Your "Exxon excess" editorial was correct. There was no surprise in the
reversal by the Alabama Supreme Court of the $3.5 billion jury verdict.
One would expect such a ruling from a Supreme Court "most of whom were
elected with the help of millions of dollars contributed to their
campaigns" by Alabama's corporate elite.
I am sure your editorial played well to the country club crowd, but the
clumsy "hand in the cookie jar" analogy flies in the face of logic and
legal precedent. Bank robbers don't go free by returning stolen money, nor
should cheaters in business go unpunished. Exxon was found guilty of
swindling Alabama out of $87 million.
Alabama has forever been a "cesspool" for fraud, as evidenced by the
Monsanto mess in Anniston. Punitive damages hold accountable and punish
those who cheat, steal or defraud our citizens.
How much is too much for a company with year 2000 earnings of $232
billion and a net income of $17 billion? The verdict was only 1.5 percent
of the company's 2000 revenue or slightly more than a slap on the wrist.
Exxon has been in more than the cookie jar.
Jim Thompson
Mountain Brook
A taxpayer sets different agenda:
Regarding the goals for 2003 listed in the Dec. 29 paper, I read them
all as goals to take more money from the people of Alabama. So, with this
in mind, here are some goals I would like to see prior to me handing over
more money to our state and local governments:
1. One year in which there are no reports of mismanagement and/or
wasteful spending by a local or state governmental agency.
2. A removal of the politicians' slush i.e., discretionary funds at the
state and local levels.
3. A 25 percent reduction in the administrative bureaucracy in the
public school system, with 25 percent being only a beginning figure, not
one to be reached in three, five or 10 years.
4. No public money for the doomed dome, which was voted down by the
people and is still being planned and funded by the people's money. (Just
a reminder to the politicians: Any and all money you spend is the people's
money.)
5. Any politician who generates a proposal which in his mind would be
so beneficial to the people that it must have the people's money spent on
it must first place 50 percent of his salary assigned to the proposal as a
sign of good faith and belief in the idea.
Only after these goals are met should we be willing to consider a tax
increase. Once these goals are met, the intense need for reform which we
continually hear about may not be as needed.
Gary Milligan
Riverside
New priorities needed for 2003:
With respect to The News and its liberal agenda for Alabama in 2003, I
suggest a different order of political priority.
First, reform the ballot. It should be a list of Web sites, not a list
of persons. A qualified Web site would represent a qualified person,
complete with platform. When politics becomes the competition of ideas,
big money won't win the elections.
Second, reform the constitution. Yet another amendment is needed. Voter
initiative would obviate the convention. Anybody can write a proposal. A
proposal becomes a proposition and goes to the reformed ballot only if it
gets enough signatures on a petition.
Third, reform taxation. It is more important that we the people get to
elect our taxes than it is for us to elect politicians. Only the people in
plebiscite should be authorized to raise a tax.
Stanley Nance
Homewood
Would blacks fare better with Lott?:
After viewing the Trent Lott interview on BET, I'm not sure if
African-Americans should be happy or sad at his resignation. Lott almost
became an advocate for African-Americans. He said he supported affirmative
action across the board and that, if he had it to do over, he would
support the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. He apologized over and over,
acknowledged what he said was wrong and pledged to do better.
Sure, some say it was just hot air and Lott only repented because his
back was against the wall. This could be true. But Lott did make these
statements, and he could have been held accountable. He would have had to
live up to what he said on BET.
Now, Bill Frist is the new Senate majority leader. He is a
neo-Republican, smiles a lot and says all the right things. However, one
has to wonder if this senator from Tennessee will do anything to heal
racial ills. After all, Lott's feet could have been held to the fire. The
same can't be said for Frist.
Don Carlisle
College Hills
Trotting out race for campaign 2004:
Campaign 2004 has begun. Without a clue as to a hint of an agenda and
in a frantic search to become relevant as 2004 approaches, the Democrats
have reached deep into their bag of campaign schemes.
Just how frantic and how deep down they reached can only be judged by
that which they finally dredged from the bag. Racism. Yep. Out has come
"racism," all dusted off, Lott-tested and ready to ignite.
It isn't going to be pretty. But what else are those without a clue
going to do?
Armond "Si" Simmons
Pell City
Yemen tragedy and price of peace:
The Baptist medical missionaries killed in Yemen were always very
practical people. If you were going to be around for a while, they would
want to know your blood type and what you wanted them to do with you.
For Dr. Martha Myers and Bill Koehn, it was to join two other American
doctors who came to Yemen in 1947 and never left. Their tragic deaths are
a reminder that the war for peace also has its casualties.
I was in Yemen from 1987 to 1990. Humanitarian workers and missionaries
have always been safe in Yemen. They have been afforded the protection and
sponsorship of the government. More importantly, they have been given the
protection of the local tribes and the people they serve. The tribal code
that would normally protect them from harm does not apply in this new
Islamic radicalism. It is in a sense a breakdown of Yemeni culture and a
dishonor on the tribe of Jibla.
The missionaries in Yemen were aware of the dangers but decided to stay
because of their devotion to the people of Yemen. The remaining
missionaries in Yemen have not evacuated, and I suspect they would not
want to abandon their friends buried on the hillside of Jibla.
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