Suwannee Countians, it's time to speak your mind! How? By calling the Suwannee Democrat Rant and Rave hotline. The hotline never closes and is your way to let it out. You can let everyone know how you feel -- as long as you express yourself in a respectful way.

Note: In written entries to Rant and Rave, errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation are those of the authors.

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There are a few things that bother me on the rant about John Koch. For starters, that person needs to go back to school. "Somewhere" does not have an "s" on the end. Second, if he were atheist, you would have heard from him long before now. I was raised Catholic and all the King James Bible-thumping bothers me too. Maybe he's Catholic, but only he knows. Next, if you can read, you might want to research the Bill of Rights. That's not the Constitution but the Bill of Rights. In it, it speaks of separating the church from the government because they were trying to break free of King James and his overpowering religion. The one that if you didn't follow you were prosecuted, kinda like Nazis. You should go to New York and learn first hand about other religions. Bye.

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We could use some originality "round here. The standard solution of "just move" is pretty lame. About 750 people did this past yr. because they either couldn't earn a living or just fed up with intolerant attitude, these 2 things are related, by the way. Folks have every right to live here even if their religion or opinion is different. Suwannee Co. needs to "move" into step with the rest of the state. Religion is fine but around here it rules peoples lives with little regard to one's preferences. The people moving out include our young folks, our future! Working folks who own homes foot the bills here, not churches or tax exempt ag interests. If everybody "just moves" who's gonna pay the politicians big fat salaries? Surely not the new businesses we fail to attract due this kind of thinking. Oh yeah, the supreme court of our land has ruled on school religion yrs. ago, try reading it!

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Well, we were promised back a while ago that those of us that live in the retirement village over in Dowling Park would not have to walk across our lawn in the middle of the rain or sprinkler system to pick up our morning paper. But now it's repetitious. Just thrown out of a truck or van or car, hurled across into the grass, some of us are on crutches, in wheel chairs, and that's just not fair. Can you do something about it down at the Suwannee Democrat, so that the senior citizens can enjoy your paper and not get their feet wet. Thank you very much.

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The county is looking for another coordinator! For men who achieve election through the foundations and reputations they have built in the county. They are quick to hire people we never heard of that have no roots in our community.

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This letter is in response to the woman who was "galled" to see a "Happy Holidays" sign at the roundabout but no "Merry Christmas" sign. Her statement that Christmas is the reason for the season may be true for her but it is not the case for many others. My Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah. Muslims celebrate the Day of Ashura. Those of us who have more Earth centered beliefs celebrate the return of the Sun. And Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We are all allowed and even encouraged to celebrate in the ways we deem fitting. I, for one, applaud and appreciate that the person who put up the sign was respectful of the fact that the season is for EVERYONE. It is a time to celebrate Peace, Love and Good Will and those things are for ALL OF US.

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Good morning, I'm just reading your Rant and Rave and I see that most of the complaints are made by outsiders. And I might add that as a lifelong resident of Suwannee County, it is usually the outsiders that move here, and try to create problems because they cannot live their life the way they are used to living it in their former homes. Please, people, when you move to Live Oak, learn Live Oakan ways. We have kept this county for many, many years and things went along just fine. We don't want to be drunks, and we don't want to be anti-religious atheists or into witchcraft as many of you do. Please, learn the language when you come here, we love all people but we cannot tolerate lawlessness. Thank you kindly.

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Callers to 386-208-8314 may express their thoughts, good or bad, 24/7 about community issues and politics, but not about private individuals or businesses. If you prefer, you may email your comments to nf.editorial@gaflnews.com. You don't have to give your name, and please, keep submissions to less than 45 seconds (that's about 150 words). We want everybody to have a chance to be heard. Submissions that are overly long will be discarded. If 45 seconds isn't enough time, write a Letter to the Editor. (Guidelines for letters appear on Page 6A of our print edition.)