INSTEAD OF COUPS, GOP HAS WORK TO DO

Speaker Newt Gingrich has survived, for now, an abortive attempted coup against his leadership of the U.S. House and especially aimed at his leadership of the Republican conference. Amid all the confusion, differing stories and conspiring, the House majority caucus has done a pretty good imitation of the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.

It is in the nature of majority governing coalitions that they are more difficult to manage than legislative minorities, whose role -- opposition -- is far simpler. After 42 years in the minority, the GOP majority is learning this. It is also worth noting that Gingrich leads a House majority caucus that with only a 22-vote margin over the Democrats, is reduced from last year and one of the slimmest congressional majorities in recent history. Certainly this complicates Gingrich's challenge, as it would that of any person in his place.

That said, Americans have been witness these last three years to Gingirch's strengths, which are formidable, as well as to his weaknesses. Simply stated, Gingrich the peerless strategist of the opposition insurgency makes a better Che Guevera than he does a governing authority figure once he maneuvers his side to victory. In particular, he has repeatedly been outmaneuvered by the peerless politician and truly shameless demagogue in the Oval Office.

Behind much of the internal GOP strife lie crucial tactical questions about how much to demand, and how much to settle for, in negotiations with the Clinton White House, especially on the pending tax bill. Keep in mind that it is because of the GOP congressional majority that tax cuts are on the table at all, instead of the higher taxes and socialized medicine that marked the first two years of Clinton's first term. Put another way: If today the House were run by Dick Gephardt, the Senate by Tom Daschle and domestic policy by Hillary Clinton, do you think the Dow would be spiking over 8,000?

Meanwhile, hardworking Americans looking forward to the first federal tax cut in 16 years are watching to see whether the Gingrich-led House GOP can get its act together. Much is riding on the answer.

POLITICS? THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WITH POLITICIANS

Three sites remain in the running for final selection for the two new prisons the state of Missouri will build. They are Trenton, in far northern Missouri, south-central Missouri's Licking in Texas County and Charleston in Southeast Missouri. The Joint Committee on Corrections has met several times, visiting these sites and one other, which they eliminated. At their most recent meeting their chairman, Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, adjourned the committee after the following result: Charleston led with 9 votes out of 12 committee members, while Licking and Trenton were tied with 7 votes each.

Staples said he adjourned so that committee members could take their time in making the right decision, leaving no one in doubt that he wanted to be sure, before the final vote, that support was lined up for Licking. Staples has said publicly that he is committed to Licking, which lies in the 16th District represented by his close friend and Texas Countian Sen. Mike Lybyer, D-Huggins. Lybyer is the influential chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and his district adjoins Staples'.

All this has led to overheated charges of politics, as though a decision to be made by 12 politicians over the expenditure of $150 million could be marked by anything other than political maneuvering. How shocking.

Charleston is the top vote getter, and leaders have done a remarkable job of selling their community. Special credit for untiring effort must go to former state representative and Missouri First Lady Betty Hearnes, who has spearheaded Charleston's bid. For his part, Staples says he will reconvene the committee after Labor Day for a final vote to recommend two sites to the governor. It looks as though southern Missouri has a good chance for both prisons.

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Cable-TV curse follows new resident

I RECENTLY moved here from another town. Our town's cable provider was Falcon TV. No sooner had I settled in Cape that I heard that Falcon Cable TV had bought out TCI. I believe Falcon bought out Cape's TCI simply because they knew I was moving here. I am haunted. I am cursed. Citizens of Cape, I apologize. Many of you will now have little alternative but to share my misery. Welcome to my cable TV nightmare.

Just as long as it isn't my wealth

A SPEAK Out caller recently asked Mr. Degenhardt to rethink his position. The caller evidently felt Mr. Degenhardt favored some form of confiscating and redistributing wealth. If so, Mr. Degenhardt's position is a sentiment I sympathize with, at least to the extent that the wealth being confiscated and redistributed isn't mine.

Please return ring and bracelet

THIS IS a request. If anyone that was in the restroom at Barnes & Noble Bookstore and took a child's ring and a bracelet, the ring had a S on it, please, please take it back to Barnes & Noble.

What might have been only if ...

