Speak Out 1/4/10

Slap in the face

OBAMACARE IS President Obama's health care reform plan that's being forced on us to insure the uninsured and tackle runaway health spending. This is impossible. If the government insures 30 million more Americans, health spending has to rise. Wouldn't it be more logical to control spending first, then expand coverage? But this administration is telling the American people to do as we say, not as we do. This is a slap in the face to all Americans.

Standing by

PETER Kinder, where were you at when then-governor Matt Blunt made all those Medicare cuts? You sat on the sidelines and did nothing. Now, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill has voted for the health care package, and you think that is so wrong. What you and Blunt did was wrong too. If you favor Medicare cuts that hurt a lot of poor people, you will never get my vote.

Vanishing schools

I drove by the L.J. Schultz School that was unfit for students. It's now a beautiful place for senior citizens. Lorimier School was sold to the city because there would be no children in that part of town. Another misjudgment. It is still a beautiful building. Now our great leaders want to demolish the most beautiful school in town, Franklin. What a tragedy and another monumental mistake.

Creating smiles

I would like to thank the Salvation Army for everything it did through the holidays and for being there for people who need help and for the beautiful food it delivered for Christmas. I want to thank the person who picked my granddaughter for the beautiful gift. I was let go from my job and only had a few hours to work these last couple of months. The Salvation Army picked my granddaughter, and she got beautiful gifts. You should have seen the smile on her face.

Delta kindness

THANK you to the Delta High School student council for putting on a senior citizen Christmas meal. It is always such an enjoyable experience. Special thanks to the Delta band for providing the musical entertainment.

Thanks for chickens

I was a volunteer at the Salvation Army on Dec. 22. We were filling 500 Christmas baskets. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 of Cape Girardeau pulled up with 500 chickens. We really appreciated it. I would like to thank them.

Save Franklin

ATTENTION all Cape Girardeau residents: Let's stop tearing down our schools. Instead refurbish Franklin Elementary School like Schultz School. It's a beautiful building. You can't pull the wool over everybody's eyes. We are not dumb. New schools come with cheap materials and high taxes. Save Franklin. Save our alma mater.

Mercury warning

ANY Christmas toys with batteries should be checked by parents to see if they're mercury-loaded. That is considered hazardous. I don't think we need to be giving our children toys that could be classified as hazardous waste.

Downtown signage

HERE we go again. Let's give $40,000 to an expert with a pencil and paper to spend three days in Cape Girardeau to tell the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Old Town Cape where to place signage. You can spend all the money available for signage, but visitors to Cape Girardeau cannot find the CVB hidden in an office building. Even if they did, every parking space is occupied by tenants in that building. Take the $40,000 and relocate the visitors' center on Kingshighway or near the I-55/William Street exit.

Wasted spending

I see in the paper that we're paying an out-of-state consulting firm $40,000 to come to Cape Girardeau and get input from Cape residents and look at our signs. Our city leaders can't get input from our residents? What are we paying them for? This is just another example of wasteful government spending. The sad part is that most of us sit by and do nothing.

Don't blame doctors

I don't know that doctors are particularly greedy. I know that no price can be put on the doctors who saved my husband's life with heart surgery. I'm not sure it's doctors who are bankrupting us. Insurance companies are the ones who are going to get what they deserve from health care reform, because they were not making the system better for us with things like pre-existing conditions and all the nonsense they had. I'm at the doctor's constantly because I have a sick child. The doctor always seems to help him. He's saved his life. I can't say enough about doctors.

Focus on security

I think the president should come back from his vacation with security on his mind and forget about the health bill he's trying to force on everybody. We all want security.

Foster thanks

THE 32nd Circuit Foster Parent Association of Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties wish to thank all the people and businesses for making our Christmas party possible. The food, toys and gift cards were greatly appreciated. The foster children and families had a great time. Thanks again.

Safe speed

SPEED limits are imposed to keep people safe. I would appreciate it if people respected my obligation to obey the law and not tailgate me. It's a daily event for me while driving down Independence Street between Kingshighway and West End Boulevard, and it's not appreciated. The speed limit is 30 mph. Cape Girardeau is not a large town, and driving 10 mph over the speed limit and being mere inches away from my bumper is not going to make your drive noticeably faster. For the sake of myself and other people around you, please obey the law, go the speed limit, and leave a safe distance between yourself and the car in front of you. Thank you.

Band reaction

THE band is not there just to entertain during halftime. Since when is football more important then any other extracurricular activity? I was in the band program in high school, and the training and practice for marching band were hard. There were times where the entire band had to stand at attention until no one moved for five full minutes. That is harder than it sounds. Regarding the rain cancellations: Would you be interested in standing in a field during a storm holding a lightning rod that cost more than $1,000? At the beginning of the school year, band members are performing in uniforms made entirely of wool. We all need to remember that all extracurricular activities are of equal importance, and we should support our children getting involved.