Letters to the Editor

The Missouri legislature returned from its annual spring break and wasted no time putting the health care of almost 1 million Missourians in jeopardy. The Senate recently added an anti-birth control amendment to a mandatory Medicaid spending bill, which prohibits the program from providing some forms of birth control. ...

I am a Scout with Troop 5 in Cape Girardeau. I would like to tell you why kids should consider joining Scouts BSA. Earning merit badges helps you learn important skills such as cooking, swimming, and first aid. You make a lot of friends and meet interesting people you might not otherwise get to meet...

Thank you for covering the Lemon Drop Long Drive. I wanted to pass along a message to say thank you to the community for supporting this event and the cause behind it. Being a TC Survivor it was easy to jump on board when it was "just an idea." Several months of hard work and dedication to something we hoped would raise $2,500 turned into something much bigger. ...

I'm an old white man who was raised amid racism and I'm at least partly responsible for this mess. We tried to make amends. We passed laws against discrimination and called for affirmative action. We provided financial assistance for food, housing, child care and more. We talked about the rightness of equality. But in spite of the laws, assistance, and rhetoric, we failed. Maybe things are a little better than they were. I'm not sure...

After reading David Limbaugh's tribute to his brother Rush in the Southeast Missourian, I thought, "Thanks, I needed that." Full disclosure: I once worked at a radio station that switched from country music to talk, and was essentially replaced by Rush Limbaugh...

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, the need for long-term care ombudsman volunteers has greatly increased. Since no one was allowed inside of nursing homes for almost a year, long-term care residents are in need of an advocate more than ever...

When man was evolving in the wilderness of African savanna thousands of years ago, his tribe's survival depended on certain emotions he experienced in his relationship with other tribes: Fear, hatred, rage, jealousy, greed, hostility, etc., which manifested as aggression, conquest, destruction, genocide, robbery and theft...

As a long term resident of Cape County and a candidate for the Board of Trustees for the Cape County Health Department, I will use my professional career as a registered nurse of 26 years and my eight years as a nurse practitioner to help guide our health department. My main goal is to be the ears and eyes of our community, voice for our citizens and be the liaison that we need on this board. I would appreciate your vote and confidence on April 6, 2021...

This letter is written in regard to Rep. Jason Smith's negative, unsubstantiated comments on the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief legislation. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will positively affect every one of Smith's constituents. There is money for schools, rural hospitals, rental property owners, renters, small businesses, the arts, the unemployed, child nutrition programs, farmers, parents, and especially the working class that he is attempting very poorly to gaslight into believing that the GOP suddenly supports. ...

I am the executive director of SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence (SADI) in Cape Girardeau and I need your help. Our governor has recommended two cuts to the Consumer Directed Services (CDS) personal care program. These cuts were recommended based on a rate study that reported skewed data and outdated information about the program...

When I was growing up my father earned his living working for a corporation that specialized in the use, sale and development of coal tar products. Four of the seven summers I worked earning my way through undergraduate and law school, I was employed by companies which extensively used coal tar products. ...

Why should I wear a mask now that we have vaccines for COVID? Now that vaccinations are taking place to immunize people against COVID-19, it would seem logical that we are now free to go back to normal life. Right? No, in many ways it has become just as important or even more important to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing and sanitizing...

America's most economically vibrant communities are often the healthiest communities. That's because the health of a community's residents has a strong impact on its economy. In this unique time of a pandemic, a community's health has come to be front and center as a topic of conversation -- and sometimes controversy...

By Debra Mitchell-Braxton On behalf of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Citywide Celebration Committee, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of those who donated items as part of the National Day of Service Humanitarian Food Drive. ...

Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson understands every person has value and deserves civility, trust and respect. Our sheriff sets the bar high and continually encourages her team to set aside self-serving behavior in favor of serving/helping others. She also understands the value of listening to her team, actively soliciting their participation, ideas and feedback. ...

History buffs know that the Boston Tea Party was a prelude to the American Revolution. The colonists asserted that since they were not represented in the British Parliament, the Brits had no right to tax them. "Taxation without representation is tyranny," said the early Americans, yet we practice the same thing today on a much larger scale. The new $1.9 trillion stimulus bill is an example...

As other states around the country announce "reopening," signs the pandemic restrictions in Cape Girardeau County are coming to an end couldn't have been more evident this past Wednesday at the Cape Noon Optimist Annual Chili Day festivities at the Arena building...

Let's be clear: right to work is wrong. The PRO Act will wipe it off the map. Nearly 60 million people say they would join a union today if they could. The problem? Union-busters, Big Business and woefully outdated laws continue undermining the right to collectively bargain...

