Our children here at home sacrifice, too

9/21/2003

Many of our sons and daughters are in harm's way in foreign lands in a daily life or death struggle.

Our children at home are making another sacrifice, their futures. Because of budget cuts and failed levies, our children are facing a future of diminished educational opportunities. There will be no sports, art, band, or chorus. Studies have proven that these courses have a positive impact on a child's ability to learn, develop positive attitudes, and avoid drugs.

Many of our schools in this area are in trouble. The government is making demands on our schools and at the same time cutting back on the means to implement those demands.

Federal and state funding has been cut to schools and colleges across the country. Why? Because the children of the middle class are expendable. The wealthy and privileged will always to able to send their children to private schools and colleges, regardless of their grades.

We put our trust in public schools and colleges to educate our children. It is time that we, the mighty middle class, stand up and join together and fight back. Our children are not disposable, either in war or dead-end jobs. They will not be left behind. We must make the sacrifices necessary for their future and ours. We demand that their future be bright with the promise of a quality education.

We, the vast majority, need to fight against the state and federal governments' neglect and indifference regarding our children's education. Our children have only one chance to get an education. This is our time to stand up and fight for them. Forget the petty excuses. We must all unite as a mighty army and vote for our school levies. It is now a matter of honor and courage.

VIRGINIA L. BRYANT

Swanton

A recent letter from a homosexual male referred to the acceptance of same-sex marriages as “progress” among other attributes. Progress toward what? Obviously progress toward extinction of the centuries of tradition regarding marriage as the union of one man and one woman as the basic unit of normal society - the cement and lifeblood of what holds society together.

“My boyfriend and I still want to get married,” he writes. Well! Isn't that “just darling”? To this point in history, a legal marriage has involved both a bride and a groom. Have this writer and his “significant other” decided who will play which role during the marriage ceremony (if it comes to pass, God forbid!)? How will the guests at the wedding recognize the bride, for example? Will “she” be wearing a corsage or perhaps a dress, panty hose, and high-heeled shoes?

It's totally beyond my comprehension how “straight” society is expected to observe this perversion of normalcy without experiencing complete revulsion. And, if this reaction constitutes bigotry (as the homosexuals insist), then I'm extremely pleased to be a bigot.

The gay/lesbian community will never succeed in forcing the heterosexual community to accept homosexuality as natural and normal despite all the assistance currently contributed to their program by the liberal press for whatever ultimate reason. Homosexuals will continue to be tolerated as in the past, but living together in legally established marriages equivalent to heterosexual marriages? Never! Not even in this benighted land in which formerly cherished values have largely disappeared.

LOREN L. PACE

Findlay

This solution is so simple, I'm surprised no one has thought of it before now.

Let's send all U.S. senators and all U.S. congressmen to Iraq. Let's dress them in full military uniforms and work them at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week - this alone would do most of them in!

Because most of them are accustomed to hot air anyway, perhaps the 120-degree plus temperatures won't bother them. We'd let them get shot at on a daily basis just to keep them on their toes. And we'd feed them MRE rations twice a day for good measure.

By the way, we'll send George along (on a military transport, not Air Force One) as their leader and head speechmaker!

Then let's sit back and see how soon our troops are sent home!

NINA BARONE

Holland-Sylvania Road

The Sept. 12 editorial, “An opportunity lost,” indicated that new board member, Bill Carroll, does not pay taxes to support Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority operations because he lives in Wood County. That is correct.

However, you incorrectly implied that Lucas County residents do pay taxes to support port authority operations. The port authority does not use any taxpayer dollars for administrative or operational costs. Port authority operations and administration are funded solely by revenues generated by operations.

Approximately 56 percent of the port authority levy funds are used to support the activities of the Regional Growth Partnership. The other 44 percent are used strictly for capital improvement projects such as new docks at the Port of Toledo or new tarmac at Toledo Express Airport.

The taxpayers of Lucas County can be confident that their tax dollars are being used to fund construction projects that improve port authority operations and contribute to the local economy.

JAMES H. HARTUNG

President

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority

Americans of all political persuasions are weary of these unelected, imperious, liberal federal judges who take it upon themselves to change the U. S. Constitution by the way they rule. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore stated that in order for him to comply with that federal judge's order, he would have to violate his oath to the U. S. Constitution and the Constitution of the state of Alabama. With federal judges attacking the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, and other cases too numerous to mention, we have much judicial tyranny besieging us.

The Ten Commandments are the basis on which our western law was founded. The Ten Commandments are located above the justices' bench in the Chamber of the U.S. Supreme Court and two other places in the court.

As the court opens its sessions the pronouncement is made: “God save the United States and this honorable court.” Whoa there! If it's OK for the U.S. Supreme Court, then what business does an unelected federal judge have trying to throw his weight around telling a state chief justice what he cannot have in his own judicial office building?

If it isn't the federal judges trying to remove every vestige of Christianity in the public square, then it is someone like that atheist author Kimberly Blaker spewing vicious lies about Dr. James Dobson, one of the finest Christian psychologists in the country. What she falsely accused Dr. Dobson of doing is the very thing Dr. Dobson warned is the homosexual agenda in the California schools and elsewhere.

When they can't think of anything honest, fair, or constructive to say, they call us Christians radicals. Christ's first followers were considered radicals and we remain committed to the truth.

MARILYN M. PRYKA

Maumee

Some months ago I sent a contribution to the national committee of my political party, something I do every year. Since then I have received volumes of mail from the party and every candidate running for re-election asking for further contributions, to the point where my original contribution has been eaten up by postage.

I thought I was helping my party candidates win next year's election, but now I think I was really subsidizing the postal service with my contributions.

Maybe the next time I should just send them a sheet of stamps.

JOHN J. BURKHART

Eleanor Avenue