Speak Out 10/25/08

Campaign costs

HAS ANYONE wondered how much money and resources it took for the vice president to come to Cape Girardeau for a two-hour private political fundraiser for Peter Kinder? Law enforcement from two counties and three cities were needed, not to mention the numerous federal tax dollars spent for all the security and air and ground transportation and additional personnel. Thousands and thousands of dollars of federal money spent to help Kinder raise campaign money. What a prime example of the greedy Republican mindset.

Language of the land

THE RUCKUS around Constitutional Amendment 1 (the English-only amendment) is unfounded. This is an answer to a problem that doesn't really exist. It's not very well hidden racism. When it's all boiled down, it's mostly a matter of 'These people need to speak the language of the land when they come here." Sounds reasonable, right? Funnily enough, I don't see us speaking Navajo or Sioux.

Make learning fun

I AGREE that schools should try to make learning more enjoyable for our children. I've said since high school that if the children had an enjoyable environment, it wouldn't be such a problem getting them to do the work. I remember Mr. Springer at Central High School, who was a great teacher and made class fun and interesting.

Don't lease vehicle

IT'S HARD to believe that Scott County commissioners would consider leasing a vehicle when they could buy the vehicle for the same money they save. You've got to maintain somebody else's vehicle when you can buy it for practically the same money. It would be their own vehicle, and they wouldn't be tied to a three-year lease. They could sell it any time they wanted. I think they would be better off to buy the vehicle instead of leasing it.

Wind power

I AM not for an increase in nuclear energy. I do not want a Three Mile Island. I do not want a Chernobyl. France uses wind power a lot, and if you go through the countryside, you will see wonderful windmills. They're big and modern-looking. Not the stuff of Holland but tall, sleek, metal windmills. I think wind power is the way to go. Wind power is the future. America doesn't use enough of it, and nuclear energy could be too costly. Human life is too valuable to have a Chernobyl or the risk of a Three Mile Island.

County road safety

I LIVE on County Road 301 and know it has been mowed three times. There are a lot of roads in Cape Girardeau County to mow. Yes, it is dangerous in places, but maybe we could do our part by slowing down. And when we round that corner, we need to stay on our side of the road.

God's in charge

A LOT of people are worried about global warming. Folks, you don't have to worry. God has everything under control. Read Genesis 8:22. It tells us that while the earth remain, seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. That's what I'm holding onto and believing with all my heart.

Waiting at the light

I'M AT the stoplights at Bloomfield Road and Kings¿highway. I do not understand why the Missouri Department of Transportation or the city cannot get these lights to work. When you pull up on Bloomfield, you sit and sit and sit, even when no one is coming the other direction. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is.