Speak Out 10/8/05

Advice on spending

WHY DO politicians think they are smarter than the average American? There are many things they could be asking our opinions on. Many suggestions they get from us they ignore. We probably know more about budgeting than they do, and more about our needs than they do. Concerning Medicaid, one suggestion that has been ignored is for our government to stop paying the bills for young women to have babies. Contraception is a choice in today's world. If a girl and her boyfriend had to make the choice between pregnancy and paying doctor and hospital bills or having money to buy stereos and big-screen TVs or food, perhaps they would choose to use birth control.

Personal service

I WOULD like to extend a big thank you to the sweet lady working at the Chaffee license bureau. I am disabled. She took the time to come outside, take my old plates off of my vehicle and put on the new ones. I cannot imagine getting that same treatment in the bigger towns.

Serving democracy

IT IS a tired old technique to depict someone with a position you oppose as being a communist or a fascist and then attack them for having the position you claim they have. Folks opposing the Iraq occupation are not anti-American. We understand history. Remember Vietnam? And we believe firmly that democracy is best served if we voice our opposition to the crazy Bush war and support our troops by urging that they be brought home now.

Living conditions

AFTER THE photo of the filthy home found in downtown Cape Girardeau, perhaps we need fewer disparaging comments about New Orleans.

Name-calling

A NAME. She called me a name. Unprovoked. And she but a small child. And a derogatory name that one race would call another. She crossed in front of my car, and I stopped, waiting patiently while she showed her childlike attitude. My only thought was how cute she was. That thought diminished when I drove away to hear her call me a name. I am still taken by surprise to hear such. My only crime? I am not of her race. Her crime? Raised in a house that reigns with believed wrongs and hatred for my race. My race? That's not important, as it will not change. That child? Unless something happens, she'll not change either.

Lack of care

I BELIEVE the children who were removed from the house on Pearl Street should never be returned if the parents cannot take care of them any better than that.

Not his suggestion

BILL BENNETT was not suggesting that black children should be aborted. He said that if they were aborted, crime would go down, but that still would be no justification whatsoever for aborting them. What he said is true. The crime rate among blacks is above the national average for other groups, so somehow removing blacks would lower the crime rate. That is still no excuse for murdering such a huge portion of the country, and Bennett suggested no such thing.

Park those mowers

WITH GASOLINE prices so high, why is everyone still wasting it to mow their lawns and along the highways? What real purpose does mowing everything so often serve? Save gas. Park the mowers.

Baseball weather

TO ME, heaven on earth is a beautiful October day when the tiresome harangues of Sean Hannity are pre-empted by a scintillating St. Louis Cardinal's playoff game.

Sorry scenario

THE STUNNING suggestion by President Bush to use the military to quarantine U.S. populations in case of an outbreak of the avian flu surpasses the possibility of martial law and brings to mind the sorry scenario of a military state.