Speak Out 11/9/09

Official character

"IN selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look at his character. It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, men of truth, hating covetousness. It is to the neglect of this rule that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breaches of trust, speculations and embezzlements of public property which astonish even ourselves; which tarnish the character of our country and which disgrace our government. When a citizen gives his vote to a man of known immorality, he abuses his civic responsibility; he not only sacrifices his own responsibility; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country." -- Noah Webster (1758-1843), American patriot and scholar

Health comparisons

IT is a sign of desperation when a commentator forces his political philosophy to trump evidence and reason. When we compare health care in the U.S., we clearly lag far behind many other nations, including some developing Third World nations, in infant survival. Instead of examining this evidence and asking what they have in common that we lack, David Limbaugh rejects the evidence and simply tries to demonize superior health care systems by belittling them as socialized single-payer systems. When confronted with a problem, most people would look to those who have solved it and ask how we might emulate what they do. Surely better health care at half the cost is not the work of the devil. It's a system to be studied and modeled.

Insurance dollars

ACCORDING to a study by the Senate Commerce Committee, health insurance companies pays out as little as 66 cents of every dollar of premiums. Medicare pays out more than 90 cents on every dollar received. The insurance companies don't give out aspirin or bandages. They only handle the money and rake off as much profit as they can. You can delude yourself, or deal with facts. It's your money either way.

Missing mask

I'M calling on Sunday morning after Halloween night to share that someone came back to my house after trick or treating to remove the face mask from a ghoul I had on the front porch. I don't mind someone wanting that. What I mind is it has been a part of our family for 25 years. It was my son's as a teenager. He and my daughter were in a Halloween costume contest 25 years ago, I have pictures of him in that mask. I hope it becomes a family treasure for someone else's household just as it was for ours. If it happens to show back up on my front porch, that wouldn't bother me a bit, either.

Four-way waving

IT annoys me when people wave me through at a four-way stop. It seems to be getting more and more common. I don't mind so much when two people pull up at the exact same time, but people are doing it when they obviously got there first or other times when I know it is my turn but they start waving before I even have a chance to take my foot off the pedal, as if I need their permission. One guy started waving me through before he even came to a complete stop. If you are at a four-way stop pay attention, wait your turn, stop playing traffic cop and just go.

Missing senator

AMERICANS for Prosperity sponsored a protest of the impending health care bill at the federal building in Cape Girardeau. This was to be in conjunction with the protest in Washington, D.C. About 30 people were at the federal building to express their opinion that this is a bad bill. Not only was U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill not there, but she had given her staff the day off. I would say this tactic was to prevent her constituents from having an opportunity to express their displeasure of this infringement on our rights and shredding of the Constitution by the Democratic Party. What a cowardly reaction to this issue and lack of representation for the people of Missouri.

Obsessed neighbor

MY neighbor is obsessed with her yard and thinks everyone else should be, too. You can't walk out of your house without her doing the same and pointing out everything you need to do. If a piece of grass is out of place, she'll enter our fenced-in yard, without asking, and do what she pleases. This is not OK with me. Some people can't afford $400 to trim trees. We do the best we can.

Better mileage

IN the front-page story on Cash-for-Clunkers, you quote: "If we're looking for the environmental story here, we're going to be disappointed," Jeremy Anwyl said. However, you report that average mileage went from 15.8 to 24.9 mpg. This means only about half of the carbon dioxide will be emitted. That's hardly a disappointment.