SEND THEM BACK TO WHERE THEY'RE FROM

As a conservative and a Republican, I have to write to complain about
your paper's "touchy-feely" leftist leanings. Your Dec. 23 edition had
two articles that were very disturbing.

Your whole front page on Sunday was devoted to the homeless with the
implication that we, here in Springfield, should help more by raising
taxes. I say no. Those people are homeless because they want to be.
All those unwed mothers and their kids and those bearded long-haired
hippies, let them go back to St. Louis or Kansas City where they come
from. The next thing you know, they'll be coming around to our
churches looking for help.

Your other article about assisted suicide really got my dander up
("Family tells of a decision to die"). It appeared that you sided with
the notion that assisted suicide was A-OK. This, in spite of what our
head law-enforcement officer, John Ashcroft has said. It's illegal. He
said it, I believe it.

You lefties will never get it through your heads. The law is the law.
Pain and suffering have nothing to do with it. The next thing you know
your paper will be advocating relaxing the laws on the medicinal use
of marijuana for glaucoma and chemotherapy patients. Scary.

S.T. Richards, Branson