Speak Out 11-9-22

Women in military

As the wife of a member of our U.S. Armed Forces, I applaud your recognition of veterans. However, the lauding of women is in many cases sorely misplaced. In the last 18 years I have repeatedly seen female military members exempted from the normal demands of a job or position because they are mothers. My husband deploys monthly, sometimes multiple times a month, for anywhere from 4-15 days. He was deployed when I was days away from delivering one of our children. He has deployed when one of our children was very ill and then was hospitalized. He has deployed when I was ill and my mother had to fly out to care for our children. At the same time, mothers who hold the exact same job have not deployed at all, or maybe once every six months because they have children. Their husbands are not expected to care for their children. This is just one example of many. Women fought for the right to be allowed in the military, to be treated equally. However, far too many of them do not want to serve equally.

US education

Our nation's education system has to change. We spend about $13,000 per student a year and we rank toward the bottom compared to other industrial nations. The economy was and should have been the main focus for voters, but education of our youth hopefully is as important. The federal government needs to abolish the Department of Education, and states should determine how and what our students learn. Also, teachers unions have to be abolished because they have too much power. Teachers should teach and not be distracted because of politics. We need to end tenure for all teachers and let them be accountable for what they are teaching and how well their students do. School choice has to be an option for everyone.

Library books

A concerned citizen spoke at the Cape City Council meeting on Monday, October 17, about books in the children's and teen departments of Cape's Public Library that he felt were inappropriate for young people. A large number of Cape residents were in attendance to support the speaker, and he received a large applause when he concluded his presentation. Since he stated that he'd complained to the library and no action had been taken, I'd like to know if the city council is addressing the concerns of these citizens. Have the offensive books been removed from the library shelves?