Tired, and for good reason

Tired, and for good reason
EDITOR:
I am a 61 year old, blue collar worker who has spent all of my life in the Youngstown area, except for the 7 years I spent in the service, and I am tired. Tired of listening to the right wing Christian Republicans tell me that George Bush is a moral man. There must be a vast difference between your Bible and mine. I missed the chapter and verse on "love they neighbor... unless you get the chance to annihilate him."
Tired of listening to people calling talk shows, telling me that their 1975 Ford, Chevy or Chrysler was a piece of junk and that is why they are driving a Honda, Nissan or Toyota. Wake up. That was a long time ago. American car companies have come along way since then. Actually, there are a number of American cars that have a higher quality than their foreign counterparts. Those that don't are so close in quality that there is only a fraction of a point difference.
Tired of listening to "Social Security will be gone in a few years." If our government would quit favoring the wealthy and lift the ceiling on Social Security deductions, there would be enough money to last until the year 2070. Yes, it would probably have to be tweaked again in the future.
Tired of hearing about "free trade." There is no such thing. It is costing us our middle class. It is a fact that most of the bills our government runs up are paid by the middle class. Who in the future will pay these bills, when we are working for minimum wage.
Tired of the Democratic Party doing nothing about anything. Most of my friends and myself are moderate Democrats, And, yes, for you Republicans out there, there is such a thing as moderate Democrats. But the party is losing its base and can't seem to do anything to get it back.
Tired of bankruptcy judges in this country not having enough guts to tell companies like Delphi, who would like to dump their pensions and health care, that bankruptcy includes the whole company, not just the part they no longer want.
Sick and tired of knowing that my children and grandchildren will never have it as good as I have. That is a terrible injustice.
THOMAS COLLINS
Youngstown
Put a lid on 'cop in a box'
EDITOR:
I am a 14-year-old freshman at Jackson-Milton High School. Lately on the news, I have been hearing about how in the city of Girard they have made this new device called a "cop in a box." This camera takes a picture of every car that goes by and has a speed radar to see how fast they are going. If a person is speeding, the city can just mail the ticket to the person. I think this new camera is bad idea.
For example, let's say that you let your friend borrow your car. While your friend is driving your car, he goes by the school at fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit. The camera detects that the speed of the car is too high and takes a snap shot of the license plate number. Since it took a shot just of the license plate number, the city will trace the number back to your name and mail the ticket to you. You just got a ticket for your friend's senseless driving. So I'd saying that you should have a right to face your accuser and a "cop in a box" isn't exactly a person you can confront.
This punishment is unconstitutional. It says in the Constitution "all people are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law." The camera says you're automatically guilty because it's your car. I don't feel that it would be fair for me to receive a ticket for someone else's driving. Furthermore, all machines have their malfunctions, expensive or not. When the camera is taking the picture, the driver is totally unaware of it, and therefore can't refute his or her innocence at the time the incident occurs.
In the life of today, we always hear how the government is wasting valuable tax dollars on bad investments, such as the case with the rare gold coins here in Ohio. I think the solution to the problem of the speed camera is for the government to find money in their budget to put more patrol officers around the schools.
TRAVIS SHANKS
Lake Milton
A breath of fresh air
EDITOR:
A new law will be proposed soon in Ohio to ban smoking inside public places. I know that many states, including California, have already enacted this law, with some welcoming the new law and some terrible angry with it. I would like to show my support of this law.
In 2002, I took a vacation to the Santa Barbara area in California. A no-smoking ban was in place everywhere in the state. Growing up in the Mahoning Valley, I had been used to smoke in and out of restaurants and other public places, but this new experience of no smoking in public areas was a breath of fresh air. The no-smoking ban added to the freshness and healthy lifestyle of the West Coast lifestyle. While there, I cannot remember how many times I expressed to friends how I wished the smoking ban would become standard in Ohio.
Ohio is ranked in the top percentile of states with smokers. Adding that to the polluted air from the factories makes for a very unhealthy air system, but taking smoking out of public places would make for a healthier and happier Ohio.
The no-smoking ban would probably not be music to many residents' ears. I am a student at YSU and it seems like everyone walking around campus holds a cigarette in their hand. Many people will be upset if this law is passed, but to those of us who do not smoke, this law is long overdue. Finally, we nonsmokers will be able to go out to dinner or to a bar with friends and enjoy our night on the town without choking through the smoke or smelling like it for days after.
The bill has been brought to representatives in Ohio and will be brought to the polls in November for voters to make the decision. My fingers are crossed that this no-smoking policy will happen. When the time comes to vote, I will be against smoking in public facilities.
ELISSA GRUNDY
Cortland
Know your rights
EDITOR:
All parents and students should know that federal law requires schools to release students' names, addresses and phone numbers to military recruiters. Parents, however, can stipulate that their child's information not be divulged without parental consent.
Unfortunately, many schools fail to provide parents and students the actual opt-out forms or notices that must be filled out.
It is federal law that students or their parents can require written parental consent before schools release information to the military. Students 18 and over, can themselves opt to not allow this information to be given to the military.
You can choose war or peace. That is your constitutional right.
ARLINE SEKELY and SARA WEAVER
Salem
X The writers are members of the Columbiana Community Peacemakers
A breath of fresh air
EDITOR:
Has Washington stumbled on to a legal form of euthanasia called the Medicare prescription drug plan? If you over medicate or under medicate, the en result is usually the same.
Washington better watch out, or in a few years there won't be anyone to cross over the $300 million bridge to nowhere.
MARSHALL MARTIN
Berlin Center