December 30, 2001

Springfield News-Leader

Let's see if I've got S.T.  Richards straight ( Dec.  28 Readers' Letters, "Send them back to where they're from" ):

1.  "Bearded long-haired hippies," unwed mothers and their children should be left to starve.

2.  Our government should be the only ones who legally get to kill people.

3.  We should ignore the decision of voters in seven states that want to stop locking up the sick and dying in cages like animals just because they find relief by consuming cannabis ( one of God's creations, Genesis 1:29-30 ) because John Ashcroft says so? Mr.  Richards' compassion overwhelms me.

When I read about Jesus, he seems to be a little more concerned about pain and suffering than Richards and Ashcroft are.  Of course, Jesus was just a "bearded, long-haired hippie."

Carl Smith

Ozark