Letters -- July 19, 2002

By Journal Times readers

Friday, July 26, 2002 12:10 AM CDT

"Until we get more courageous citizens who are willing to run Bill Proxmire-style grassroots campaigns ... the spending spree will continue unabated." -- Keith R. Deschler

A game to be won

Our public schools in this Age of Me (self-esteem/pride) have more students on the honor roll than enrolled. The race to below-average in education and other places is accelerating until our present culture accepts sports without a winner.

Perhaps Bud Selig, Commissioner of Baseball, should have flipped a coin, for the winner of the All Star Game rather than the Midas Celebration posing as a spectacle of competition.

The Chicago Cubs should work this "no-win" goal, for all, into the National League's Central Division of professional baseball.

The concept of glory in a tie, not-winning is only a new Western culture concept.

I hope our nation has no enemies in the New Times of Mediocrity and Compassion. The American folk need a reality check in domestic and foreign affairs starting with the return of an old but steady concept, winning things.

Baseball is not "time out" or banned tag ball, yet. It is a game meant to win, not tie.

Gene Malone

7417 5th Ave. Kenosha

A mean-spirited argument

The Golden Rule, along with the others, was given to us by our savior.

No atheist gave us the Golden Rule.

Hearing these kind and gracious words from the messiah ought to bring forth words of thanksgiving from our lips and heart.

This good verse is in the gospel of Matthew 7:12. Read the whole chapter for an honest understanding.

Please don't do what Catherine Biskett did (Letters to the Editor, July 15) in taking the verse out of context and making a pretext -- that is, the mark of deception and deceit, pure and simple -- going even further and using a false text.

She made application to these teenagers in trouble. How mean can you get? Using God's word to serve yourself and your own selfish motives ought to bring shame to you.

Ron Peterson

1206 Kenilworth Ave., Racine

The tax and spend philosophy

Thank you, John Haumersen, for your blunt indictment of the "tax, spend, and elect" philosophy which has dominated the executive and legislative branches of our state government for far too many years.

Unfortunately, even the very modest trim in expenditures advocated by Haumersen (2.6 percent, or $1.2 billion) will be very difficult to enact given the dominance of special interests lobbying for their favorite programs at every turn.

Another major reason for the rapid escalation in the size, scope and cost of state government is that more and more incumbents run for reelection unopposed.

This fall, five of 11 state Senate seats and 46 of 99 Assembly seats will have no challengers listed on the ballot. This means that these incumbent legislators will have no one publicly challenging their voting records in favor of raising spending up to triple the inflation rate, as well as opposing any meaningful tax relief that would take Wisconsin out of the top 10 highest taxed states in America.

Until we get more courageous citizens who are willing to run Bill Proxmire-style grassroots campaigns -- long on legwork and shaking hands, with a tight-fisted campaign spending philosophy not beholden to special interests or to government funding -- the spending spree will continue unabated.

We cannot afford to grow government and detract from our financial prosperity and political liberty.

Keith R. Deschler

3224 1/2 Meachem Road

Editor's note: Deschler is the Libertarian candidate for state representative in the 62nd Assembly District.

More reasons to love Racine

Why do I love Racine and the community in which I live? It is a question that is asked often by folks who either do not live here or can't figure out why anyone would choose to live here.

I have found two new reasons(above and beyond my usual five to 10 reasons that I spout off proudly) this summer. The fountain at the bottom of Sam's Parkway and Sixth Street and the North Beach Oasis.

Kudos to the city for developing a fountain where people of all types can gather and cool down or simply enjoy watching children running around and playing. Daily and throughout the evening the fountain is packed with little ones and their parents enjoying a very urban gathering.

I have never seen so many multi-ethnic people gathered together in one spot in Racine. It is just simply magnificent. Thank you for creating a functional fountain and not one that we all look at as simply a piece of art.

Kudos to the Curtin family for recognizing a much-neglected asset this city has -- the beach!

North Beach is one of the most beautiful stretches of sand on Lake Michigan. The last few years have been really tough because of pollution and a general lack of interest in the pavilion. The Curtin family has painted, scrubbed, polished and revived a building that connects with many of our childhoods. They serve food, drinks, and you can even get a nice cold one at the end of a long beach filled day.

There are more people at the beach these days than there has been in 10 years. The Curtin family has been and continues to be dedicated to the improvement of this city. Thank you for your efforts.

If you haven't taken a trip to the fountain or beach this summer, it is only half over -- just do it!

I am so proud to live in Racine, and these new additions are the first of many more great things to come.

Kelly Salazar

Martha Merrell's Bookstore,

312 Sixth Street

No place to go

With all the problems of this world today, wouldn't it be a shocker if when we die we found there were only two places to go and earth was hell and some would have no place to go?

Loosen up.

Cecil B. Metz

1032 Montclair Drive, Racine

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