Luther Millsaps lived with commitment

When Luther Millsaps died Tuesday, Tupelo and all of Mississippi lost one of its giants. Our region of the state has been blessed with many visionaries, and Luther would be among the top of any such list.

After working for Bell Systems – the “phone company” as he called it – for more than 37 years, Luther retired and spent the rest of his life making our lives better.

No one loved our city more than Luther, and he would tell anyone within hearing range, “There are no apprenticeships in Tupelo.” A devout Christian, he was deeply involved in the United Methodist Church on the local, state, regional and national levels. An avid Rotarian, he embodied the slogan “Service Above Self.” He was a leader in the Republican Party when very few Northeast Mississippians knew that party existed, but he was an outspoken proponent and practitioner of bipartisanship.

His true legacy, however, will be the hundreds of Habitat for Humanity homes now standing in Mississippi. Luther was the driving force in our state for Habitat starting in 1985 and then devoted the rest of his life to that organization. He took to heart the Gospel’s message: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Luther Millsaps was a great American.

Danny McKenzie

Tupelo

It’s the Money Party ruling in Washington

About 50 years ago, because of lying politicians, our nation became involved in a war with the excuse, “We need to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.”

After wasting 58,000 American lives, our resources and a huge chunk of money, the U.S. armed forces left like a whipped cur with its tail between its legs. Today, we are heavily in debt to a communist nation, China, who, being very prosperous, is busy building thousands of miles of high speed railways and highways in their country, creating many jobs for their people. They also have future plans for building 50,000 miles of high speed railways in Europe, bringing more thousands of jobs to Chinese workers.

In the meantime, what is being done with the money we borrowed from China? Well, it seems that it enables us to continue using high explosives in the destruction of other countries, which our politicians now claim is “protecting our freedoms and way of life.” But we really got in there in the first place because of lying politicians.

Isn’t it a bit odd that there is plenty of money to destroy other countries, killing thousands of innocent people, including wedding parties. But a health plan for our own people? Oh, there’s no money for that! There’s even talk of cutting Social Security and Medicare, and yet there’s still plenty of funds to be burned in outer space, searching for evidence of past life, while we’re unable to care for the ones still trying to breathe on Planet Earth.

For over a year, the 535 high IQs that we elected to Congress have been fighting because the president mentioned wanting a health plan for everyone. Somehow, one can’t help wondering why there was no hesitation when the greed heads and fat cats of Wall Street needed trillions of bailout money because their crooked shenanigans were about to drown them? The corporate toadies of Congress started shoveling immediately. There is no two-party political system. In Washington there’s only one party. The Money Party with two wings fighting each other. Nero is fiddling, while Rome burns.

Lamar Wray

Eupora Itawamba school board thought it was punishing

The buzz word for today without a doubt appears to be the word “extreme.” There seems to be an instantaneous practice of public servants and political activists jumping to extreme measures in attempts to escape any risk of losing what little integrity they may have when it comes to confronting social problems.

In so doing, innocent victims of social injustice should no longer sit back and let this continue. Your silence gives them your approval.

One example is the extreme measure the Itawamba County Board of Education recently took in deciding not to sponsor the 2010 high school prom because two gay females wanted to attend as a couple with one wearing a tuxedo. That decision was not based on the possibility of distraction as was stated by a school board official, but rather on outcries of those who think they are somehow punishing those two students.

As a result, the remaining innocent students who choose to live a respectable “straight” lifestyle have now been robbed of what is often for them a once-in-a-lifetime event intended to create fond memories.

Question: Does anyone involved in the decision that was made think that canceling the prom is going to make that gay couple turn straight, or that those two young ladies are the only gays in the school? The decision that was made is unjust to all the innocent students who have been robbed of their high school prom memories.

Now don’t take my words the wrong way. By no means am I condoning a gay and lesbian lifestyle. The Holy Scriptures clearly condemn it in God’s own words: “It is an abomination ... ” It is destructive to the moral fabric of our social structure as well as a danger to health. However, if there’s one thing our nation’s leaders should have learned a long time ago, it is the underlying truth that you cannot legislate morality.

Even God himself respects the gift of free choice he offers to us along with the disclosure of negative consequences resulting from bad choices we make.

Rev. Steve Powell

Booneville

Rehiring Hall slaps all honest Tupelo officers

As a third generation police officer (I served in Memphis) and grandson of Tupelo's first police chief and founder of the Tupelo Police Department, I think the reinstatement of Robert Hall to any position in law enforcement is a direct slap in the face to any honest, hardworking police officer.

I think it calls into serious question the judgment of both our mayor and the appointed chief of police. Not to mention, I would think this action would give any police officer found guilty of malfeasance or dereliction of duty a precedent to fight any dismissal for cause.