It has come to my attention that a group of citizens are forming a petitioners committee to begin the referendum process to overturn the recently passed urban deer hunting ordinance. That is well within their right if they disagree with the intent of the ordinance. As these petitions begin to circulate within our city, as mayor, I think it's appropriate that our citizens know the true facts about the differences in the deer hunting resolution passed in 2012 and the one just recently passed...

If flames are shooting up from a house, and the owner says, "The house is not on fire," then he is clearly delusional. The extent of denial we see in Trumpist lawmakers about their 'house on fire' is of psychotic proportion. They keep calling for unity, but are unwilling to shed the "Stop the Steal" delusion they share with Trump. They resemble a deluded diabetic patient who looks at his gangrenous legs and says, "That is no big deal, doctor. When can I go home?"...

Compliments to the Stately Seven who courageously displayed their true colors -- red, white, blue -- American colors, not tribal allegiance. Bona fide statesmen. They honored their senatorial oath, the Constitution, America first over political careers. Integrity will be their legacy, profiles in courage...

A number of politicians tell us not to emphasize the events of Jan. 6 when a group of insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and five people died. Instead they say we should seek unity and move on from this event. There can be no unity or moving on until:...

As we are learning how stagnated the education has become in other parts of the country due to continued lockdowns and no in-person learning, I want to thank the Cape Girardeau Public School District for all it has done -- and continues to do -- to help our kids learn, compete and thrive...

Visible and measurable -- my two favorite words. Both of these words were experienced this morning. Fran and I witnessed firsthand why Cape Girardeau County was initially the No. 1 county in the state in COVID vaccinations and continues to rank high statewide...

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was stripped of several House committee assignments after expressing views considered dangerous by many. She promoted QAnon, a disproven and discredited conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring. The group figured prominently in the United States Capitol insurrection that killed a Capitol police officer and numerous others...

Not long ago, you probably remember, Cape Girardeau's wonderful citizens voted in Cape's historic first-ever referendum. The hard work of so many led to a special election to repeal a city council ordinance permitting bow hunting in the city. Those citizens won the vote, and hunting in the city was unequivocally defeated...

Last week my husband and I received COVID vaccines at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. I was so impressed with the level of organization and efficiency in this process. It was a quick, easy and safe event. From parking, sign in, actual injection, to a 15-minute observation period, it was perfect...

Our personal thanks to the Cape Girardeau Public Health Center, the members of the Cape Girardeau National Guard, SEMO, and all the many healthcare workers and volunteers for the excellent job in administering the COVID vaccination shots at the Show Me Center...

Some of the great politicians of the past were good at compromising with members of the opposite party. That's part of what made them great. Examples include Presidents Johnson and Reagan and House Speaker Tip O'Neill. These men and others like them reached across the aisle and helped craft and pass major legislation. You don't see that now. Politics has become so partisan that compromise is a bad word, which leads to the gridlock and bad behavior we see...

January 6 will be remembered as a shameful day in American history. As more information and videos come to light, it becomes more and more clear that this was an orchestrated attempt to attack our government by individuals using the purposeful iconography and rhetoric of Donald Trump and the Confederacy to incite violence...

Victor David Hanson's article in the Southeast Missourian of Jan. 23-24th issue, is very telling of the Biden administration's preference for identity politics. Hanson's article was entitled, "Thoughts on the 1776 Commission and its report." The 1776 Commission was formed as a response to the controversial and flawed New York Times 1619 Project. ...

The State of Missouri just rolled out its Covid vaccination dashboard. The website is at covidvaccine.mo.gov/data. I looked over the data and saw Cape Girardeau County leads the state with 10.2% of its residents receiving at least their first dose of the Covid vaccine. ...

The year 2020 was full of uncertainty and need. Throughout the year the Salvation Army has been able to continue to operate and help the community. During the pandemic, we have had to change the way that we operate but have never had to close. While things looked different, people were still helped from all over the Cape Girardeau area. We would not be able to assist those people without you...

Senator Josh Hawley needs to resign from office immediately for his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Despite his ludicrous opinion column attempting to excuse his behavior, Sen. Hawley is held in contempt for the cynical, irresponsible, self-serving and inflammatory manner which he supported the president's baseless claims of election fraud. ...

On Jan. 6, egged on by Trump, his son and his dimwitted minions, thousands of right-wing thugs stormed the Capitol building, ransacked offices, destroyed property and desecrated monuments. Five people died, three from natural causes. Among those who encouraged the rioters was Josh Hawley, Missouri's senator, whose iconic photo of raised fisted arm was flashed across the nation. ...