Speak Out 1/11/07

Purring buses

I LIKE the idea of the CATS on the buses. Big cities cover their buses with advertisements, and the CATS would make Cape Girardeau stand out.

Exciting downtown

IT WAS great watching the young and the old interact at First Friday. It was just what Matt Sanders has been trying to tell us. His articles and column on Friday got me downtown, and it was the best First Friday I've ever been to.

Great exhibit

MY FRIENDS and I came from Carbondale to party and see Keith Cotton's photography exhibit. Cape Girardeau knows how to throw a party. I don't remember the sculptor Rob's last name, but that gig was the best thing going in Cape Girardeau. The food and beverages were great, and the music drew the crowd into the exhibit. Whoever set the stage did a fantastic job.

Nice work

GEE, JUST what troubled Cairo, Ill., needs: convicted felons serving on their city council, despite an Illinois law prohibiting it. Does all this show a tendency to scoff at the law? One can't blame them for wanting those jobs, though, with the nice salary and health benefits that few part-time employees anywhere receive.

Back and forth

WHILE I am very glad that Cape Girardeau officials have decided to do the right thing and increase the minimum wage for city employees as voters mandated, I am concerned about the trend I see here. Has anyone else noticed how many times our mayor and city manager make stupid, unethical or even illegal decisions? Fortunately, as is the case in this situation, many times they end up reversing their decision, but this trend of doing whatever they want is alarming. Don't forget about the hiring of a lawyer from outside Cape Girardeau to be municipal judge, breaking the law, and then revising the law to accommodate their crime. Don't forget about all the wasted time spent dealing with the sign ordinance. Now there's the minimum-wage issue. Does the mayor have to be constantly reminded by the voters as to what is right and wrong? Will he only do the right thing if the public screams and hollers loud enough? I think the message is clear that we need a new mayor and city manager, and we need them right away.

Targeting dictators

NONE OF us who had older brothers, cousins, uncles or fathers who did not come back from the Vietnam War will ever forgive Bill Clinton and Jane Fonda for their encouragement of the enemy. What Leftists do not seem to understand is that whenever there are protests of that kind that are highly publicized or whenever there is public dissension regarding our government, the bad guys use that to their advantage and fight harder, causing more U.S. casualties. Saddam Hussein was one of the most brutal dictators since Hitler, and apparently Lefties disapprove of taking him out, so we don't dare go after any of the others. Do the superior beings on the liberal side of the aisle think they should have the exclusive right to decide who we take out and who we leave in power?

True-blue American

ANYONE BORN on either American continent is entitled to call himself an American. However, most do not. They call themselves Canadians or Panamanians or Mexicans or Peruvians. They mostly reserve that title to identify U.S. residents. Still, just because we have "America" in the name of our country does not give us exclusive rights to the title "American." Worldwide, when referring to Americans, most people mean U.S. citizens.

Unsafe little town

IT'S UNFORTUNATE about the Chaffee police chase case. Those situations can definitely be tough calls. Maybe the Chaffee Police Department can change its mission from traffic control to crime-solving. Unfortunately, Chaffee has become an unsafe little town after dark where drug-dealing thugs prey on the weakest of the population, robbing stores and beating up harmless citizens. Maybe Oran wasn't so bad.

Changing the rules

THIS ADMINISTRATION has put forth the idea that an illegal alien could draw Social Security benefits with as little as six quarters of earned wages. An American citizen has to have 40 quarters unless disabled. Thanks to all who support this.

Work and wages

IN THE old days employers found good employees and trained them to suit the company. Wages went up according to productivity. Employers knew your wife and children. Your work was like a second family. Your employer was happy, and you were happy. Now the employer wants everything while giving you nothing. The employer wants all the profit. This is probably why employees don't do their best for their employers. They know they are there "at-will" employees, which is little better than slavery. You cannot live on minimum wage or jobs that you can't depend on, no matter how hard you work.

Greedy profit

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION has become profitable to many greedy Americans. It's a taxpayer-subsidized form of slavery. Under every rock, there's someone making money off illegal aliens.

Full-time, except ... .

DEMOCRATS CONTINUE to break their pledges. Remember when Democrats claimed they would work five days a week. The House took Monday off because of the championship football game between Ohio State and the University of Florida. The following Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.