Comments from our readers:

A RAVE for the people supporting SPLOST VI. A no vote will only hurt the city and delay much needed projects. SPLOST VI funds will employ the people who maintain roads, bridges, sewer systems, traffic engineering, upkeep of our parks and much more.

RAVE TO THE FOLKS doing the cleanup of the Golf and Gardens. If more people would take more interest and pride like these folks are doing we could take pride in calling Augusta the Garden City.

STRANGE, ISN'T IT? We have a huge Princess Di-style funeral with blockbuster media coverage for an extreme left wing abortion doctor, but we can't find anywhere if the military recruiter who was assassinated at about the same time even had a funeral.

RICK MCKEE owes the whole country, every U.S. citizen, an apology for his political cartoon on June 6. Does he really think President Obama or any other president would ever apologize to Hitler?

THE AUGUSTA MALL has a low-life edge that is not acceptable. If action isn't taken soon there will not be enough decent money spending people to keep it open.

HATS OFF to the Georgia Department of Transportation. I bike to work from Augusta to Beech Island. I travel Sand Bar Ferry Road across the Savannah River. Sand Bar Ferry is in good condition with a wide and clean shoulder. However, the shoulder on the bridge was littered with debris, and I was concerned about getting a flat. I contacted GDOT via e-mail. A crew was sent out to sweep the bridge shoulder. Thanks to GDOT's Tony Collins and Michael Keene for their help in making the CSRA a better place to bike.

WHEN IT COMES to wasteful spending, politicians love to speak of what is "needed." They always fail to mention what is affordable. With individuals, the affordability is paramount. And governments should act the same way.

I HAVE AN IDEA. Why don't all of you critical, fear-mongering, disparaging, disapproving naysayers (and this includes the editorial staff of this paper) just shut up? Every time someone mentions helping the less fortunate or making unpopular rules, all we hear is "Socialism!" Do you really think the private sector is going to be fair to everyone? If we the people were so good at taking care of ourselves without government involvement, we wouldn't have such disparity between rich and poor.

IT'S FUNNY HOW this "Rants and Rave" column has turned into to Rant Obama column. Every day there is something negative about him.