Speak Out 03/29/04

Great music teachers

I WOULD like to thank the Cape Girardeau School District music teachers. I am so impressed by the outstanding work they all do to motivate their students. It is so nice to have my child come home from school and be really excited about music. They are a true inspiration to our community.

Sub-par wages

GARY RUST recently paid well-deserved tribute to Hispanics and their buying power. Just think what their buying power would be if many of them weren't exploited with sub-par wages by capitalist entrepreneurs.

Doing the research

IN ANSWER to a Speak Out question, David Limbaugh likely does conduct rigorous research for his works. My guess would be that he enters a key phrase like "bizarre anecdotes designed to mislead people into believing there is no religious freedom in America" into an Internet search engine and incorporates the footnoted results into columns and books. This method of research has served him very well. I would encourage all aspiring columnists and authors to follow his example.

Skimpy lunches

I WOULD like to know what lunch money is buying. According to many children in the Jackson School District, it's not very much. You tell me how chicken fries, veggie, fruit and milk are going to make these growing children even think about being satisfied until they get home from school. Not all families can afford to pay for the extra a la carte food offered for an extra price. Every day my children come home and want a meal when they walk in the door. They can't wait until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to sit down and eat. Something is not right.

Who wears the pants?

I AM a teacher who deals with heavy discipline problems. I can assure you that local schools do not punish black students more than white students. Oftentimes reports sent to the office on black students are never filed in records. Maybe that is because the schools are getting tired of being labeled institutions of discrimination. Students, regardless of color, are more poorly behaved today then they were 15 years ago. The poor behavior is due to a lack of parental discipline at home. Some students get suspended, and the parents bribe their children with gifts and toys if they promise to be better. What ever happened to the American household where the parents wore the pants?

More doctor slots

DOCTORS, FOLLOWING the guild model, use their American Medical Association lobby as a weapon to restrict the supply of competitors by absolutely limiting available places open at our medical schools to train students of medicine. Such a monopoly supports their outsized physician incomes. Before we agree to the tort reform that might lower their malpractice insurance costs, doctors must agree to double the number of medical school positions for us.

Keep track of support

I KNOW there are some divorced moms out there who want their children to have a loving relationship with their fathers, but the mass majority do not. My husband and I have been married for almost 15 years. During this time, he has paid an enormous amount of child support to a deadbeat mom. We also were in contact with DFS officials years ago, but they were of no help. Judges need to look at who would and could provide children with a better home life when deciding on custody issues. And the parent receiving the child support should have to show where the money is going. I know in my husband's case his support didn't go for his children. Child support is not for the custodian parents' tanning sessions, hair appointments or shopping sprees.

Killer movies

AFTER READING all the news stories about people dying of heart attacks while watching "The Passion of the Christ," I was wondering if anyone ever kept records on how many poor souls died of heart attacks while watching "The Sound of Music"?