Fair ~ 68°F   River stage: 36.54 Falling Saturday, November 7, 2009

Letters National snafus with flu vaccine (11/06/09) We are over 65 and have been attempting to get seasonal flu shots. My doctor does not have the vaccine. We encountered a ridiculous situation at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center. Shots supposedly were available from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ... Our freedoms are eroding (11/04/09) I believe past and current administrations are in the process of destroying my beloved country. I, like many others, spent four years in the armed forces. I am sad because we should have the ability to have freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are on a path right now to destroy all those beliefs... Public option, within budget (11/04/09) Thanks for the Oct. 28 Opinion page dominated by the Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich articles on the health care issue. This reader agrees with the main point of each. Those positions:Dean -- We need the public option. Gingrich -- Whatever we have must be paid for within budgeted revenue... Thanks, JAYF, for everything (11/04/09) Thank you, Jackson Area Youth Football, for making a difference for my two boys. My oldest son has played for years and is an athlete, but coaching was key. He learned more than fundamentals. He learned to love the game. Thanks, Ronnie Hobeck, Kevin Schneider and Todd Schneider, for treating him like one of your own and taking care of him on and off the field... Misleading county salary info (11/02/09) I would like you to clear some things up with your readers and our constituents. I usually do not respond to articles, but the way the Oct. 30 article "County officials approve increase in their salary" was written is very unsettling to me. The elected officials will only get a raise if the county employees receive raises also. ... Please return stuffed duck (11/02/09) Please, whoever took my white stuffed duck with the little bonnet on its head out of the back of my car: Would you please return it? It meant so much to me. My beloved sister, who died of lung cancer, gave that to me long ago. Why did you steal it? The Bible says, "Thou shalt not steal." It's one of the Ten Commandments, if you've never read the Bible... Keep the momentum going (11/01/09) As a cancer caregiver and advocate, I know that our nation's current health care system does not work well for many people with cancer. Cancer patients are often denied coverage or find that the cost of coverage is far beyond their means. One in four cancer patients has delayed necessary care due to cost, according to a recent poll from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network... Credits need legislative review (11/01/09) State Sen. Jason G. Crowell, who represents the 27th District in the Missouri Senate, sent this letter to statewide elected officials and to members of the Missouri General Assembly. Looking at the state's current fiscal situation, it is my opinion that the General Assembly should provide itself with as many options as possible as we begin to make the tough decisions inherent in our state budget. ... A teacher's influence (11/01/09) The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's Otto Dingeldein Award, recently given to Mike Dumey, was a well-deserved tribute. Mike's positive influence on his many students, especially the love of musical theater, cannot be measured. A teacher who had the biggest single influence on my life passed away this week in Baton Rouge, La. ... U.N. treaty threatens wealth (10/30/09) The nation has seen President Obama take a downward slide in the polls concerning his approval and popularity. His recent attacks on Fox News have not helped. But there is one thing that could truly wreak havoc on this president and his policies. Lord Christopher Monckton, an adviser to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, is speaking out on a climate treaty in the U.N. ... Extra payment is too costly (10/29/09) I wrote a letter May 29 objecting to the $250 payment to every Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiary. This same proposal, again being made by President Obama, will cost $13 billion that we do not have, but it should help Democrats secure additional votes for the 2010 and 2012 elections... Flu emergency is a ruse (10/29/09) Well, now we have it: Mr. Obama's war. The government has finally gotten its national emergency. For years the government has been looking for something to put the fear of God in all of us. Our national hero, President Obama, is here to save the day by declaring a national emergency to attack the swine flu... Thoughts on climate change (10/27/09) Not being an atmospheric scientist but having read and attempted to critically analyze global warming, or climate change, here is what I have concluded. By the way, science works a lot like that. 1. The amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is increasing, and humans are probably at fault... Micromanaging the bailouts (10/25/09) The right-wing media are outraged that the government is interfering with capitalism by limiting executive wages of bailed-out companies like AIG and General Motors. Are you kidding me? Have they forgotten that when you (the taxpayers) bring the gold, you make the rules? These "talented" executives tried to run their companies into the ground and came to the taxpayers for help. ... Ways to get cleaner air (10/25/09) Global-warming skeptics are pointing to a recent cooling trend to claim that global warming doesn't exist, while others claim the time of the recent trend is too short to be significant. The evidence recorded by geologists place the ice ages as tens of thousands of years apart, so I don't believe either side can determine whether we are in warming or cooling based on the less than 200 years of data that we have... Businesses help with dugouts (10/23/09) When people come forward to help out our students in the Cape Girardeau School District, it sure is a pleasure