Terry Blair Carr

Tupelo Democrats held accountable for debt

In regard to Mr. Strickland’s letter of March 7, Bush was in office less than nine months when 9/11 occurred. In the previous eight years there were numerous acts of terrorism, including the twin towers bombing, the two embassy bombings and the attack on the Cole. In the 1970s after Watergate, the Democrats stripped the CIA of much of its investigative ability. During Clinton’s two terms the military was greatly downsized.

Republicans pushed for investigations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the institutions that caused the financial meltdown, as early as 2004-05, but were blocked by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, both Democrats.

Both parties have their faults. Mark Foley (R) was a disgrace, as is Congressman Massa (D) at present. Gerry Studds, Barney Frank and Bill Clinton, all Democrats, might be added to the list.

I will not put the “blame and shame” label on the Democratic voters as Mr. Strickland did on the Republicans; however, it seems they used poor judgment in voting for a presidential candidate that was a friend of, and started his political career in the home of Bill Ayers, a Weather Underground bomber, attended Rev. Wright’s church for 20 years and heard nothing wrong, and had the most liberal voting record of all the 100 senators.

The promised health care negotiations on CSPAN occurred behind closed doors. Numerous enticements were offered to Democrats to secure their vote on the health care bill.

At present they are behind closed doors twisting arms, offering “goodies,” and plotting how to pass the bill by reconciliation. Obama has added more debt in 14 months than Bush did in eight years.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

J.L. Eaton

Dumas Health care as sought would harm business

Very soon our elected officials in Washington will take a health care vote that would devastate small business. Not only does the plan spend $900 billion that we don’t have, but it’s paid for on the backs of small business. This is not the reform small business asked for – we need reform that lowers our health care costs, and the bill Congress is trying to jam through simply does not do that.

Instead, they are forcing a bill with a new $6.7 billion annual tax on small businesses’ health insurance plans – not big business or unions (they were exempted). They single out the already-struggling construction industry by forcing a new healthcare mandate on firms with more than 5 employees and $250K payroll. And they are now working to force small businesses to pay for insurance for all part-time employees as well. How do any of these provisions help a small business afford healthcare or create jobs, especially in this economy?

So, as state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, I have to ask: Who is really working for small business? As we watch Congress ignore our protests and pursue this bill, it is up to us to let them know they are pursuing policies that threaten the livelihood of Mississippi’s small business owners and everyone who works for them.

As far as I’m concerned, any member of Congress who votes for this legislation is voting against small business, and you can bet we’ll remember that on Election Day.

Ron Aldridge, State Director

National Federation of Independent Business/Mississippi

Jackson

Attention motorists, safety saves lives

The cold weather is vanishing and the clouds are parting as the sun begins to beat down on the highways and byways of our wonderful state. I would like to remind motorists that the motorcycles are making their annual emergence from their cocoons (garages).

Please be aware of bikers while you are driving. We are but a split second from meeting our maker at any time. Watch for us, we are there in your blind spots. We are there when you have a cell phone up to your ear. We are there when you are looking at that text message you just got. When you think you have time to pull out in front of us, think again. Bikers have as much right to the highway as you do. Please watch for us. We would all like to be able to go home to our families at the end of a day.

We had several horrific accidents in North Mississippi in 2009. My prayer is that we avoid such instances in 2010.

Drive safely. Remember, driving a motor vehicle is a privilege not a right. The life you save might be mine.

Rob Gardner

Elder – Bikers for Christ

Tupelo

Will spoke disingenuously in his March 12 column

As I read the Daily Journal editorial page on March 12, I noticed a column written by George Will, and since my point of view is usually diametrically opposed to his, I felt that it was worthy of casual perusal and nothing more.

But, upon investigation, I noticed that it was a diatribe on the probity of expressing and conveying the message in the State of the Union address. There were words in his article that sent me scurrying, more than once, to my favorite book, the dictionary. I guess he was writing for the elite; however, most of them will miss the exactness of the message he was trying to convey.

The gist and tone of his message was a disingenuous plea to stop with the wordy messages and the theatrical enhancement of State of the Union settings. These messages are not only to inform the Congress and the American people of the State of the Union; the conflated setting of Congress, the judiciary along with an audience of exemplary and heroic people can sometimes tug at the heart string with the mere mention of heroic action or tragedy.

With half of the Congress applauding every time the president stated that something was supposed to be good and noteworthy, we should have remembered that those who applauded helped to create the message. Those who sit silently are the ones who feel powerless to convey any message on this night. The judiciary, traditionally do not judge on this night.

Justice John Roberts has always displayed a strongly partisan conservative point of view. Was it inadequate knowledge or partisanship when Roberts tried to erroneously administer the oath of office for President Obama, or could it be because President Obama voted against his confirmation when he was a Senator? It was great to see them squirm in discomfort at being criticized for making a bad decision about treating corporations the same as people or a group of people. Corporations are a form of business entity. They are not people.

Arvin Mosley

Tupelo