Speak Out 07/22/04

Fabulous performance

MY HAT goes off to the River City Players -- again. What a fabulous performance by such talented professionals and intricate direction by Dr. Whitlow in "The Star Spangled Girl." We are lucky to have the community theater in our town. It should be supported and appreciated only in a positive way. Thank you to the volunteers who make the productions work.

Mistreated pets

I THINK it should be against the law to tie an animal up and not supply it with food and water on a daily basis. I see this happening every day. What is the purpose of having a pet if you are going to tie it up and then forget about it?

Apologists' reasoning

BUSH APOLOGISTS like syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker are doing the best they can to defend the president on the WMD controversy, but even Parker wrote that "a case could be made for some degree of willful ignorance as a preference for information that fits with a preconceived notion of how things ought to go."

Life's responsibilities

LIFE SKILLS need to be taught to students starting in preschool. The issue isn't teaching them how to have sex, but rather safe sex if they are going to indulge outside the bounds of marriage. When 12-year-old girls are giving birth to their first child, then that should give you some idea that they aren't getting proper relationship training at home. I used to say, "If it were harder to get married there'd be fewer divorces." Nowadays people bypass marriage, live together and have as many children as they please, often by different fathers. And society continues to accept the decline of the morality and responsibilities of marriage "till death do us part."

Gimmicky device

AMENDING THE Missouri Constitution to prohibit gay marriage would do nothing to deter judicial activism in the federal courts concerning this controversial issue, though the Southeast Missourian may want you to believe otherwise. Federal law and the U.S. Constitution take precedence over state law and state constitutions. If we pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, as I think we should, a federal court could easily overturn it. That's why, though I favor it, I consider it in many ways a gimmicky GOP device designed to divert voter attention from other issues.

No limit on children

AFTER READING the new law restricting the number of pets a person can have, I am very disappointed with the mayor and entire council. As a citizen and pet owner, I have always taken care of my animals and made certain they are not a problem for anyone. The new law will affect the good pet owners and not solve the problem of overpopulation. As stated in the article, some members of the community feel pets are a nuisance. I feel that having too many children is a nuisance, but we don't restrict the number of kids a person can have.

Resign current jobs

COUNTY COMMISSIONER is a $55,000 job. I would like to know what all the candidates intend to do with their current jobs? Are they resigning from them when they win the election? Am I the only one who's concerned about this? I think it's time that the candidates be required to resign from their current positions if they win the election.

Don't remove mural

ILLMO AN art center? From what I see hanging on the side of the building, it's a junk collector. If you want art, put up art, not this garbage. I do hope Paul Schock doesn't plan to do away with the mural on the side of the building that says "Jesus died for your sins." It's been there for years and is part of Illmo history.

Future headline

"CAPE SCHOOL district officials seek alternate source of revenue" comes right on schedule. MAP results are due Aug. 5. I've taught here 29 years, and it's just the same old same old. We can all see what's coming. The next headline will read "Failing MAP tests, schools seek more money."