Speak Out 10/19/03

HAT'S OFF to the professors, Southeast Missourian and others for putting on the Freedom of Speech Run/Walk. It was well-organized. We also enjoyed the speech. I hope you do it every year.

Spending more

WE LOVE Dr. Mike Cowan, the principal at Central High School, but saying that the school has no tax money or room is crazy. We all can see by the figures that we are giving more tax money each year. Central has more room for students than other schools around here. And Central spends more money per student.

Health care too

OUR PRESIDENT says in regard to education, "No child should be left behind." Why does he not say this about health care?

More, not fewer

SOMEONE questioned whether or not Central High School needs 13 special-education teachers. So do I. Given the MAP scores, I think the school needs 300.

It's not a living

TO THE person saying we make a living off of child support: I have three children between the ages of 9 and 16. For the last nine years I've only received one year's worth of child support from the two older children's father and just recently stopped getting child support from my youngest child's father. You tell me how I have been making a living on child support money. When the child support check does come in, I make sure they get what they need first and then pay bills that I have a hard time paying on my own. Child support is also to help put a roof over their heads.

Hard-working Democrat

I NEVER expected a president to give me a job or the government to give me anything. I am a college graduate and gainfully employed. My parents, unwavering Democrats, taught me the work ethic and personal responsibility very well. We need another four years of this miserable, unfocused administration like we need another plague.

Respect for us too

I HAVE mixed feelings about telemarketers. I understand they are trying to do their jobs, but they should also have respect for the people they are calling. I work nights sometimes, and I don't get home until about 7:30. I get phone calls from telemarketers as early as 8 in the morning when I am trying to sleep. The thing that really gets me is the machine that dials and then transfers you to a person. I think that we should have just as much right to ask them not to call as they have to call.

Both were offensive

BOTH OF the T-shirts from the Cape-Jackson football game were offensive. That was the point.

The Cheney plot

THANK YOU for allowing us to see more of the deceptions and lies of Dick Cheney. As though none of the recent admissions had been made, he is still touting the lie that there was a connection between Iraq and 9-11. Again he fails to acknowledge that Saddam Hussein was created by and supported by the United States. Again he fails to mention that the Bush administration was planning to attack Iraq even before Sept. 11, 2001. And still he refuses to identify the role of his militaristic Project for a New American Century behind this invasion.

A good school

I DON'T care about MAP scores. My granddaughter goes to Blanchard Elementary School. I was there last week for Grandparent's Day. Every child in Cape Girardeau deserves that kind of education and a principal like that one. They don't just teach subjects. They teach children to be respectful and kind. You need to report on that instead of all those numbers that don't mean anything.

Late delivery

I'LL VOTE for whoever can get my mail delivered before dark.

Sounds like hypocrisy

LET ME get this straight. When Bill Clinton had an affair, it was an affront to morality and a detriment to society. Now Rush Limbaugh admits to an addiction with illegally obtained pills, and he's "showing he's only human." When the River Campus went through despite the city's vote, SEMO was undermining democracy. But the concealed-weapons law, already defeated by voters, is showing the "will of the people." If someone can give me an honest explanation of how this is not hypocrisy at its best, by all means do.