Speak Out 1/21/09

What's left?

THE whining and complaining Wall Street Journal reprint about the estate tax was based on a false premise. Elitists at the Wall Street Journal wrongly assume that after the disastrous economic meltdown presided over by President Bush there will be any estates left to distribute.

Nuclear neighbor

I support the Southeast Missourian's call for construction of nuclear power plants. But will the editorial board stay the course if construction of one in Cape Girardeau County countryside is proposed?

Ethical action

I do not agree with everything Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell has done, but I agree 100 percent that Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle should not used the taxpayer-funded county website to list and promote any works he has written as a private citizen outside the hours he is paid as our prosecuting attorney. If, however, he worked on these books on taxpayer time, they should be listed, and any profits recouped from their sales should go to the county treasury. Either way, Mr. Swingle should do the ethical thing, just as he consistently demands of Mr. Purcell.

Tipping advice

TIP your pizza delivery driver, and tip your servers. They have to pay their bills with your generosity. These people work hard to feed their customers, hoping to get a couple of dollars. If you hold a tip because your food was wrong or it took too long, it's usually not the server's fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the cooks. And if you feel your wallet is too tight to tip, you don't have the money to go out or order pizza. For anyone who thinks 10 percent is an appropriate tip: It's not. This is 2009. Everything has gone up, including tipping percentages.

Reduced to tears

I'LL admit that I haven't agreed with everything he has said or done, but I was reduced to tears watching and listening to the farewell words of Gil Grissom on "CSI."

Hard to handle

ATHEIST conservative Christopher Hitchens, author of "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," recently criticized the Clinton Foundation in a reprinted piece published in the Southeast Missourian. This is no doubt in part because some of the money raised by the foundation is used by religious concerns to address the many problems existing in our troubled world and, being an atheist, Hitchens can't handle it.

At last, it's over

AT last we can breathe a sigh of relief. The eight-year nightmare is over. There is nothing that becomes the Bush-Cheney administration so much as its departure. If only we could set the global clock back eight years. Every aspect of the national and global environment would be improved.

End to globalism

I was reading about how companies and investors around the world are retreating back into their own country's markets. Thank God. This looks like the end to all of the globalism garbage we have been forced to hear about since the late 1990s.

No rejection

A photo caption said a Nazi banner was taken "as the spoils of war as Germans rejected their wartime leaders." Germans as a nation never rejected Hitler or any other leader. This is a sad comment that tries to rewrite history. Shame on the Missourian and its staff.

Spending billions

HOUSE Minority leader Republican John Boehner recently proclaimed stunned disbelief when hearing the amount of money President Obama has suggested we spend on an economic stimulus package. This from a man who voted to spend billions more to bail out Wall Street and other assorted fat cats. I guess Boehner draws the line when it comes to spending money to help the folks on Main Street. When it comes to Republicans' suddenly adopting a stance of opposition to the concept of borrow and spend, something the Bush administration has been indulging in for eight years, the party has no credibility on this issue left at all.

Got it right

SKINFLINT neoconservative sage Jonah Goldberg is skeptical of President Obama's stimulus package proposal. He apparently believes it's way too much. Nobel Prize-winning economist and journalist Paul Krugman says it's not enough. These conflicting points of view convince me that, once again, Barack Obama has got it just about right.

Twisting goal

IT has bothered me for years that the east basketball goal at Central High School twists. Watch the goal during warmups when lots of players are making layups. That goal twists to the left and right. The west goal is stable, but the east goal twists. When the goal moves on impact, it must affect shots off the backboard. Would somebody at Central High School look into tightening the brace tubes to stabilize this goal?

Careless workers

I travel roads in Southeast Missouri daily as part of my job, and I have little respect left for MoDOT officials or many of their workers. Space doesn't allow me to list the reasons for my disgust, but the workers are the ones who need to read the safety warnings and be more careful. They break the speed limit, ride my vehicle's bumper in work zones when I am going the exact speed limit, pull out at the last minute in front of oncoming vehicles and so on. Those on foot stand near or on the edge of the narrow lanes and often step back or start to walk along the road without a bit of concern that they are getting in the way of traffic. However, if I hit the careless MoDOT worker, I will be in big trouble.

Police support

I am getting tired of the criticism of the police. How many of you who are complaining have ever been in law enforcement? It is getting old reading these self-proclaimed experts telling the departments how to do their jobs. There is a limited number of officers to cover the entire city. They have to determine the best location for the time of day where their services will best be put to use. I know some say put them in the south side of town. That sounds good, but how about the rest of the city? Do you want to leave it unprotected? What happens when you send all the officers to one side of town and someone tries to break into your house? I have never heard of an officer going to someone's place of employment and telling them how to do his job. Have you? Let them do their job.

Tipping question

MY family and I order food from some of the curbside services to avoid paying for expensive drinks and tipping the wait staff. Should I be tipping the person who brings the food to my car? I had an awkward encounter with a waitress who gave me a glaring look when I chose not to tip her for delivering my food to the car. Am I wrong?

Making apologies

THE media seem to be making apologies for President Obama's ineptness in making his Cabinet picks. Why aren't they questioning his judgment after his botched picks of Bill Richardson and Timothy Geithner? Geithner was forced to pay back taxes of $42,000, more than many Americans make in a year. He seems to be getting a pass for behavior that would have gotten him crucified if he had been a Republican.