Speak Out A 11/28/01

Wise decision

DEMOCRATS WOULDN'T be happy no matter what stance Attorney General John Ashcroft took on the doctor-assisted suicides. If he came out in favor of it they would accused him of doing so to kill the elderly or minorities. He comes out against it, and they accuse him of lying. I think he made a wise decision.

Holiday spirit

I'D LIKE to point out that maybe if Barb Dirnberger or her supporters had actually read a Harry Potter book or seen the movie, they would have noticed that not only does the wizardry school have Christmas break, it also has Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree. If they're all so evil, what are they celebrating?

Wholesome living

OH, NO, not Harry Potter. Let's take away all that evil children's literature. No more fairy tales. Only Bible stories. No more harmful, influential television or movies. Entertainment or the nightly news are just harmful and corrupting our kids. They might become tools of the devil. Maybe we should censor everything in society so our kids can grow up to be the next Taliban. Good, wholesome living will then ensue.

Get rid of them

A FEW days ago I would have endorsed your editorial about the need to improve traffic signals. However, I have since converted to anarchism and thus call for their complete abolition.

Union could save it

I CAN'T understand someone saying Speak Out is a "never-ending source of amusement." Speak Out is a very serious forum for public discussion of scientific, religious, educational, governmental and other complex topics. There never has been anything humorous published in Speak Out except for the posing-as-a-worker, planted antiunion comment, obviously made by a member of Dana Corp.'s management who must have thought we were so dumb we'd believe he was a member of the oppressed working class who opposed banding together to try to get better wages and working conditions. If Dana moves its local operation, it will be because of globalization of the economy. Unionization may be the only thing that can save it.

Hassle for veterans

EVA DUNNE hit the nail on the head when she said that there's too much red tape involved for the veterans to get their benefits. I had a sister in Florida who served in the Air Force. She was told all her records were burned. I have a brother who served in two branches, and he can't get help because the hassle is so great.

Men are abused too

IN REGARD to the domestic-abuse law that Morley Swingle is so happy about: I find it awful that men are always vilified in these matters. They fail to realize that women are often the perpetrator of domestic violence. Men are more usually silent about this. They don't turn it in out of embarrassment that their wife is abusing them. In fact, if you got seven years for every slap, my ex-wife would spend two lifetimes in jail. I'm tired of men being vilified by this. I know some men abuse women. However, it should be plainly pointed out that some men are also victimized. This vilifying of men needs to stop. Men are also abused.

A silly list

THERE'S NO way you can make a list of presidents rated by their moral character. Their moral character is determined by what they do in private, not what they do in public. That's just silly.

Fix those signals

I'M CALLING about the editorial about the traffic signals on Broadway. It mentioned that there's no traffic on Broadway. That may be true at times, but if you try it at 10 o'clock every night, there's traffic. When I travel Broadway after 10 o'clock, I've gotten stopped five out of six lights for no reason with no traffic crossing at these intersections. The timer changed for no reason. I can't say it favors the Broadway traffic. It depends on the time of day. Fix the lights.