LETTERS

Worried about the air we breathe

I, for one, am very thankful to the Hancock County Board of Supervisors for their decision to not allow another plastics company into Port Bienville.

While the Chamber of Commerce and the port can complain about their "loss," they don't have to be as concerned as the people who live here. We are exposed to enough carcinogens from the existing plants at the port.

Does the EPA measure the combined emissions of these plants? Why is there such a high incidence of cancer in this area?

I don't believe there is a family in this area that hasn't had some cancer-related experience, or death in the family from cancer, and I would like to know the statistics for this area as compared to others in South Mississippi.

DORY THIAN
Bay St. Louis

Oil crisis or just a slick - you do the math

The Clinton (Impeached)-Gore campaign administration has dipped into the country's oil reserves to supposedly save us from an impending oil crisis. As it turns out, the act was just more symbolism over substance.

You do the math.

Our country presently uses 20 million gallons of oil per day. Dipping into the oil reserves will give us 30 million additional gallons from which to operate. How many additional days will our country be able to survive using this extra 30 million gallons?

One year?

Nine months?

Six months?

None of the above. Would you believe, 36 hours!
This is just another oil "Slick" brought to you by "Willy" and his sidekick, Al, to con the citizenry, this time as a campaign ploy.

Sadly, for the past eight years, too many Americans have tended to swallow the Clinton (Impeached)-Gore symbolism without seeking out the real substance or lack thereof.

Why, after eight years with these folks, do I have a gnawing urge for a cigarette?

ARMOND 'SI' SIMMONS
Pell City, Ala.

The bottom line? The bottom line.

A recent letter to The Sun Herald listed almost 20 national media figures as conservative and several as liberal.

The letter made some good points but was misleading in its thrust.

What the public still does not seem to understand is that almost all members of the national media, liberal or conservative, work, ultimately, for eight to 10 major corporations.

Whose bread I eat, his song I sing.

The corporations, in turn, cooperate with, are part of, the banker money power that govern our nation.

A quote I cited in a previous letter still says it best: Many years ago, newspaperman John Swinton was asked for a toast before the New York Press Club. He replied, "There is no such thing, at this date in the world's history, in America, as an independent press. What folly is this, toasting an independent press: We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping jacks. They pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities, and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."

I couldn't have said it better.

FRANK WALLACE
Biloxi

Why even consider rerun of a nightmare?

Once again Black Springbreak is in the news. Why is the Coast even considering hosting this blatantly racist event again? Yes, I said "racist" because the same people who are promoting and sponsoring this event would be the first people to scream and yell "racism" should there be a "Slavic Springbreak" or a "Vietnamese Springbreak" or a "German Springbreak" or, God forbid, a "White Springbreak."

Has the Coast not had enough of this after one year? Do the Coast residents really want to put up with the same traffic and financial nightmare as last year? Last year's fiasco did more damage to race relations on the Coast in three days than David Duke and his cronies did in 30 years.

Say "no!" to Black Springbreak! The Coast doesn't need it or want it. I'll take the biker rally and outdoor concerts like CPR Fest at the Coliseum any day.

H.F. CROSS
Biloxi

Solution is simple: Arrest any law-breakers

Since law enforcement is at a loss as to how to tame Black Springbreak, I would like to remind them what their duty is. It is to arrest people who break the law instead of standing by with a blind eye. If law-breakers had been arrested and jailed for the crimes committed during the last spring break, the standard would have already been set instead of all the concern about the next one.
The law is clear to me. Arrest people who break the law. Simple course of action. If future spring breakers are here for a good time, they won't end up in jail.

JANET FALK
Biloxi

Priorities can't compete with 'Springer stuff'

Local priorities seem to be upside down, to me.

We are beset by: Drugs and crime. Cops involved in pyramid schemes. Prisoners who escape or are given access to evidence lockers. Inattentive drivers with phones to their ears and food in their hands, reading the paper while driving. U.S. 90, a 45 mph roadway, being driven at 65 to 70 mph by mostly drunken drivers. People so self-involved that they cannot avoid a huge railroad train at a crossing. Schools that can't (or won't ) teach children to read and cipher. Parents who can't (or won't) parent their offspring. Corrupt public officials. Federal government run by "spin." Over-taxation by billions of dollars. The list can go on and on.
But what did the Sunday newspaper dedicate itself to? Two chickens fighting. Another goodly portion of the paper is dedicated to teams of young people, essentially garbed in protective padding and sent out to fight.

Then we are forewarned that, next week, we will be fed an article that might try to make a hero of a person who could possibly be described as a race-baiting vandal of a flag display, who drives around in a road rage and waves a pistol at people who object.

Maybe this is news to be issued from a newspaper ... or is it "Jerry Springer stuff," dumbed-down for local consumption?

BOB SCHMITZ
Bay St. Louis

Common-sense boaters don't make waves

As an avid boater, I would like to observe the ending of summer by sharing some of the insanities I have observed on the water.

Why do people entering and leaving a dock think "half-throttle"? That don't cut it. Look behind you. Simply slowing down makes the wake worse. You should slow down to idle and lower your motor.
The same idiots pull up to a dock at half-throttle and can't figure out why their boat is banging against the dock. The wake was caused by your boat, Einstein.
Don't block the fuel pump at the dock while you visit at the fish camp. Move your boat.

When you slow down to pass boats at a dock or sand bar, remember to lower your outdrive.

Which brings us to channel markers. I do wish people would learn to read these things. They are there for a reason. Red Right Return (get it?). The biggest problem is people on the wrong side of the river. It's simple: middleright going up and down river.
I think that a boaters course and license should be mandatory, just like a vehicle driver's license.

We need more water patrol, and not just on holidays. If you want to see something stupid go to Grasshopper Island and watch the jet skiers ruin a nice time on the water. But without any law enforcement, they get away with is.

Maybe if we think more and watch what we are doing, the water would be a safer, more fun place.

JAMES SAVAGE JR.
Biloxi