Speak Out 12/07/02

Lots of musical talent

I WANT to congratulate the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra and Choral Union. I went to their concert on Tuesday evening. I must say we have some musical talent in this town. This is just one of the examples of the fine musicianship and why we need to get the River Campus project going.

Gaps in the parade

I AM a Cape Girardeau resident who went to the Christmas parade. The parade was OK, but there were long gaps in it. Why don't the parade organizers watch what they're doing? These gaps look bad to out-of-town visitors. The people in charge should take care of this.

When society is ...

WHEN SOCIETY is selfish, it develops a dictatorship. When society is selfless, it develops a democracy.

Pay and parenting

WHETHER YOU make minimum wage or not, you should be good parents. It was your choice to have a child. You should be the best possible parent possible. If your pay keeps you from being a good parent, you shouldn't have children.

Inspections sham

THE BUSH position is simple: Either the U.N. weapons inspectors find Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, or the inspectors were fooled. It sounds as though the Bushies have already made up their minds and the U.S. adherence to U.N. procedures is a sham.

Tilted too far right

CLINT LACEY has it nearly correct when he argues that the Republican Party has changed. It has tilted too far to the right by pushing legislation that suppresses personal liberties and by currying the favor of corporate contributors as it legislates increased destruction of our precious environment. The GOP has deserted its roots and many solid Republicans of a couple of decades ago. Conservatism should stand for conserving what is valuable, not for sacrificing all that is valuable in the name of profit.

Throw out CEOs

MAYBE WHILE we close our borders on the poor coming in to this country we can throw out the CEOs of our major corporations who are making tons of money off of those poor who are forced to come here for a decent wage. That sounds fair to me.

Teaching us to think

WHY DOES anyone think we should be beholden to corporate America? Is this country all about money and wealth? Where are our values? If Alan Journet is stirring people to think, I hope he continues to teach at Southeast Missouri State University for a very long time.

Burning is dangerous

HOW DO we stop all the unnecessary burning in this town? It is getting to the point to where I live in fear of my home being burned to the ground because of careless people who burn on windy days without any thought to what disaster they could cause. They could destroy whole neighborhoods. How do we get a law passed against trash and leaf burning before it is too late?

It's not just kids

MY VEHICLE has a loud exhaust, and I like it. My vehicle complies with state and federal regulations just like most others do. It's not just kids who have loud exhausts on their vehicles. There are just as many adults who like the way a vehicle sounds with a loud exhaust.

All about control

CLINT LACEY shouldn't be surprised that the Republicans have changed their philosophy of government in a significant way. After all, the primary purpose of a political party is to gain power by getting control of the government, not to formulate a principled political philosophy.

Losing our liberties

CLINT LACEY'S letter is exactly right. We are losing our civil liberties under Attorney General Ashcroft and President Bush. We may be safe, but who wants to live here when we are losing more of our precious freedoms every day? I oppose this costly war for the oil companies.

IF I hear one more uninformed suggestion that corporations should pay more taxes, I will blow a gasket. If a corporation named Widget Corp. makes a million widgets a year at a price of $10 each, and the fed saddles the company with an extra million dollars in taxes, that tax is considered an additional cost of doing business. The amount is divided among the number of items sold that year, so each widget goes up to $11. So who pays the additional corporate tax? Consumers. And if that extra dollar makes the company uncompetitive and it goes out of business because of foreign competition, then there are 200 more jobs lost in this country. Think about it. More corporate taxes are a lose-lose situation.

HOW LOW can you get? Stealing Christmas decorations. Even though a child's prank, it is still a serious, senseless crime. If some parents haven't taught decency, honesty and character to their children, they should wonder where they are or what they're doing away from home. It's only a few who are show-outs and uncaring. Most teens are just as appalled by such behavior as other citizens are. But it happens every year, no matter if it is the season of hope, love and giving.

The system failed

IT'S A shame about this poor girl with the baby at Dutchtown. To think that our systems fails people like this because they were poor. They had asked for help. The mother asked for help. It's a shame to think we have to lose a little girl and her baby like this.