Fighting illiteracy a worthy cause
I read the article “Reading Intervention” and applaud the ISU students and what they are doing. I volunteer at the Sisters of Providence Educational and Family Services tutoring adults in reading and GED skills. If you look up the statistics on illiteracy in the U.S. you will find the percentage of functionally illiterate adults is staggering (between 20 and 40 percent).
Functionally illiterate means that they cannot follow doctors written directions or fill out employment applications by themselves. There is a serious lack of tutors and information for these people who may want to improve their standard of living by learning to read and getting their GED.
Again, I applaud what is being done for the school-aged children, but something must be done for the adults that lacked this type of help when they were in school.
— Ron Horndasch
Terre Haute
Obama just wants to become dictator
As I read the Opinion section each day, I have decided that my opinions are about as good as any, perhaps better. Many opinions that make the paper are to one extreme or another. Many are a waste of ink and a few are very good and well thought out.
I have come to the conclusion that most of mine are correct because they are shared by so many people that I come in contact with each day and the fact that I’m near 70 years old.
You see, at 70, or at least in my case, I have a large family, many friends and until just recently I was still working so I got to meet many folks from many different walks of life.
Going back to age 70 means that I have been around awhile and have seen many men attempt to perform as president of these United States of America. A few were almost adequate, some were a complete disaster (Jimmy Carter) and now we have Barack Hussein Obama. This man is a smug, self-centered, self-serving, egotistical, would-be dictator of a one-world government.
He is in love with himself. I have never heard anyone use I, I, I, me, me (ego trip) when speaking and talking about his party, Congress or our government. He never indicates that he may be working with a collective group or team. It’s always as if he’s already a dictator or king.
He’s a mere puppet having his strings pulled by a well-orchestrated, devious and well-financed group, who, like Obama, dislike America, what America stands for and Americans in general.
In my opinion again, this group, with the help of the charismatic Obama, plans to bring this great country down to or below the level of a third world socialist country with Obama as the supreme ruler.
Everything Obama is doing now with health care, cap and trade, the economy and borrowing huge sums of money from (Red) China, etc. is just a ruse, a smoke and mirrors trick to cover up what he’s really trying to accomplish. Again, a socialist type one-world government with himself as one of the supreme rulers.
In closing, I want to say that I love this country and I wish that all of the above were untrue, but that’s the conclusion I’ve come to.
— William P. “Ranger Bill” Thiel
Terre Haute
Money can’t solve all of society’s problems
Concerning a recent letter by Gary Daily …
Congratulations, Mr. Daily, you have reached a very high honor. You have reached the very top of the egotism hogwash so popular with “real” Democrats.
There are many approaches to politics: liberal Democratic and fiscal conservative (Republican) are the two I will address here.
Your approach (liberal Democrat) is the one that assumes all problems can be solved by throwing money at them. Of course, the money you are throwing belongs to all “real” Americans. Some of those “real” Americans are young children, some not even born yet. But who cares? We are going to take their money and put them in debt for a lifetime. Of course, there is a reward for “real” Democrats. They buy some votes so they can stay in office to keep hammering away their beliefs. Well, Mr. Daily, there are a lot of “real” Americans (both Democrats and Republicans) that are fed up with this approach (refer to the Massachusetts election). A Republican is elected there, wow!
The fiscal conservative (“real” Republican) approach looks at things much differently. Let's try not to bankrupt the country. How about doing something we can afford without bleeding the country dry?
I know that liberals cringe at this approach. The job situation, affordable health care and terrorism in this country are very real problems. But just throwing money at the first two problems is not the answer.
Of course, the current occupant of the White House does not even acknowledge that we have a “terrorist problem”, so he won't have to solve that little problem. Keep up the good work, Mr. Daily. Keep pounding your head on the wall, pound, pound, pound …
— Joe DeLorme
Clay City
