I understand that money talks. I understand voters need to be heard. (See "Best of the Quad Cities," River Cities' Reader Issue 671, February 13-19, 2008.)
I feel I must speak up. The Quad Cities area is blessed with a few individuals who take it upon themselves to bring talent from all over the world to our small neck of the woods, yet remain unmentioned. The folks at Daytrotter have provided us with hundreds of songs recorded in Rock Island (not to mention live shows).
The people at Mixtapes in East Moline try to bring in weekly acts from around the world. I've watched the Redstone Room degrade its self over the time it's been open. Money is their concern, not music. The Quad Cities is full of original talent and wonderful people trying to bring more to our area, regardless of monetary gain. I feel I am not alone in these opinions.
Marc Hans Showalter
A Republic, Not a Democracy
It is tragic that so many citizens believe that we live in a democracy instead of the republic that our founders established. The word "democracy" does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, or any of our state constitutions. It does appear in The Federalist Papers, where the founders wrote about their fear of it. We pledge allegiance to our flag and to the "republic" for which it stands. A republic is rule by law. A democracy is rule by majority, which can lead to mob rule.
Our republic is organized to protect our natural or God-given rights. To protect these rights, we have a U.S. Constitution that both citizens and government officials are required to obey. Futhermore, our U.S. Constitution states: "The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union, a republican form of government." Any other system - democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, or oligarchy - is organized to restrict individual rights to the degree determined by the whims of those in charge. Go to (http://www.thenewamerican.com) for details. Search for "rights."
Unfortunately, we citizens have allowed federal officials to violate their oath of office so that about 80 percent of federal legislation today is unconstitutional, and it has restricted our rights. Unless enough citizens wake up and demand that federal officials obey our Constitution, we soon will be living in one of the other four systems.
Kathie Diane Shaffer
Sylmar, California
