Letters to the Editor

The last few years have taught us all that we must question everything. We must take an active role in our local, state and federal governments. The days of blindly trusting edicts that come from government bureaucrats are over for me. I just read that New York schools are lowering their standards permanently because their students have consistently failed to meet the old standards. ...

Most retires spend their 'golden years' traveling, playing golf or bridge, participating in church related activities or playing with their grandchildren. Dr. Richard (Dick) Swartz and his wife, Kim, are taking another direction. Dick is a retired dentist, serving our community for over 30 years. Kim is retired from her career in marketing. Both have decided to step away from the nirvana of retirement and serve their community...

Dr. Joe Jefferson has taken a job at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. It's a loss to our River Campus. Many of you know him, and many have enjoyed his jazz band performances at Bedell Hall. They were the best. He called to thank me for including him in my orchestra and Dixieland band. ...

Congratulations to the Notre Dame Bulldogs! As team hosts for the Missouri State High School Basketball Championships in Springfield, we had the opportunity to spend time with the players, coaches and fans from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. These people were distinguished representatives of their community, and you should be proud of the excellent impression they made in Springfield...

The invasion of Ukraine is a test. Do we want an international order based upon a set of laws and peaceful settlement of differences, or do we want to continue the present system of might makes right? Putin and Russia subdued Chechnya at an estimated cost of 60,000 lives. ...

As our leaders continue the process of creating the 2023-2024 budget for the City of Cape Girardeau, more than likely they will be approached by departments and organizations requesting additional funding. I encourage our leaders to fund city needs before wants. Needs such as public safety and maintenance and repair on city streets, sewers, waterlines and facilities...

Kudos to Rep. Jason Smith for his article, "Standing for Life" (1/24/23). So apparent is the fact that many pro-choice members have not read Psalms 139:13. How encouraging it is to know that all people are not a mistake but loved by our great Creator...

There is presently a great deal of discussion about the fact that the United States has reached the national debt limit set by Congress. If this situation continues and the U.S. does not pay its obligations, then Treasury bonds will no longer be risk-free, interest rates for the government and everyone else will rise, and the role of the dollar globally will be weakened, perhaps permanently. A failure to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits will loom on the horizon...

After suffering through Rep. Jason Smith's latest inflammatory and dishonest attack on reproductive rights and health ("Standing for Life" 1/24/23), there is no doubt that "pro-life" legislation is rooted in Christian fundamentalism. The opinion that life begins at conception is a belief shared exclusively by a few overly zealous Christians. As Justice John Paul Stevens correctly stated in 1989, there is no secular reason for legislative declarations that life begins at conception...

Reparation: The act or process of mending or restoring; making amends or atonement, offering expiation, extinguishing a guilt, giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury. The majority of slaves came from African victors of inter-ethnic wars between tribes who would have killed them until they found they could sell them to the slave traders. ...

As I sit here writing this letter, I am still shaken from the shooting that took place less than a block away from my apartment Friday in broad daylight. I continue to use my voice to support those like myself who have been impacted by the senseless gun violence that continues to happen in BIPOC Communities on a daily basis...

As our city leaders continue to discuss and create the 2023-2024 Operating Budget for the City of Cape Girardeau, I encourage them to seriously consider implementing the following during the process: Remain focused on what's best for the community. Continue to obligate, invest, and manage taxpayers' dollars wisely...

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent presentation before a joint session of Congress was reminiscent of the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1940 when before that body he said, "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. ...

On Dec. 27, the Supreme Court held that a pandemic era health measure under Title 42 of the United States Code would for the time being remain in place. This law has been used as a way for border officials to quickly expel migrants without allowing for asylum applications otherwise required by law...