Speak Out 1/11/10

Dropout rate

THE Cape Girardeau School District wants you to believe that there will be no tax increase from the bond issue. But look at your property taxes from 15 years ago and now and check out the increases for the school district. We need the district to improve the dropout rate first.

Professional cutting

I'M calling in regard to the city ordinance to require property owners to mow grass and weeds on city of rights of way or easements abutting their property. Let's leave it to the professional city workers to do this. Not only will it be costly to the property owners, but extremely dangerous for people. Please leave it up to the professionals to do the mowing and cutting of the tree branches and so forth.

Placing blame

AS a senior citizen, I get irritated at those seniors whining about Social Security and Medicare, wanting more and more when our country is broke. Then they blame politicians for their financial problems. You vote for the politicians who promise you things they can't afford and our country can't afford, and we're broke. You blame everyone except yourself. You blame the employers, the rich, the people who make the jobs. Let's include your greed, your lack of planning for your retirement.

Sounds familiar

$40,000 for a person to consult where a sign should go, a water park we don't need, sidewalks we don't need, a new garbage system we don't need. What is wrong with our local government? It sounds just like our federal government.

My rights

I smoke. I'm fighting for your country. And you want to take my rights away from me, I can't go out in public and smoke. Shame on you. Why should I be fighting for you? You don't care anything about us. I'm at home on leave and I saw on TV that fat people are just as bad as smokers. Are you going to try to keep fat people out of the burger places?

Win-win situation

THE president wins either way. If the Republicans regain control of the legislative branch, President Obama will be poised to run against an obstructionist Congress in 2012. If they don't regain control, it will be full speed ahead with the president's agenda.

Saving lives

THE prestigious New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that though the U.S. is far and away No. 1 in health care spending, it ranks 40th in overall quality of care. The extension of health care to some 30 million Americans will save, according to the article, about 50,000 lives per year. The debate over the need for the soon-to-be-passed-and-signed health care bill should cease. The case is closed.

Spending pork

CAPE Girardeau is not spending a dime on the tourist attraction signs. This was a grant from the federal government. It isn't costing the city anything. This grant was out there, and Cape Girardeau applied for it and got it. If Cape Girardeau hadn't applied for it, some other city would have gotten the $40,000. It has to be strictly used for tourist attraction signs. If you're unhappy about the grant, contact your federal legislators about pork-barrel spending, because this is what it is.

Disruptive student

MY child attends fifth grade at Central Middle School. There is a student in his class who is disruptive. When I inquired as to why this child has not been placed in the alternative school, I was told that fifth grade students are not placed at the alternative school. Apparently, it is the policy to wait until sixth grade to place students there. This makes no sense to me. This means that my child, his teacher and the rest of the students have to put up with this child for the rest of this year. Someone needs to answer for this decision.

Ammo shortage

COULD someone please tell me why it's almost impossible to buy gun ammunition these days? I have been looking for a very common rifle cartridge for at least the last eight months. Even the larger retail outlets haven't stocked it. And it's not just these particular shells. I'm beginning to wonder if liberals haven't snuck some kind of legislation through making it harder if not impossible to manufacture it. Ten years ago this would have sounded ridiculous, but today I'm not so sure. I've had guns for over 40 years and have never seen a shortage like this.

Judicial confidence

SEVERAL high-profile terrorists like Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, were successfully tried in U.S. civilian courts and imprisoned in a U.S. federal prison during the Bush administration. I have faith in our system and have no problem with trying in a civilian court the guy who tried to blow up a plane in Detroit. In addition, the FBI has already extracted a lot of valuable intelligence information from him. I'm saddened by the cynics who have no confidence in the U.S. justice system.