Speakout 2/5

I thought sidewalks were supposed to be walked on, not vehicles parked on so people would have to walk around them, it's very dangerous. Especially for people 70 and 80 years old that are walking.

It's great to be a Portageville Bulldog. It's great to be a Portageville Bulldog. Once again, we stomped your sports panel. Those losers couldn't predict a cat in a bag. Get a new bunch of predictors. They were all unanimous about beating Portageville Saturday night. Coach Bidewell has the best defense in southeast Missouri. Have a good day if you've got the guts to put this in the paper.

What has happened to human kindness and love for our brothers and sisters in our society today? I went to visit a friend yesterday because I was concerned because I hadn't seen this person out in awhile. Come to find out, this person had been laid up since the middle of December and unable to get up and take care of herself and she lives alone. No one had been over to check on this lady. Her best friend that lives next door to her had not offered a meal, had not come to see her, not offered to call, her own family had not visited. Are people so mean and ruthless these days that they cannot help one another, even if we don't know them that well? People do not know their neighbors anymore. I am ashamed to say I don't know these people very well, but I was concerned when I saw that this lady was not coming out of her home and did go check on her. I know she works, but yet none of her co-

workers have been to see her. We've got to get back to our roots. We were raised to treat each other as we would want to be treated. I know if I were to become ill and laid up, people would come and check on me and see me. There are Christians all over this town, or claim to be Christians, that are not taking care of their own brothers and sisters.

Clueless on politics

In response to Richard Swift's letter in Your View, Mr. Swift is a perfect example of someone who sees what he wants to see. Network news does indeed have Hillary Clinton on a lot, as well as Barack O'Bama. But along with those candidates, I have seen huge amounts of coverage on strong candidates Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Chuck Hagel. If Mr. Swift thinks any accredited news agency will spend much time on Sam Brownback, who does not have a remote chance at even the VP spot, he is clueless on national Republican politics.

The only benefit that I can see that these soldiers are getting out of serving in Iraq is a final resting place in some national cemetery such as Jefferson Barracks or the one in Bloomfield or spending the rest of their lives in a hospital. They sure don't get any other benefits.