Speak Out 12/19/07

Banana incentive

I WAS driving and saw a woman eating a banana. I said to myself, "Good for her. There is a woman who cares about her health." I stopped eating my fast-food lunch and decided to go on a diet. I want to thank the banana-eating woman, whoever she is.

Criminal background

LET'S COMPARE apples to apples and oranges to oranges when we talk about criminal sentences. One's criminal background has an influence on the sentences as well as the judge doing the sentencing.

Liking him more

I HATE to say it, but I'm starting to like Mike Huckabee, particularly since he had the guts to bash President Bush's shoot-from-the-hip foreign policy and seems to be a populist in the tradition of the great Huey Long in domestic matters.

Not interested

PEOPLE WILL be largely undecided about whether or not they support ongoing efforts by the media to make Missouri's Sunshine Law more effective so that citizens can learn more about the inner workings of our various government entities. That is because the populace generally hates both the government and the media.

Important information

I WATCHED a webcast of a local high school basketball game the other night. The picture and announcing were really good. There are a few kinks that need to be ironed out, like who won?

Season's blessings

I AM a single mother, and it is hard this time of year when your 3-year-old little boy loves every kind of toy under the sun. His real father is not a part of his life by his choice, although he is raising three other children that are not his. My fiance has been a wonderful father to him, and my son knows him as his daddy. I hope all the deadbeat fathers out there at this time of year realize how important Christmas is to their children. Christmas is the time when you should be thankful for all your blessings. These children you brought into the world are truly blessings. I don't know what I would do without my blessing.

Shopping safety

I PREFER to shop at stores where concealed weapons are not allowed. Someone with any weapon has the power to kill me and my family within seconds, including someone with a concealed weapon. In a store or public setting with strangers in the midst, typically I would not know nor have any reason to trust anyone, especially those people with firearms. I just hate to think that I would need to obtain a weapons permit and carry a pistol just to balance the power between me and those around me in public, especially those with legal concealed weapons. I do not trust the process for obtaining a concealed-weapons permit to sort out all those who may abuse their newfound power.