Speak Out 02/23/04

Charleston crackdown

I'M PROUD of police chief Paul Johnson and prosecutor Jennifer Rafferty. They're going after the crack dealers in Charleston, Mo. It may take 15 years to shut them all down. What can we do so these people want to do something else in life and we don't have to house them all in prison? There's got to be something else they can do with their lives.

Homework policy

AS A teacher at Jackson Junior High School, I can tell you that each teacher has his or her own homework policy. There is no building policy for late homework. The high school is the first to endorse this policy. I think it's great.

Enforced immunization

WHEN MY daughter entered Central Junior High School, we got a letter stating she had to have a certain immunization. According to a brochure sent home, the only people who were likely to get the disease were not in my child's category. She didn't do any of the three or four things that were listed. No student works as a food handler or school nurse. I called the health department. The woman in charge of immunizations said school kids were not at risk for this disease. However, the list of possible side effects was quite scary, especially for a child with a pre-existing health condition. Even the county health nurse told me it made no sense at all, but it was the law so it was going to be enforced.

Saving Iraq

I AM a first generation Iraqi-American. My parents cried for joy when the United States took over Iraq, because the years of torture are finally over. I thank President Bush for saving my people from rape, torture and death. The president's critics all need to remember that Rome was not built in a day. God bless Bush for saving my heritage and the Iraqi people and for opening up the Mideast to democracy.

The easiest way

THE ELECTRIC poles on East Main Street in Jackson look absolutely horrible. This goes to the very core of what is wrong with the city government in Jackson. Officials have no consideration for the neighborhood or residents who live on that street. This was the easiest way for the city to erect the poles.

End of globalism

I USED to think Eli Fishman was behind the times. But Fishman is in the vanguard of history. His legitimate horror concerning the astronomical trade deficit and exporting of jobs to foreign countries reflects a coming consensus in the United States. In essence, though only Fishman and a few others realize it, we are experiencing a rapid resurgence of nationalism. Globalism is dead.

No draft coming

THERE IS not going to be a draft. And if things ever got so bad we had to draft people into the military, there would be more things to worry about than going to fight for your country.

No contradiction

I RECALL from my history that certain persons were thrown into prison for daring to point out that the Earth revolves around the sun. Religious dogma cannot replace observable truth. In fact, true religion never contradicts observable truth.

Other priorities

CONGRATULATIONS TO the parent of the Oak Ridge student who has taught her daughter that disobeying the rules of authority is OK. Was this parent as vocal to her local legislators about impending education budget crunches?

Making a buck

ONE WINTER it snowed a lot and my kids went out to find people who might want their driveways shoveled. No one wanted it done. Some people wouldn't even allow them to do it for free for fear of being sued if there was any kind of injury. As far as being able to pay for extracurricular sports, my spouse works for the city with the most stressful job available. Try living on $26,000 a year. Why should teachers have to pay to park where they work?

Important questions

ALL THE dirty campaigning aside, there are only two questions that will matter with voters come this fall: Will the improving economy remain relatively jobless? Will the reconstruction of Iraq descend into anarchy and civil war? If the answer to either or both of these questions is yes, then it's curtains for the GOP.

Fix it, don't spin it

DO YOU realize how much ink you wasted so the governor and the Senate president pro tem could give their spin about why Missouri public education is so woefully underfunded? We're sick of spin. Fix the problem.

Natural laws

AS I remember my college physics, chemistry and astronomy courses, the Big Bang theory essentially says that there was a huge explosion of dust and gasses that came from no one knows where. The Big Bang theory violates two of the laws of thermodynamics: the law of conservation of mass and the law of conservation of energy, both of which rule out the possibility of creating something from nothing. And what about the various violations of other natural laws in our universe? The law of conservation of angular momentum says that if a spinning body throws off some of its mass, that mass will spin in the same direction as the parent mass. How do you explain that two planetary bodies in our own solar system spin backward? Maybe someone is trying to tell us we do not know everything.

Cheap labor

I NOTICED the comment about how we should buy American products. I agree completely, but think about why our companies move overseas. Our unions demand higher wages to the point where the companies can't afford to have factories here. If you owned a large company and had a choice of paying workers $20 an hour here or $4 in Mexico to do the same job, what would you do?

Foreign blame

IN REGARD to the "Buy American" comment: What can we buy that's made in America? Corporate leaders of American companies are the ones who decide to go overseas. Don't blame the foreign people. Blame the companies for moving. TG is the largest employer in our area. It's owned by a foreign company. I'm a very patriotic person, but I actually consider what's going on instead of simply blaming foreign people.

Ready to cave in

JACKSON NEEDS to fix Old Cape Road before a car disappears when it caves in. There are huge sinking spots in the Old Cape Road all the way from Donna Drive to Gloria Street. I think the city should get busy and get it corrected before it goes.

A little, not too much

I THINK Oak Ridge needs to be a little more liberal about hair coloring. If a boy were to show up with hot pink in his hair, that would be disruptive. But if a girl does a strand or two, I don't see what it hurts. I don't think we should have to look like clones of each other. Mohawks go too far, but a little strand of hair dye in a girl's hair if she wants to tint it purple -- as long as it's not a bright purple -- is OK. School districts need to look the other way unless it's too much. I guess it may be the problem of deciding what's too much.

Repaint the lines

I'D LIKE to request that the city please restripe Mount Auburn Road area from Route K to Independence Street. The old lines show up better than the new lines do, especially at night.

Thanks for good deed

I WOULD like to thank the good Samaritan who mailed the contents of my purse back to me. You did not leave your return address on the envelope, but you know who you are. I truly want to thank you for being such a good Samaritan.

Honest citizens

I'M A law-abiding citizen. I own guns. They're all registered. I reload as a hobby. Some people ruin it for everybody else. I read an article in National Geographic that said fleas have killed more people than all the wars ever fought in the world? Bubonic plague killed 60 million people. So why don't we ban dogs? Bad people make things bad for everybody. It's not right to include the honest citizen. I think the police in Cape Girardeau, Jackson do a great job.

Interstate trash

I JUST wonder if anybody has noticed the amount of trash between the Center Junction interchange and Route K in Cape Girardeau? It is really pitiful. There is so much trash on the median between these two roads,. It's very unsightly. I'd appreciate if somebody might take some interest and clean it up.

Doing what's right

I WOULD like to compliment the city council members for standing up to our mayor and not going through with the 100 percent sunset provision on the tax increase. I want Mayor Jay Knudtson to know that I and other taxpaying citizens compliment the city council for doing what is right for Cape Girardeau.

Street expense

I WOULD like to know why Cape Girardeau spent so much money on Fountain Street from Morgan Oak to the new bridge. If our fire department and police need trucks, cars and gear for use in our city, why was so much spent on this one street?

Thanks for backpack

THANK YOU to the person who returned my black backpack.