Speak Out 01/28/04

Forked tongue

WE HAVE a governor who speaks with a forked tongue. He was in Scott City telling us about all the jobs he created. Meanwhile, the state is talking about closing Cottonwood Treatment Center in Cape Girardeau.

Jackson's streets

IF JACKSON is such a beautiful city and good place to live, why doesn't it keep the streets in better condition?

Low credibility

IT SEEMS if there is a large group of people speaking on behalf of a proposed cut at a Cape Girardeau School Board meeting, then the cut doesn't happen. Why weren't these recommendations financially clear before being submitted to the board? Or was this just a smokescreen for the next bond issue? I think the credibility of this board and superintendent is very low.

Real need for audit

I SEE in your legal notices that the Cape Girardeau School District is seeking bids on a fiber-optic WAN and an IP-based phone system. This shows me a real need for the audit. How many more teachers will we lose so the administrators can have a top of the line system? I think the taxpayers need to pay very close attention to exactly what is cut and then what is being hired back.

From bad to worse

THE PRO-REPUBLICAN content of some Southeast Missourian editorial cartoons has been reduced to claiming that although the GOP has abandoned the principles of conservatism, the Democrats would have done worse. That speaks volumes about how far we've been led astray by the Bush administration.

School blessings

SEVERAL YEARS ago, when the public-versus-private school issue was discussed rather hotly, a church in the St. Louis area pointed out that its parochial-school tuition was a lot less than the public school's per-student cost. It also pointed out that incorporating all the private school students into the public school system would cost taxpayers that much more money. It seems like everyone should think more clearly and realize that the private schools are, indeed, a "blessing."

Freedom of ideas

A YOUNG person with impeccable integrity attended a leadership conference sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce where he heard a couple of panelists unmercifully attacking the Speak Out forum. One said he hated Speak Out with every fiber of his being. The other agreed enthusiastically. This is shocking and disappointing. These people demand freedom in the economic marketplace but apparently oppose the marketplace's free exchange of ideas so wonderfully represented by the Speak Out forum.

CEO of the year

KUDOS TO Cape Girardeau native Rich Kinder. Morningstar, the bible of stock-market analysts and investors, has again nominated Kinder for national CEO of the year.

Sensible audit

SCHOOL AUDITS are traditionally done by local firms having warm and fuzzy relationships with the superintendent and school board. That is in no way to say that local audits are wrong, but in the case of the confusing condition of the Cape Girardeau School District a state audit is clearly sensible. The students deserve no less.

Cape needs aren't new

WHO SAID new taxes raised by the city would be used for new spending? Why don't people pay attention to simple ideas? New taxes are needed for existing needs: employees who haven't had a raise, equipment that is falling apart, facilities that should have been replaced 20 years ago. How is that asking for something new?