[Image] Opinion [Image] Letters to the editor [Image] It is wrong to put [Image] dollar before child [Image] Last year I took my grandson to see Santa at the Bonita Lakes Mall, and I was planning to [Image] pay for a picture but I wanted to take one myself. [Image] The employees told me that I could not take [Image] any pictures. [Image] I think that it is wrong to know that people put a dollar before a child. There are some [Image] people that can't afford the pictures and want to take a picture of their child with [Image] Santa. I took my child every year when she was younger and took my own pictures and now that I am taking my grandson, Bonita Lakes - Search The Mall is the first mall that would not let me Web- take my own pictures. My Page Parents that bring their children to see Web Directory Santa will shop and spend money in this mall, so why do you make such a big deal out of Horoscope taking pictures? Most of the parents will buy City Guide one anyway, but some cannot afford to. The Greeting money they would spend on the small price of Cards the picture with Santa could buy a small toy Lottery for their child. The reason most places have Results a Santa is to get the parents in and hope Weather they will shop. So why put up signs saying TV Listings that you are not allowed to take your own Movie pictures with Santa? Listings Yellow Pages I just hope that the parents who take their White Pages children to Bonita Lakes Mall will let you Maps/Directions know that they will pay for a picture, but they should be able to take one themselves also. Pamela Callahan Sweet Water, Ala. Concept gone awry Remember "Contract With America?" It was a concept which many of us prayed might be our last big hope for America. This revolutionary Republican plan to downsize "big government" and reverse the appalling degradation of our congressional representation amidst a disgusting presidential values meltdown has sadly become a "Contract On America,"exactly that which it was politically tagged by it's opponents at inception. To many, it now appears to have been just another skillful ploy to gain entrenchment of just a different power mob, but of the same scandalous ilk. This same degeneration of our leaders' values and integrity permeates our present day "bought and payed for" candidates for political monarchy. What can we, the electorate, do about it? Are we too far down the slippery anarchical slope that was the way of Rome? I don't have a clue. Entering the voting booth, no matter the political choices staring back at me, I'll only see "Mafia" versus "Cosa Nostra." With coin in hand, I'll vote. Exiting the booth, I'll observe the line of my obedient, subservient and ignorant fellow voters going through the motions of a sad futility. Bartender! Another double! Armond Simmons Pell City, Ala. What is really going on in race What's really going on in the disputed governor's race? Old guard power politics pure and simple. In the late "90s the Black Caucus, disgruntled with Speaker Ford's leadership and frustrated over being unable to get their fair share, began demanding that bills be read in their entirety before the House. The business of the House ground to a halt. Ford learned a lesson from this confrontation. To maintain his power and that of North Mississippi in the state, he would have to placate the Black Caucus. Today the power of the Black Caucus is even greater. In the battle over term limits Jesse Jackson was called into the state and spent five days touring North Mississippi, drumming up votes against term limits and Parker. The Black Caucus delivered. Now Ford, if he wants to remain Speaker, must deliver. Hence, all the public utterances by Ford that Parker should concede. As Bill Minor so aptly put it, "black citizens would march en masse on the state Capitol if there was any danger Musgrove's election could be overturned." Ford knows who butters his bread. One can not fault the Black Caucus for fighting for their rights. One can fault a leader who, instead of treating all groups fairly, chose instead to play one against the other. In the long run, all Mississippians lose. Maybe eventually Ford. Gene D. Saucier Hattiesburg Marine Corps made permanent changes As one of those who celebrate the Marine Corps' birthday every year, I toasted the Corps' 224th birthday recently. Not long ago, I saw a Marine advertising billboard with a picture of a dress white cover (hat to you) that contained the words, "The change is permanent," that struck home for me. I reflected on the changes in myself from a 17-year-old recruit to a man of 20 when I returned Marine. That's one thing that must be respected about someone, anyone, who survived boot camp and a tour in a combat outfit in the Marines - they aren't quitters. They had to be tough just to make it as an ordinary Marine. Perhaps this iron discipline is the real secret to the Corps' amazing combat successes. An employer knows that an ex-Marine seeking a job from him is a person who has had to endure hardships, even in peacetime service, almost unimanginable in civilian life and that the ex-Marine faced up to them. I know that other services have elite units - the Army's Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces, the Navy Seals, and other services have fine units as well. But all of the Marines are elite. A Marine vet does not have to recount what unit he served with as an Army man does. An Army man has to distinguish his unit from a messkit repair unit in order to hold his head high. But the single word Marine speaks volumes. The Corps has always been short of Congressional appropriations, supplies, weapons and equipment. The only thing they've ever had plenty of was heroes. When I was a Marine, I roundly cursed the Corps and dreamed of the day I got out of it. But now, as middle age is creeping up on me, I realize how many changes were made in that 17-year-old kid by the Corps. And yes, they were permanent. Pate Miranda Meridian Thanks to voters Please allow me to use this medium to express to the voters of House District 84 my heartfelt and sincere gratitude for once again electing me to this important office. My family and I are grateful and our prayers are that each of you will prosper in every aspect of your life. Eric Robinson Quitman ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Home Page || Local News || Sports || Editorial || Obituaries || Classifieds || Guestbook || Stocks || Good Food || World News || Health || About Us || Write Us || Subscriptions | ------------------------------------------------------------------------