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GOODINTENTIONSNOTENOUGH Hear no evil, see no evil seems to be a common
practice — it is human nature. Yet it has also been said that if you
change one thing in your life it just might ignite a fire into someone
else. After reading about someone riding a bicycle to work, I started
riding mine (weather permitting!). Their action changed my thinking and my
behavior. It opened up a possibility. “One thing,” I said to
myself, “just might change my life or someone else’s.” I
don’t know if riding my bike has altered anyone else’s
thinking, but I do know it changed mine.
What Dr. Sandra Steinberger is doing — and
Jeanne Townsend Handy’s caring enough to report on it — just
might enable more people to reexamine (and perhaps act on) the toxins we
are pouring into our ground and streams [see “Consider the
possibility,” Dec. 13]. It takes courage to look at changing how we
do things. How do we decide what is worth sticking our necks out? For some,
it is ensuring our home and nation is safe; for others, it is having a
sound economy. Anything beyond this survival thinking is often met with
fear and resentment. Yet, if you look at it with common sense, we must have
a livable planet before we can even think about securing our economy. Change for the sake of change is meaningless, but
change designed with the future in mind must be considered if we want to
survive. There are companies and individuals that are holding themselves to
a higher standard, truly caring for what we do to the earth and one
another, and they have reaped tremendous benefits, both financially and
spiritually. It takes more than good intentions to do this. It takes
action. Read up on how you can make a difference. Crawl out of your comfort
zone. Take a cloth bag to the grocery store. Use one less paper towel. Turn
your thermostat down. Lose the toxins. Drive smaller, eat lighter. Do it
all, or just do one thing. You just might change the world (or not). You
will never know until you try. Anne Logue Springfield
MEMORYOFANAPPARITION Regarding R.L. Nave’s story about the
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices [“Oops!” Dec. 13]: On my lunch
hours between February and May of 1982 I experienced a span of psychic
episodes. The first began at the site of the first post office. It began
when I read the sign and wondered what it was really like here in 1842. The flashback evolved as a misty apparition and scene
with an Andy Clyde lookalike (Clyde was a cowboy comedic player in 1940s
movies). He said, “Well, little lady, I’ll tell ya!”
Whereupon he stopped, filled his pipe and put the little cloth bag of
tobacco back in his leather vest pocket. Then, from his captain’s
chair, he told me how the furniture and pigeonholes were placed, as well as
his desk — all to the southwest portion of the room and behind where
he now sat. He said it was the best job he ever had and he stayed
on because he liked the people visiting! Then he snickered:
“It’s not right, the room upstairs. Wasn’t the front, but
the light and the outside view is better for the tourists.”
When I had to leave, he took my arm and walked with
me as far as Sixth and Monroe. Although he would not tell me his name, he
said I was the first person who could see and talk with him for a
“durn long time.” He did not want to leave the post office
— said he’d tried it and did not like it much so came back. I went back to my office and sketched him. After
work, I drove to the post office and asked for a history of the Springfield
post office. From the time span listed: He was Mr. Diller. Angels love you at Christmas, too. Dr. Mary L.W. Midden Springfield
WHYAMIAHYPOCRITE? With all due respect to Robert Huck, I have to ask
why it is so “left-wing,” “radical,” or even
“psychotic” for me to question our federal government
[“Letters,” Dec. 13]. I am left completely confused as to why I
am a “hypocrite” for questioning the Bush family’s
“loyalties.”
Sure, I admit that when Bill Clinton was president he
did some things, which I am not proud of, but, then again, even I have
“skeletons.” We all do. The point I have been trying to make is that, while
president, Clinton did not rack up the body count that George W. Bush has.
As far as I can remember, Clinton did not invade any sovereign nations. By
stark contrast, Mr. Bush has invaded two nations (so far), and Mr. Bush
seems to have his mind set on invading No. 3. Did American soldiers die under Clinton’s
watch? Probably. Soldiers die, every day, for myriad reasons. What I
don’t seem to remember is if Clinton ever gave any “voice of
doom” speeches, saying the Bush classic “We must attack
‘our’ enemies before they can attack us.” At least I
don’t remember Clinton ever saying this or any version thereof. Did Clinton ever even declare war during his two
terms? I can’t remember any. Can you? If Clinton ever declared war
and if Chelsea was of federal adult legal age at the time of the
declaration, then, yes, I would have expected Chelsea Clinton to be first
in line at the local recruitment office. Norman Hinderliter Springfield
OBAMAISANEMPTYSUIT As I was listening to Oprah Winfrey extol the
supposed virtues of presidential candidate Barack Obama, it struck me that
even in the weird world of politics, she made less sense than George
Clooney! First, note where Oprah’s queen-bee hive is
located. Harpo Studios dominates the neighborhood on West Washington
Street. It adjoins the downtown area of Chicago. So geographically, she is
right next to that warren of corruption with a worldwide reputation for
political and criminal corruption. Is Oprah totally oblivious to
what’s going on nearby? The Daley-Democrat political machine (and the Kelly
machine before) is so dominant that every elected official from Chicago is
a Democrat. From the garbage men to the mayor’s office, the rule is:
“We don’t want nobody that nobody sent.”
That political machine sent Obama to the state Senate
where he served for eight years without any notable accomplishment.
Certainly, Obama never expressed indignation about the corruption that has
brought Chicago the largest FBI office in the nation and U.S. Attorney Pat
Fitzgerald who has sent legions of crooks to the Graybar Hotel. This same machine later sent Obama to the U.S. Senate
when the Republicans slated an unelectable-for-anything Alan Keyes. Now
Obama is running for President of the USA. Oprah runs on about Obama’s fine
character and his promise of ideas for the future. Oprah is in a dream
world if she doesn’t get that Obama came out of the dung heap of the
most corrupt city in the most corrupt state of all. Not that he’s a
crook, but those insiders lifted up an empty suit. Among the unsavory characters that helped Obama is
the indicted Tony Rezko, who bought the empty lot next to the mansion Obama
wanted at an elevated price that allowed Obama to buy that mansion at a
bargain price. Obama’s legal firm also helped client Rezko put 14
projects of homes for the poor in Obama’s district with government
subsidies, which resulted in unlivable dumps. Obama says nothing about
them. Rezko has a radioactive reputation that Obama either didn’t
care about or he had such naïve judgment that we should all wonder
what else he could fall for. Oprah lives next to all this, but somehow it
apparently hasn’t sunk in. Jack Roeser Chairman Family Taxpayers Network Carpentersville
HOWABOUTLENDINGMEASCARF? The last couple of weeks I have seen the “Lend
a Hand” section of your paper. This is a really good idea. At this
time of year, between the weather and the holidays, this is important
information. Another topic: Apparently men are not macho enough. I
have shopped in five stores looking for a man’s scarf to replace one
I lost. Unless I want a sports-team scarf, I cannot buy a man’s
scarf. It just seemed funny. Patrick Johnopolos Springfield
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2007.