GARY RUST recently included in his column an interesting tidbit authored by Republic Sen. Arlin Specter. Specter was once a presidential aspirant. If he had received the Republican nomination, I was going to call Speak Out and say, "The Specter of specterism is haunting America."

Good news, bad news and a comment

I'VE GOT good news, I've got bad news and I've got a general comment. The comment first. It's pretty pathetic when the customers in stores are nicer, sweeter and more helpful to you than the actual employees of same. The good news is that a 7- or 8-year-old boy actually opened the door and held it open while we walked through it two times on the same day. We thanked him. He said, "Your welcome." I shouldn't even have to be calling this in, but we all know how rare that is these days. And our congratulations to the parents who were not anywhere around, that we saw, for teaching him such wonderful and, sadly, too uncommon manners. The bad news: You know how everybody says "That's not my department" when we're trying to get somebody to help you? Well, this happened to us in reverse. All of a sudden some woman was spouting off how this was her department, she worked every department and she knew everything about everything. We told her what we were looking for. She said, "Oh, no, we don't have that item," as though we were looking for something completely strange and alien, which was in fact a common item. That's fine. It's just the attitude. "What do you want?" she said, not "How may I help you" and acted as though we were taking up her time and she was doing us a favor. That's what she's paid for. And in a great big store, like the one we were in, you can hardly find anybody to help you anyway.

Postal Service still a good bargain

I KEEP reading in Speak Out people complaining about the Postal Service, but the reality is that we have the cheapest, most efficient postal service in the world. And I don't work for the Postal Service and neither does anybody who I know. I'm just trying to state a fact here. If they need to raise the rates in order to continue providing this service, that's just fine with me. I send probably five pieces of mail a week. That's roughly 250 pieces of mail per year, and if they increase a penny per piece, that will cost me a whole $2.50 a year. Wow!

Basketball, not garden plots

IT SEEMS once again that the city is putting other things before the children. I understood there was a playground put into the Red Star area when the city acquired those lots. Vegetable and flower gardens are beautiful, but I just heard where Poplar Bluff had put in a basketball court for their youths who didn't have anything to do. I think that might help our Red Star area more than flowers and vegetable gardens that have to be weeded and have to be watered. Think about it.

Reasoning reflects AARP position

HOORAY TO the caller who thinks Gil Degenhardt should give up a year of his Medicare coverage so that people who are presently working can be covered when they reach the age of 65. When I turned 50, I refused to join the AARP as a matter principle. Mr. Degenhardt's reasoning is representative of this self-centered group. They want everyone else to bite their bullet.

Puzzled about media news choices

I'M CONCERNED about the story that took over America's media for more than 10 days, and that's the killing in Florida of a homosexual dress maker by a homosexual prostitute. I don't understand the significance of this story. It seems to be a very simple regional story to me. However, it was the No. 1 story on every television newscast and on almost every radio newscast. It's been No. 1 on the morning shows. We've had it on "Nightline," "Dateline," "Primetime Live" and "20/20." I don't understand the significance of this when there is a courageous newspaper, The Village Voice, that has been trying to get a story out, and it's suppressed in the United States. That story is about United Nations peacekeeping troops in Somalia killing African children, torturing them, prostituting them, raping them and forcing them to eat vomit mixed with worms, throwing them in a metal cage and letting a little kid die of thirst. This was done by Belgium, Canadian and Italian troops, not Third World country troops. But this story cannot get out. There are millions of dollars missing in aid funds from Africa that United Nations workers stole. There are United Nations female aid workers who prostituted themselves to United Nations troops. This story can't get out, but a courageous newspaper is trying.

Shades of the Flat Earth Society

THE NAIVE caller complaining about space exploration reminds me of the Flat Earth Society back in the 1400s. They didn't want to explore or do anything new. Guess what? You benefited from that. It did take a little bit of time, but you're here now in America. If nobody had taken the time to explore, you wouldn't be here unless you're an American Indian.

Thanks for pointing out the weeds

THIS IS in reply to a Speak Out comment a couple of weeks ago. The board of directors of Habitat for Humanity would like to thank the individual who recently pointed out the condition of one of our lots. It is our intention to maintain our properties at a level which the community would be proud. We value the community's input and support and apologize for the oversight. Again, thank you for bringing it to our attention.