OpinionNovember 1, 2009
Speak Out 11/1/09
Holidays and mail; Medicaid request; Missing vaccine; Great show; Illinois corruption; Bureaucracy at work; Headlights on; Considerate mowers; Proud of team; Bus concerns; Public smoking; Poor examples
Holidays and mail
I think Columbus Day should be celebrated. It's a day that shows the determination to get to America and led the way for bringing everybody into America. Christopher Columbus had some good goals. If I were to get rid of a holiday, it would probably be Veterans Day because most people work on that holiday and I would get my mail. Of course, the postal service is looking for excuses not to deliver mail.
Medicaid request
I am mentally disabled yet I work for a small amount of money each week. I am concerned about the Medicaid benefits that I and others like me receive. I would like to ask the Missouri Legislature and Gov. Jay Nixon to please not overlook us.
Missing vaccine
I really enjoyed Uncle Joe's column encouraging everyone to get a flu shot. The problem is there's none to be had. Even people who work in the hospital can't get an H1N1 shot despite the pandemic. It's really terrible how we knew this was coming months ago, yet there's no vaccine and everybody is getting sick. If this is how President Obama is going to run our nationalized health care, I totally give up on it.
Great show
WE went to the conservation department's nature center in Cape Girardeau and saw "Creatures of the Night." If you missed the wonderful show that the staff and volunteers put on, you missed out on something great. The program "The Lizard of Oz" taught us about the habitat of the creatures of the night.
Illinois corruption
I have just finished reading "Too Politically Sensitive" by Michale Callahan revealing corruption within the top command of the Illinois State Police. Callahan reveals the state police derailed all of his attempts to reopen and reinvestigate a 1986 double murder in Paris, Ill. Two innocent men were sent to prison on the testimony of a town drunk and a drug addict. Callahan, a detective with the state police, had evidence of the corruption. He was harassed by his superiors and told the case was "too politically sensitive" to reopen. He persisted, and after serving 17 years one man was ordered released. The other was ordered released after serving 21 years. I have lost all respect for the top command of the Illinois State Police. The corruption in Illinois is more rampant than anyone would believe.
Bureaucracy at work
IT'S amazing that people are so hypnotized by the story of the H1N1 virus. No news person has acknowledged that the government is still trying to recover some credibility after Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of bureaucrats are doing everything in their power to justify their existence when the writing is on the wall that they are not needed and may be the focus of budget cuts in order to afford the liberal agenda of providing more socialistic programs to serve the dissatisfied populous, gaining votes for our elected leaders.
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Headlights on
MISSOURI has a law requiring headlights to be on when windshield wipers are on. Today I counted more than 10 cars driving with their wipers on, but no headlights. If more people got ticketed, I bet there would be more lights on when their wipers were on.
Considerate mowers
I want to thank those who mow and trim the grounds at Capaha Park. My dog and I walk there often, and I am grateful that these guys turn their mowers off when they see us walking. It is a nice gesture. Thank you.
Proud of team
WAY to go, ND girls softball team. Congrats on your state championship. You make us proud. Keep it up.
Bus concerns
I have spoken to Cape Girardeau School District officials regarding the problems on school buses. I should be able to utilize the bus system for my children without fear of them getting beat up, spit on or cussed out. We need monitors -- not the electronic kind, but people. The bus drivers cannot be expected to drive the bus and keep an eye on all these children. I am rearranging my schedule so I can take my children to and from school. I am able to do this, but I shouldn't have to. What about other parents who have to use the bus system?
Public smoking
A smoke-free policy does not ban smoking. It bans smoking in public places where nonsmokers are exposed to the carcinogens of the secondhand smoke. Smoke tobacco all you want. Just don't do it in a restaurant or business where the rest of us are forced to inhale it.
Poor examples
PEOPLE who cite Stalin and Mao as examples of the dangers of socialism often succeed in making one important point: our educational system doesn't adequately teach history. What does the average high school graduate really know about these 20th-century despots' ideologies and how are they connected to 19th century Marxism? Draw your own conclusions, but please base them on more information than that provided by talk-radio hosts.
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