GIVE BUSH A PUSH OUT THE DOOR

Regarding "compassionate conservatism," in my opinion, conservatives do not even know what the word "compassionate" really means.

Reducing treatment programs for sick people is not compassion. Turning the mentally ill loose on the streets is not compassion.

Those of us who live at the bottom of the "tower of power" are too close to governmental neglect. We have to live with the consequences of Republican control, tyranny and lack of real concern.

I thought the Republican convention would never be over. I am wondering if the TV stations in Amarillo will devote as much time to the Democratic Convention. It should be a must.

I am revolted at the thought of George W. Bush becoming our president, just as I was when he became our governor.

Does it make sense to eliminate treatment facilities for addictive disorders and build more and more prisons in which to put sick people who need treatment for these disorders?

It costs more to keep people in prisons than to provide treatment for them. Approximately 90 percent of criminal offenses are committed while the perpetrator is under the influence of some drug.

Bush is listening to advisers who think that religious faith can change addictive disorders.

No way, Jose - not to the extent that the worldwide, proven 12-step program can do and has done. If the church could do it, then it would have done it a long time ago.

The "Bush push" to gain control over our lives is clearly a gigantic ego trip for the whole Bush family. It is a game to them, climbing determinedly over our backs to the top. They call it public service - it seems more like self-service to me.

Perry Jo Inman

Amarillo