Speak Out 11/16/05

We're not wimps

WHAT IS happening in France cannot happen here, not in the heartland anyway. I would not allow a bunch of young punks to burn my car, home or business. This is not France, and we are not a bunch of wimps.

Not enough time

THE OPINION that minorities don't consider education a priority is hogwash. You try to juggle a full-time job and two part-time jobs and see how much time you have for PTA meetings where you are looked down upon as a lower-class person.

Splitting the money

MISINFORMATION seems to dominate the truth regarding projects like the River Campus. River Campus costs are currently over budget. Although grants and donations pay for the start-up costs, they contribute nothing toward its operation and maintenance. Southeast Missouri State University has built new buildings like the Polytechnic Building but does not invest enough in qualified faculty and operations to make it a success. Operating funds for the River Campus will come from the general budget, which will mean less funding for the main campus.

Tax incentive

GOVERNMENT TAX on gasoline should be at least a dollar a gallon in order to discourage gas guzzling, encourage use of alternative fuels and lessen the dependence on foreign oil.

Ready for buses

HOW SELFISH are we as a human race? We don't want to help those less fortunate than us by providing some type of public transportation because our taxes might go up? If we can't help those less fortunate than us, what kind of a person does that make us? Carbondale, Ill., has public transportation that runs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and this transportation doesn't help just the poor, it also helps college students, people with disabilities who can't drive, the elderly and people who are budget conscious and choose to ride the bus instead of driving their own vehicles. This is a wonderful service that works in a much smaller town than Cape Girardeau and helps numerous individuals and costs 50 cents per ride. If a smaller town than Cape can have public transportation, then so can Cape, which is growing each and every day. It isn't the one-horse town it used to be. We need to stop griping and grow with our wonderful town.

National trend

THE RIVER Campus, the new fountains and other miscellaneous projects are not to blame for tuition increases. Look across the country. It's happening thanks to our president and our legislators.

It's about poverty

MINORITY STUDENTS do poorer than non-minority students? It's not race. It's socio-economics. Until we do something about poverty in this community and country, this trend will continue.

Liberal credit

A CALLER said high gasoline prices were blamed on President Bush, so when the prices came down, we should thank President Bush. I disagree. They went up due to President Bush and came down, in part, due to the dreaded liberals. Thanks, Dick Durbin.

Hold 'em or fold 'em

TO THE person who can afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars on his gambling hobby: There's no need to go to a casino. Just come over to my house. I have a deck of cards.

Hitting below the belt

I DON'T know which members of the editorial board, if any, approved the editorial cartoon on the Opinion page Nov. 10, but I think it was hitting below the belt. The cartoon was about girls under 17 years old having an abortion. Most of us don't believe that should be the case, yet it sounds like everything connected with an abortion -- even in the case of a rape or terrible mistake -- should not be allowed. I resent the paper for having done that. It is so extreme right-wing.

Unfair to veterans

It's pretty dirty not to think of our American soldiers who died and fought for our country, but we'll do everything we can for Martin Luther King. What are they doing for American boys and girls who went overseas and fought in Vietnam, World War I and World War II and Iraq and got killed? I think it's a disgrace that Cape Girardeau isn't celebrating and helping our veterans. Where would we be today if it wasn't for the veterans? We treat our veterans like dirt. The schools were open on Veterans Day, but they'll close their doors on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What a shame.

Summer dress code

IT WOULD be nice if the principal at Jackson High School would be as concerned with the way the girls dress during the summer months at the school. The way they dress is distracting.

Never forget

THERE WERE U.S. isolationists in World War I, World War II and Vietnam just like there are today against fighting terrorists. If the United States had remained isolated then, we would all be living under dictatorship. Terrorists are operating worldwide, as are undercover communists. This is no time to cut and run. The 3,000 dead in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania from the 9-11 terrorist attacks should never be forgotten, nor should Saddam Hussein's support of Palestinian suicide bombing of innocent civilians, nor Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and war with Iran. Terrorists must be eliminated if the world ever has peace again, just as world-threatening Nazis and communists were brought down, even though the U.S. still has undercover communists trying to brainwash Americans.

Violence ignored

I'M A teacher, and I think parents need to know exactly how some issues are handled at school such as violence and threats, especially with the recent school shooting in Tennessee. About two weeks ago I stopped a fight between two boys. The boy who was causing the trouble repeatedly threatened to kill both the other boy and me. He threatened me because I stopped the fight before it got bad. He said several times, "I've got a gun, and I know where you live" and other comments along those times. Nothing was done to this student other than two days of in-school suspension. I was told that he didn't mean it. This is a kid who has a history of violence in another school district. So when he brings a gun to school and he shoots someone and everyone acts so shocked, I'm going to be calling the Southeast Missourian to give an interview.