Voices: Right to choose

About $39 million given to major funds for Joplin’s storm recovery

A 4-year-old Ohio boy sent $200 he raised from selling cups of lemonade for a quarter.
A Missouri-born singer donated $130,000 from the auction of her 1959 Mercedes convertible.

Opinion

Discussion

July 2, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Jul 02, 2009, 08:25 PM CDT

I have ridden a motorcycle for nearly 40 years and I’ve always worn a helmet for my own safety reasons, and I’ll continue to do so.

I do, however, consider it the right of all bikers to make their own choice as to whether to wear one. I find it so refreshing that our governor has decided that we the taxpayers should not fund a $33,000 poll launched by the Missouri Department of Transportation and lobbied by the helmet manufacturers to further encroach on our freedom.

A helmet law is not about our safety. They don’t really care. It’s about corporate America making a profit. I’ll just bet there’s a Republican behind this lobby somewhere.

Charles C. Smith

Webb City

Text Only

Opinion

Our View: Victims should come first
Millions of dollars in donations have poured in from around the world since the May 22, 2011, tornado. Those donations represent money from lemonade stands, charity auctions, corporate gifts and celebrity checks, just to name a few. In fact, one year later donations continue to come to Joplin.

May 26, 2012
Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).

May 26, 2012
Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
Editor’s note: In addition to speeches by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon, Joplin High School’s top students addressed graduates, faculty, parents and other guests packed into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus. Following are the text of those speeches.

May 26, 2012
Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.

May 26, 2012
Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.

May 25, 2012
Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
My oldest granddaughter was part of the class of 2012 from Joplin High School, and I attended the ceremony on Monday night.

May 23, 2012
Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
Local newspapers are at their best when they help their communities confront, understand, endure and overcome shared challenges.

May 23, 2012
Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.

May 23, 2012 1 Photo
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