April 6, 2004

By Staff
What is he hiding?
At the request of the Mississippi Senate, the PEER Committee is reviewing the nomination of Maj. Gen. Harold Cross for the position of Adjutant General of the entire Mississippi National Guard. Unbelievably, despite investigations showing a stunning array of corruption in 1996, 1997 and 2002, and a fourth investigation about to conclude, Gov. Haley Barbour thinks Maj. Gen. Cross is the best Mississippi can do.
The current problem is that Maj. Gen. Cross is refusing to release requested documents to this committee. Is he once again trying to subvert, minimize and cover-up misdeeds of himself and others? What is he hiding?
He apparently claims no knowledge of the illegal acts already proven, much less the more than 60 charges pending against his command in the on-going investigation. As a senior leader in the Mississippi Guard and Commander of the Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. Cross must have been abducted by aliens and not on this planet to not have any knowledge of these issues.
The PEER Committee, as a representative of the Mississippi State Senate, has every right to this
information. Maj. Gen. Cross has no right to be the next Adjutant General.
Stuart Kenney
Marietta, Ga.
Marriage under attack
You've probably heard in the past few weeks the charge that a proposed new amendment that would define marriage in the U.S. Constitution as the union of one man and one woman would write discrimination into our country's founding document. Don't believe it for a second.
It is not homosexuals but marriage that is under attack. Left unchecked, rogue judges intent on finding new rights in the Constitution will succeed, someday soon, in extending marriage benefits to gays. Supporters of a marriage-protection amendment aren't out to discriminate against anyone; they simply want to preserve the institution of marriage as it has
served society for centuries.
Amendment opponents have also turned to an emotional argument in asking, "How does one couple's gay marriage threaten anyone's heterosexual marriage?" This question misses the point: The goal of gay activists isn't the individual relationship of any two people, despite such statements. It is the revision of national policy to say that gender, especially in child-rearing, is inconsequential, even though research indicates children do best when raised by a married mother and father.
Don't fall for these manipulative arguments. Stand firm for the sanctity of marriage.
Cris White
Newton
Ideas on education
I have heard so much complaining about the public schools needing more money, but yet no one is willing to step up with some common sense ideas out of fear they would be unpopular. Well, here goes:
Mississippi has refused year after year to allow home educated children to dual enroll with their local public school. This would have given more money to the public schools, and possibly parttime volunteer workers.
Many states have started charging their students to participate in the extracurricular activities. It is called "Pay to Play." Charges range from $25-$100 per student, per activity. Some schools also are charging students rental on their band instruments. This has brought in several thousand dollars for each school.
Remove sports from the schools and return them to the Parks And Recreation Department. The education is the curricular and everything else is EXTRAcurricular. That would open up more time for studying and free up money for the schools educational needs. Parents whose children participate in the activities with Parks and Recreation would then be responsible for providing the funds for the EXTRA's, and the tax dollars we are forced to pay could actually go toward education.
I will leave this spot open for Mississippi's suggestion. Let us just hope it won't be another tax hike. Are the first, second and third things I suggested unpopular? Of course. Common sense? You bet. Reasonable? Absolutely. Will Mississippi listen and do one of the three? I doubt it. Brace yourself for number four.
Donna Owen
Shubuta
Getting to know MSO
Thank you so much for printing the series of articles of the biographies of the members of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. It is nice to know some of the background information of these musicians. I know that the musicians appreciate seeing their name and picture in print, too.
I hope you will continue to feature as many of the musicians as possible.
Frances Hinton
Meridian

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