Speak Out 05/08/04

West End speeding

SOMEONE COMMENTED in Speak Out about the speeders on Sprigg Street. Try living on North West End Boulevard just south of Bertling. Motorists drive so fast here I am afraid to walk across the street to my mailbox. If the city wants to make some fast money, it should have a policeman with radar stationed here.

Not normal treatment

THE TREATMENT of the Iraqi prisoners was deplorable, but we need to keep it in proportion. A tiny handful of soldiers was responsible. This is not normal treatment of prisoners in Iraq. It is the extreme exception. More importantly, would those prisoners have preferred real torture such as removal of their fingernails, breaking of all their teeth, electronic shocks, chopping off of their arms or legs, the gouging out of their eyeballs or even execution? These treatments have been common throughout the ages for prisoners who are withholding information that could save many lives. To have been photographed with no clothes on is nothing compared to what could have been done to them.

Emergency congestion

I AM so fed up as I look out my window. I work on a very busy road in Cape Girardeau, and I am so angry to see how motorists act when there is an emergency vehicle trying to get through. These motorists cause congestion and do not pull over.

Stand and deliver

I AM amazed that we have conservative majorities in both chambers of Congress. We have a conservative president. We have a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet, with all of the ducks on their side, these conservative bodies get nothing of consequence done on conservative Americans' No. 1 issue: abortion. Crumbs are thrown at us. Congress debates the uncommon occurrence of partial-birth abortion. It passes a law making the murder of a pregnant woman a double murder. These are trivial side issues. The main issue is abortion. As long as our conservative politicians keep throwing us these crumbs, they can tell us they are working on the problem and ask us to keep voting for them. And we do. The bottom line is that anti-abortion Americans are being used as political pawns. Why are we not demanding that our conservative legislators stand up and deliver.

Stoplights on timers

IN THE entire city of Cape Girardeau, there are only two stoplights that are not on sensors. They are both on Caruthers at the intersection of Broadway and Independence. Why are these lights still on timers? There is no reason why traffic should have to stop on Broadway or Independence, especially when there is hardly any traffic at all on Caruthers since the high school has relocated.

The consequences

WHAT IS happening to discipline in our schools today? What moral values are we teaching when we do not punish cheating in class and drinking on school trips? Children need to learn that there are consequences for misbehavior. How will children learn to be accountable for their actions as adult citizens if they are not trained to do so as children? They are looking up to their teachers and administration to set an example. Please don't fail them.

Explaining reform

TORT REFORM is legislative-speak for using statutory power for purposes of undermining the judicial branch and attempting to engage in radical social engineering.

Dangerous reception

I ATTENDED the wedding of a family friend. The ceremony was short but truly wonderful. The reception, on the other hand, was appalling. I have never seen so many people killing themselves and endangering my own life with cigarettes. The alcohol was also going pretty freely, and the wedding party had yet to arrive. The most shocking moment was when the wedding party arrived and rode onto the dance floor on their Harleys. I know that receptions are supposed to be fun, but this was just ridiculous.