Speak Out 010702

Political respect

SPEAK OUT callers, both Democrat and Republican, insult each other's political parties. You say the other party's members don't think, and you condemn each other. You say we should think for ourselves. But you don't believe in that. Show respect for people who have made a choice between your party and the other.

Handling terrorism

I THINK Bill Clinton is a good American and abhors terrorism. I'm sure he would have handled the current situation the same way President Bush has.

Obesity is complex

REGARDING YOUR editorial on obesity, here are a few facts: For most people who diet, only 5 percent keep the weight off. When you diet, your body will drop its metabolic rate in order to keep the weight on. A fat person can eat less food than a slender person and still gain weight. Check into the facts of obesity, not popular myth. It isn't true that all fat people eat more than slender people. They may even eat less and may exercise more than a slender person. It's not all about eating too much and being lazy. It's more about metabolism. The causes of obesity are a lot more complex than most people think.

Preparing teachers

INSTEAD OF wasting time and energy testing teachers, Gov. Bob Holden should direct the state's resources toward raising college and university standards so they no longer graduate students who don't know their subject matter and toward encouraging administrators and boards not to hire teachers who don't know their subject matter or are not qualified to teach what they are assigned to teach. Testing teachers is like trying to stop an accident after it has happened.

Pushing numbers

THE COUNTY commission is absolutely right. More juveniles are being detained so that a new juvenile detention center can be built. Using Randy Rhodes' own figures, arrests are up 25 percent, but detentions are up nearly 100 percent.

Yield to sirens

PLEASE REMIND people that emergency vehicles have the right-of-way. I was on Jackson Boulevard when an ambulance came from the opposite direction. I pulled to the side and stopped, as did many others. But a man in a van didn't even slow down. You guessed it. If not for the defensive driving of the ambulance driver, the van driver would most likely have needed the ambulance's services.

No incentive

WILL PAUL Greenberg, who has written several columns on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Southeast Missourian, please discuss exactly what the Palestinians would have received from any peace settlement offered to them up to this point? As far as I've been able to determine, had the Palestinians accepted any of the settlements offered so far, the only real gain for them would have been that the Israelis would have stopped killing them. I admit this is a pretty big item, but other than this the only thing they would have been guaranteed is the right to continue to live in ghetto-like surroundings on non-productive, arid land and in perpetual poverty with no real hope for a much better future for themselves or their children.

Get the money first

I HOPE the city gets its money from the owner of the Marquette Hotel, because $70,000-plus just to make the building safe is quite a bit of money.

Daily inspiration

I CROSS the Mississippi River bridge early every day to come to work, and I noticed in the last few days a light on top of one of the bridge piers of the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. As I got closer that first day, I saw the light was illuminating an American flag. To see that every morning on the way to work starts off my day perfectly. It's a beautiful sight, and anyone who crosses the bridge at night should take notice. It's really inspiring. Thank you to whoever had the idea to do that.

Wait for investigation

HERE WE go again, convicting the Scott County deputy before the investigation is complete. Let the investigation decide who was right and who was wrong.

More administrators

IT'S REALLY ironic that, at a time university employees are not getting raises and the cost of insurance is increasing, we are hiring three more vice presidents. That's three, at a time when the governor is cutting the budget. The university's budget has been cut twice, but it can find the money to make three new positions at the vice president level. I wish somebody would look into this in earnest.

A fine job

I THINK the police did a fine job apprehending the knife-wielding man, and I congratulate them. Keep up the good work, Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Poor examples

WHILE YOU are kicking the unwed mothers, why don't you take a few swings at the middle-aged and seniors who set inappropriate examples for their children and grandchildren. Just because they don't get pregnant doesn't make it right.

Patriotic bridge

I'D LIKE to see the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge painted red, white and blue.