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 HETHER
YOU WANT to offer your comments on a virtual soapbox, or submit
them to be considered for broadcast on KUER-FM 90, the "Raise
Your Voice" forum offers you the chance to tell candidates
and fellow voters what you think.
Each week, as Election Day approaches, KUER
news staff will ask one or two citizens to read their comments
in the studio, then they will be put them on the air.
Posted July
7, 2004:
Dear Friends,
As I browse the web-sites, I have found numberous sites for
Latter-Day
Saints who are Republican. The state, very officially, that
the Republican
views are those closest to the LDS Church. This is not true.
They have
links to official LDS Church Web-sites. Always, they use abortion
and the
issue of homosexual marraige as justification for voting for
any Republican
who is nominated.
This is a cause of deep distress for me. All debate on education,
health-care, the environment, economic growth, foreign diplomacy,
the nation
debt and balancing the budget have ended.
Truth be known, politicians seldom influence a woman's decision
to end her
pregnancy. Medical concerns, economic, emotional and psychological
factors
and lack of partner support weigh heavily. Depression in pregnant
and
post-partum women is a serious threat to the health of both
mother and baby.
I favor the exploration of these factors from a non-political
standpoint.
I fear that my Church will ex-communicate me. I am a returned
lady
missionary and was once a team-leader for an OB-GYN clinic.
Utahs are
claiming that Bush is the only candidate who LDS people should
support.
Many political candidates such as John Kerry won't even visit
Utah this
election year. Dan Jones and Associates has already reported
that Bush will
sweep the elections with 67% of the vote (the exact same as
last election).
Religion and Politics corrupt each other. What can we do
to save Utah?
Sincerely,
Melinda Sue Wallace
Posted Mar.
23, 2004:
My formost "make'em-or-break'em" issue is education. The phrase "hold teachers accountable," amounts to nothing but political posturing. There are already guidelines in every district to hold teachers accountable. One of the problems (for there are obviously many) is teachers can't hold students accountable -- not for attendance, or homework, or even content. Parents can justify any situation and the education system is powerless. Until we are allowed to set our content and hold students accountable, nothing will be fixed.
Another related issue is "tuition tax credit." The people with students in the education system already are getting a deduction per student. This means those of us without children are paying more for education. Adding another tax break to enroll in a private school will not make more resources available to public education. It will just take more money away. And I am not talking about salary. I'm talking about paying for enough teachers to have manageable class sizes, or for teachers to teach in their own content area. I'm talking about having money to provide the needed repairs to building and equipment, and providing up-to-date technology.
The education problem has got to be moved to the front issue that is fixed this upcoming session.
Johnny Aird
Clinton, Davis Co., UT
2000-2003 Comments
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