in 1956, the Cadillac El Dorado got 18 miles per gallon; in 2006, the Cadillac Escalade got 17 mpg. Progress for the oil companies.

I believe it’s a sin and a shame that the Catholic church — meaning the Vatican, which sits on billions of dollars in gold, art works and the largest collection of pornography known to humankind — has closed our small churches because they can no longer provide money for their coffers.

The people who have attended these churches for years have been left out in the cold because they can no longer send money to Rome.

The legislators who voted to legalize fireworks should be forced to put up $50,000 each to pay for medical bills resulting from kids blowing off fingers, or putting out an eye, and the governor also should kick in, for not vetoing the bill.

If you think 1 percent vs. 99 percent of the wealth in this country is unbalanced, how about this? The top 400 families control as much wealth as the bottom 150 million people.

The bottom includes the military, teachers, nurses, cops, librarians and many other groups who form the backbone of our society.

When a ship at sea loses ballast and becomes topheavy, it can roll over with the lightest breeze. And guess who drowns first?

Tom Ohlund, Augusta