Speak Out 11/07

Special Olympics

I want to say thank you to the city of Cape Girardeau that helped us have a good time at the Special Olympics. We had a very good time; we had fun at the dance and bingo. Thanks to everyone who helped. We had a lot of fun. Thanks to Cape Girardeau for letting us come play.

Congress' fault

I'm a letter carrier in Cape Girardeau. I want to tell the public that many things said about the Unites States Post Office really are misleading. The post office isn't in financial trouble because of email and the Internet. It's in trouble because of the law that Congress passed in 2006 that is crippling the postal service finances. Because Congress caused the problem, Congress can fix the problem. Losing Saturday may not affect every person but could be devastating to other individuals and businesses. Letter carriers like me want to continue to give you the service that you deserve.

Casino, Sandy

The fact that a recent Southeast Missourian lead headline was about the opening of the casino as opposed to the unimaginable suffering resulting from Hurricane Sandy illustrates a parochial bias of the paper unparalleled in the history of journalism.

Be responsible

To the people who dump their animals: How dare you, that's cruel and needless. There are lots of places to take them; Humane Society, Safe Harbor, etc. It doesn't cost any money, and at least they have a chance and get food and water and a warm place. How do you sleep at night? Be responsible.

Obamacare

My wife and I run a small business and our health care hasn't gone up in awhile. Then we got a check for $1,250. It says it's mandated for the Affordable Healthcare Act. In the rebate letter it says under Obamacare the insurance company has to pay out 80 percent in claims. That means the insurance company can only make 20 percent profit. Then they have to send in a check. What do you think happened? My premium doubled. Thanks Obamacare, that's just great! Who are you to tell a company how much profit they can make. Do you see the real picture here? It's just the beginning. It's not just insurance premiums; it's much deeper, and all aspects in our lives.

People who care

Several utility company employees are in the disaster areas to help get the power back on when they can. Most are union members. These are the people that care about others and do the best job that can be done. Where are our famous Congress members?

Broadway

I would like to comment on all the work the city has done on Broadway. It really looks nice. The company did a good job, but my concern is that we have all the eyesores like the Esquire Theater. As we're bringing people into the city on a nice beautiful street, they see buildings that need to be torn down that have been vacant for years. It kind of defeats the purpose, and I'm wondering why? Let's make Broadway really look nice. I guess it's more important for the city to get everything up and running for the casino rather than the downtown merchants.

No treats?

What a bunch of Grinches. In my neighborhood (near West End Boulevard and Bertling) only about one house in 15 or so participated in Trick or Treat on Halloween. Weren't you people ever children yourselves? My grandchildren and I thank those fun people who exclaimed over the kids' costumes and gave treats.

Male breast cancer

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I think you should also do stories on men as well as women. Maybe if you put that out there more men would get checkups and prevent it before it becomes impossible.