslims as enemies of our country without citing any sources of his information. The article gave no reaction from any Muslim group, nor did it challenge any of these statements. Rather, it gave this speaker an open platform to repeat his opinions to thousands more. It is appalling that this could be presented as a legitimate news item.

Regard for military

JOHN KERRY finally showed his party's real hatred for the military. He said in so many words that the men and women who volunteered to protect this country and our freedom and safety by risking their lives for us are stupid and uneducated. How can the Democrats attempt to protect this country when they truly hate the military?

History's language

SEPARATE LANGUAGES to satisfy the egos of the elites serves neither the nation nor the common man. If Martians had settled the United States, we'd all speak Martian. English may not be the perfect choice for communication, but it is the language history gave us.

Band members' origins

I AM so glad that someone else finally realized that just because performers say their band members are from here doesn't mean they actually are. Every performer I've seen has had at least one band member from Missouri. I'm not saying I agree with the lying, but it does tend to get the audience more excited.