As I start this column this week, I must say that the response from my readers is really making me proud that I have the right to put into words my feelings and my views. There are not too many countries in this world that would allow someone like me to write the things that I write for you. And so sometimes I get e-mail or calls asking me about topics, that I the writer ,would like to stay away from. But then I wouldn't be giving the reader a chance to hear my thoughts on the matter, and so here we go with some answers about topics of your interest.

I guess that in the last two months, the biggest topic from basketball fans is the firing of Bob Knight, and I will give you my thoughts on that and then I will drop the subject, and let the man go do what he is destined to do.

My first thought is the zero-tolerance policy which the IU president and the trustees came up with. That policy is a very stupid concept to put on any man , let alone Mr. Knight. Under a zero-tolerance situation, the person is working under a closed eyes, plugged up ear drums, taped up mouth, and tied up legs. In other words if you breathe, speak, hear ,or move, you are in violation of  that policy. No one can abide by that policy. That is abuse by the institution. In the things that Mr. Knight was said to do or not to do, that was said to violate that zero-tolerance policy, I must bring up this thought. Mr. Knight was under a contract to do certain things and he did them. The things that he is said to have passed up on were in violation of his contract. So in essence, Bob Knight was following his contract to the letter of the law, and so he should not have been fired for that. Now, I am not saying that Mr. Knight was not wrong in the way that he worked with his team, nor am I saying that he should of done it differently. What I am saying, is that he was this way for the last twenty-nine years and as long as he was winning, it was tolerated. Also , what I am trying to say is that they should of put him on notice, that at the end of his contract, he would have to look elsewhere for a coaching job. The situation at IU was handled wrong, and so there are a lot of us that probaly will think twice before we pour any more funds into that institution. . I do hope that IU does ok in thier basketball program, as they do have a very good man as head coach. Enough said about that subject and this writer will put the subject to bed for a very long sleep.

Now a topic that is really bugging this old man, is the talk about placing our social security program in an investment and stock program . The two men running in the national election would have our program up for grabs, as an investment venture. Folks, regardless of what the boys in Washington are telling us, there is no way that the present social security program can go broke. As long as there are those working and paying into the program, just like we have these many years, there is no reason to change it a bit. Think about it; as soon as someone starts to manipulate what to do with it, then the pockets will fill and the jar will go empty. As a man who has seen what one man can do with a pension fund and milk it dry, I have to stand up and say that you and I had better watch those guys who want to use our money. Let the program go on like it has for years and give our youngsters a chance to have something to look forward to. As a man who has paid into social security all my working life, I take notice when someone wants to change the system. I have found out that anytime someone wants to fill thier pockets with my money or invest it in the stock market, I get worried. There have been a lot of us who worked in the steel mill who invested our money only to see it disappear. Enough said on that subject, but I will monitor the situation as time goes by.

Again ,I raise the issue of the banning of posting of the Ten Commandments by the scum of this land. Cheers to those in Bedford who took it on thier own to do what should of been done a long time ago. Forget what some district judge says and just post them. Remember that by banning the posting of The Ten Commandments in the schools and public places , that judge is backing a few against the rest. Why should we sit still and let a group of want-a bees who are representing the worst group of scum in this land tell us what we can do. Let those creeps go over to Iran or one of those countries who appreciate them.  What we as a nation under GOD should remember is that those Commandments were what we were raised under and by following them we became the greatest nation in this world.. Those ones that I refer to as the scum of this land will one day have to answer for what they are doing. Not enough said about that but enough for now.

So in my words to you, I say that we have looked the other way too long. We are witness to the absense of any discipline measures because we want to baby our society. We are witness to the banning of all that is good, and we are witness to those who would gamble our system in the stock market. What we need to be, is witness to waking up and saying that we are tired of what is going on and we are not going to take it anymore.

Have I woke you up to some things that need to be corrected? I hope so, and I hope that I, through this column, have made your day. I will work on that and I take great pride in visiting you and telling you what this old man feels. Take care and continue to pray for me as I really need all the help I can get. Catch me on my web page, "Uncle Ray's Thoughts" at http://www.geocities.com/kokomoman/ and e-mail me at [email protected] and at [email protected] . May your road be straight and narrow on your walk of life.