for me to tip my hat to them. We have been working hard to build and maintain the athletic fields at Central High School, and without the generous backing of numerous volunteers who have contributed labor, money and materials, the task would be impossible... The role of editorial cartoons (10/22/09) My first-ever letter to the editor was the result of an editorial cartoon that unfairly besmirched the industry in which I was employed. That began my love-hate relationship with editorial cartoons. They can be exaggerated and distorted as well as ironic and satirically humorous. One would like to think most opinion pieces are well studied and fairly presented. However, opinions reflect an agenda, and in our country opinions and agendas should be freely expressed... Federal regs affect states (10/21/09) Time after time the federal government passes laws and regulations that have unintended consequences that drastically affect the bottom line of the state budget. Now it is at it again. The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade climate bill being considered in Congress is another example... Burden on military volunteers (10/19/09) America used to be the land of the free and home of the brave. Today the U.S. has the distinction of being the land of the criminals and host to the world's largest prison system. The U.S. has the distinction of being the most abusive to the few truly brave men and women whom we send out to protect us. ... Follies: Great memories (10/18/09) There is going to be a Jaycee Follies reunion at the Cape River Heritage Museum on Oct. 30. I remember the follies. I was a child and a voice student of Catherine Lange (I think that was her name). I remember being on stage with other girls. We sang "April Showers," wore yellow raincoats and carried umbrellas. ... Data ignore long-term warming (10/18/09) It is disappointing that the Southeast Missourian furthers the disinformation campaign of the climate change skeptics with the recent article by Paul Hudson titled "What happened to global warming?" Ironically, however, a remarkable mismatch exists between title and content. ... Health costs are excessive (10/18/09) The real health care issue is the excessive cost of the current system in the U.S. Not only do we spend more than 16 percent of GDP on health care, compared with Canada's 9.7 percent, we also have shorter life spans. Where does the extra money go? The Dartmouth Atlas, published jointly by the medical school and the economics department of Dartmouth University, has estimated 30 percent of health care spending in the U.S. is wasted. It buys us nothing beneficial... Nobel choice lifts GOP (10/18/09) The recent Nobel award to President Obama set off a flurry of debate and discussion. Some believe the award was a thinly veiled rebuke of a former president. Others believe it confirmation of promised hope and change. And others contend that President Obama has done nothing in his short time in office. All of these contentions have some merit, but I'd like to dispel the notion that President Obama has done nothing in his first eight months. He's done plenty... Deceptive lure of authority (10/18/09) The deceptive allure of fascism, socialism and communism is that man can be his own God. Such philosophies emerge when men deny the ultimate authority of our Creator and his recipe for society. Such philosophies attack the fundamental tenants of our free republic based on fundamental rights of the soul, pervert it and appeal to the physical nature of man, replacing the true necessity of reverence for our Creator with an artificial reverence for an all powerful state... Support the Rotary radio auction (10/16/09) On Saturday the Cape Girardeau West Rotary Club will host its 44th annual radio auction at the Show Me Center. The auction, which will be broadcast all day on KZIM 960 and KSIM 1400, includes vacation packages to Florida, the Riverwalk in San Antonio and Keystone, Colo. The auction also features a semester's tuition to Southeast Missouri State University, tickets to Cardinals and Blues games, gift certificates to numerous restaurants and other businesses and many more items... Beware of federal takeover (10/15/09) As we spiral downward into tyranny, our corrupt federal government continues to spew forth unconstitutional bills, regulation after regulation and bailouts one after the other. Where is it written that the federal government can fire a private-sector employee? Missouri has passed a state's sovereignty amendment. ... No access to some stores (10/13/09) Why is it that so many businesses in Cape Girardeau and Jackson are not wheelchair accessible? I thought that all businesses had to have some kind of entry for the disabled. There are several places that we'd like to go into, However, they don't have a way for me to get a wheelchair in the store... President has earned Nobel (10/13/09) Congratulations to President Obama and to the United States for his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize. Shame to those who denigrate the president's achievement and who put politics above patriotism. The same folks who cheered when the United States did not win the bid to host the Olympics are jeering now. In both instances they are opposed to good things for the country they claim to love... The best ticket in town (10/13/09) Right here in Cape Girardeau the River Campus is staging production after production of a quality quite simply beyond belief for their overall excellence. Case in point: the just-completed run of the musical "Little Shop of Horrors." We are talking here of a rather slight play that received world-class treatment from the University Players. ... Tearing down historic buildings (10/12/09) Regarding the demolition of Washington School: When will Southeast Missouri State University's assault and slaughter of our historic buildings continue? Perhaps the university should team up with Cape Girardeau and demolish every building over 20 years old. ...

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