SPEAKOUT

Scary coincidence

DOESN'T IT scare you that by coincidence, not one Democrat will vote to convict Bill Clinton who is also a Democrat? It certainly scares me, because there, but by the grace of God, go I, a Republican. And you Democrats better pay attention to this. Your day too will come. And I promise you it will scare you to death.

Question of brightness

I MEAN no offense to the office of the vice president of the United States, but has anyone but me got the feeling from observing Vice President Gore's actions, what he says, what he does, that he really is not overly bright? Just a thought.

They think they're better

IT'S THE same old story. Democrats think they can handle our money better than we can.

Wagging his finger again

THERE HE goes again, wagging that finger in our faces and saying "listen to this." Do you think I'll believe one word of President Clinton's State of the Union speech? Not one word of it.

Republicans: spoiled kids

REGARDING THE State of the Union address: The Republicans came to the joint session of Congress, but their faces said, "We won't listen or clap for the president." They acted like a bunch of spoiled kids. I hope people will remember how rude they've acted at the next election. They weren't thinking of anything but what they want. So now we know what they think of the American people. Vote Democratic next time.

Gender apartheid

I WOULD like to applaud Cal Thomas for his excellent Jan. 17 column, "Dark ages in Afghanistan," in the Missourian. The gender apartheid that is happening in Afghanistan under the Taliban militia group is deplorable. This group has banned women and girls from working, going to school or leaving their homes without a close male relative. Women are oppressed in that country to the point of unbelief. If you would like to make a different and change the lives of these women, please contact Secretary of State Albright at the Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520. Also, you can contact Secretary General Kofi Annan, United Nations, New York, N.Y. 10017. The Thomas column gives good background to items that you might want to refer to when writing to these individuals. Thank you for helping in any way you can to help this terrible tragedy come to an end.

Treasonable omission

I AM very disappointed in the fact that Bill Clinton honored Sammy Sosa but he made absolutely no mention of Mark McGwire. That to me is treason.

Keep government out of it

I WANT to comment on Bill Clinton's promises that he made at what they called the State of the Union Address. I don't want any more federal control of the schools. Instead of national standards, turn the schools back to the local people and to the parents. Let the parents have control. The federal government has done a lousy job since it has been in control of the schools. I don't want the federal government investing 25 percent of my Social Security. Let us have our own private Social Security. If the government gets to invest our Social Security, it will be nothing but lobbying the same way the teachers unions are done in schools. Where there's government money, there are big lobbyists. It will be the same thing: See who can lobby the most and get the government to put the money in their particular program. So I'm against that. I say turn it back and let the public take care of its own. I'll take care of my own Social Security. In Chile, people who are investing their own money are making 10 times what the people who are staying in the government program are. Keep the government out of our lives. Don't do anything else for me. I can't afford it.

The murky middle

TO THE caller who was wondering why the pollsters hang up after asking a question and receiving a no or a yes. It's because, as in all polls, the murky middles, the grays, are the ones who swing the vote, and that's who the pollsters are most interested in. It's not a conspiracy or anything.

Get tough on DWI

I'M CALLING in reference to your Jan. 20 front-page article about the Kelso man who has received his ninth DWI citation -- his third within the last 10 years. I'm urging all people in this county to call Judge Seiler and urge him to give this gentleman the maximum sentence and not to let him off if his program appears to be successful after 120 days. This gentleman doesn't seem to understand the gravity of his situation. The next time if he hits a child or an elderly person or a car full of people and kills someone, it's going to be too late. This man has shown a blatant disregard for the law. None of the programs in the past have worked, and it's time that we hang tough on this guy. We keep saying how the police and the highway patrol are cracking down to keep our roads safe. If this judge lets this man back out, he's negating everything that every police officer and highway patrolman has done. I am not married to or related to any police officers or highway patrolmen, but I have children, and I drive these roads. It sickens me that these DWI drivers get right back on the road and endanger the rest of us. Furthermore, I think all people should watch what Judge Seiler does on this case and if he lets this man out after a 120 day treatment program, we needs to oust him out of office. This is ridiculous, and it needs to stop.

Protect Social Security

I'M ALL for saving Social Security, but before one extra dime is put into this program, legislation needs to be passed that protects Social Security surpluses from the greedy hands of politicians. It is estimated that had the Social Security trust fund been left intact, there would be a surplus of over a trillion dollars, and today's retirees would be getting much larger benefit checks. Republicans, including Jo Ann Emerson, want to introduce legislation that takes Social Security funds off budget to ensure that these funds can only be spent on Social Security and nothing else. Don't be fooled by Bill Clinton's proposal. All of this extra money he wants to put into Social Security only means more money he and other Democrats can rob for other big government programs.

President was flimflammed

CLINTON WOULDN'T know the truth if it bit him, which it has. Incredible that he would claim in his State of the Union Address that Arafat and the PLO have dropped the pledge to drive Israel into the sea, which of course he takes credit for engineering. It did not happen. The PLO charter requires that a majority vote of all members of the ruling body is necessary to pass any proposal. Mr. Clinton well knows that only a small number of those eligible to participate in the vote were present when the drive-Israel-into-the-sea issue was voted on. It was window dressing, a farce. Mr. Clinton was flummoxed again. To prove it, the latest speeches by Arafat include the warning that the PLO still intends to drive Israel into the sea.

Could be part Cherokee

I RECENTLY read Gary Rust's column in which he reprinted a Washington Times excerpt in which President Clinton was quoted as saying his grandmother was one-quarter Cherokee. This is just another example of President Clinton's lecherous behavior and his willingness to lie. I think it's absolutely absurd to claim some past Cherokee heritage in order to maintain some racial legitimacy. However, the article goes on to say that Mr. Clinton's relative was not able to be found on the rolls of the Cherokee nation. Even if it didn't appear on the rolls of the Cherokee nation, that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have Cherokee relatives. The Cherokee nation in Oklahoma has a very narrow definition of who is a Cherokee. My own grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee. Her name does not appear on those rolls because, like many who were on the Trail of Tears, she dropped off the Trail of Tears in Kentucky and ended up there. Nothing historically prevents Cherokees from traveling to Arkansas. So the fact that his grandmother lives in Arkansas doesn't mean that she wasn't Cherokee despite the Cherokee genealogist's assertion that if you lived in Arkansas, give it up.