Decorate fire hydrants

I SAW a story about folks in Madisonville, Ky., having a contest to design and paint fire hydrants in their downtown area in different colors and patterns. This would be a wonderful spruce-up project for our downtown, and tourists would love it. Imagine the fun kids would have decorating them.

Time to move on

SEPT. 11 has come and gone. Let's bury the dead. We've grieved and mourned for a year. Enough is enough. There are those of us who have lost loved ones in this past year. Let's move on. The news media are holding us hostage.

Paying a fair share

AS THE mother of two students attending SEMO, I couldn't believe the comment made by Dr. Roy Keller, assistant professor of mass communication, that the university should consider another tuition increase and that the students should be willing to pay their fair share. Just how much more does Keller expect these students to have to pay? I think two tuition increases ($23 more per credit hour than last year), parking permit increases, general fee increases and parking-ticket fine increases are more than enough for the average student to have to bear to help SEMO solve some of its financial problems. The focus should be on the overpaid administration and faculty. Thousands of dollars could be trimmed from the budget without making any other cuts if the people in these positions would be willing to pay their fair share.

Fair gauge of the arts

LET US look at the regional fairs within 50 miles. When we look at the events at these fairs, we will see if the people of Southeast Missouri do or don't want performing arts.

They're loose again

I AM very worried. The removal of the security door at the Missouri Capitol means the legislators will be able to get out.

False perceptions

I DISAGREE with Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell's assertion that the feds need to speed up, not slow down, the recruitment of veterans into the VA health-care program. Good and stable government rests on creating the illusion that problems are being addressed when in reality nothing is being done about them. For example, Missouri state pols do a good job of keeping peace and order by endlessly pontificating about solving confiscatory prescription-drug costs for the Show Me State's senior citizens with a smoke-and-mirrors, sham-and-shameful program. But good government is all about positive perceptions. Missouri's pols are masters at creating and perpetuating false ones.

Take a deep breath

TERRORISTS COMMIT the acts they do for many reasons. One is to get the government to overreact. Bush is going overboard, itching to bomb Iraq. The feds are arresting medical students because a waitress said she heard them say something about Sept. 11. When we overreact and when we put the nation on orange alert, that is what the terrorists want. Everyone needs to just take a deep breath. Bush needs to get his finger off the trigger.