Speak Out 12/4/05

Check everybody

AFTER READING all the summonses for selling beer to minors recently, I'm glad Food Giant has a new policy. They card everybody. I was buying groceries and asked, "You mean if I bought a 12-pack of beer, you'd even card me even though I'm in my mid-40s with gray hair?" The clerk said, "If somebody came in who was in his 70s, they'd still card them." I think more places ought to do that. They wouldn't have as many summonses for selling to minors.

Time for a decision

IF WE wait on the Iraqis to say they're ready to take over the country, we're going to be there forever. We're never going to get our troops back home. President Bush said it's not a political decision, but it's up to the military commanders. I agree, but Bush is pushing it off on them so he doesn't have to be the one to make the decision and look bad to the American people. He wants to blame the military leaders when he's the commander in chief. Insurgents are infiltrating the Iraqi troops. So how do we know who are the good guys and the bad guys? Bush needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility.

Prescription blessing

THE NEW prescription card in Cape Girardeau County is a blessing to me. If I can save $1 or $2 on my prescriptions, it will be well worth it. Thanks a lot for giving us a break. At least somebody seems to care.

Spirit of Christmas

I DO believe in the spirit of Christmas. Just after 8 a.m. this morning on a below-freezing day, I heard the doorbell ring. I wondered who could be. It was a wonderful man, Jerry Stoverink, a red-headed Santa. He wanted me to know that he had come with some lumber he had found in his warehouse and was going to build a new hand rail on the front of my house to make it safer for my special-needs son. I spoke with Jerry yesterday about some ideas for a new rail. I made it clear I couldn't afford much but wondered if he knew who might be reasonable to get the work done. I had just been on vacation for three days, and during that time my children were sick and everything went wrong. I almost gave up on anything good happening at this season. I want to give a heart-felt thank you to Jerry Stoverink for taking time out of his busy schedule and doing something for another person in need. He's a great asset to Jackson. Those who underestimate the spirit of Christmas are wrong. God will care for you during your time of need.

Foreign songs

I REALLY hate to be negative at the holiday season, but my wife and I attended a concert at Academic Hall by the orchestra and choral groups. We've been to several of these over the past several years and have seen some great performances. I have to say this one was one of the worst I've ever seen. The music was in a foreign language. You could never understand a word of anything the choral group sang. I'm not really sure the choir members knew what the words meant. The concert didn't have a good crowd to begin with, and I'm sure that was because of the basketball game on the same night, which was poor planning. I hope that whoever is responsible for picking out the program for next year will try to do something better. At least have songs that we can understand.

Good delivery

I LIVE in the 600 block of Georgia Street in Jackson, and we have a wonderful mail man. He's just about always on time. He does a good job.

Junk mail

I HAVE just come in from the mailbox, and I'm reminded that first-class postage is going up 2 cents. That's OK, but I wonder about the cost of all the junk mail I get every day.

Reverse report cards

I THINK schools should allow parents to fill out report cards on teachers and staff members. I think the school board and other parents would be surprised at what they find out.

Church science

A FEW centuries ago, a potato was known as the devil's plant, and church leaders taught their followers that it was a sin to eat one. Church teachings in some areas of science are just as backward today as they were back then. We cannot allow these people to control the path of scientific research.

Discounting trend

IT SEEMS to me that our county commissioners are taking notes from their fellow politicians in Washington. They want 20 percent of the drug store's free-enterprise money given back to the fine folks in Cape Girardeau County on prescriptions. If this -- redistributing income -- is the beginning of a trend locally, then next could be a grocery store discount card. Food is certainly a necessity just like medication. And don't forget the gas stations. We all need a discount card on this high-priced gas. What about the clothing stores? We all need clothes. This list could go on and on. I hope the commissioners don't forget their own businesses. There should certainly be discount cards there also.

Immigrant America

ON ILLEGAL immigration: 1. America has no borders anymore. Illegal immigrants are going to bring more crime, more virulent diseases and revolution here in increasing numbers for the rest of time. Setting limits would be racist, you see. 2. Tell the economists and politicians: build more jails, hospitals, schools -- mostly for people who don't speak English and who contribute little or nothing to state coffers. 3. California has to build a new public school every day of the year for the rest of time to accommodate immigrants. Whites are a minority there now, but there will be no affirmative action or United Caucasian College Fund for them. 4. South Carolina is going to be a California soon. Thousands of immigrants are specifically targeting that state upon burglarizing America's southern border. Anderson is going to be a suburb of Los Angeles. Goodbye, America.

Expert advice

I'M UNHAPPY with the new English program at Jackson Middle School. When my two older children were there a few years ago, they learned important skills and loved class, even my son who had hated reading. With them, seventh-graders at Jackson were way above the state average and the highest in our area. Now my third child is in the seventh grade and is bored to tears. I am disappointed in what I've seen coming home so far this year. I've talked with her teacher, and she said the curriculum has been drastically changed. I could go into detail, but much of what class time is spent on is not challenging at all. I was told this change came from administration. An administrator said that while the scores had been very high, the change was made for no reason other than some expert told them to. Has nobody there heard the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Other parents agree that with this change in curriculum their kids' skills are not as strong as their older brothers or sisters were. We have some of the best teachers in the state at the middle school. Please let them do their job in the same excellent manner they were doing before administrators or so-called experts interfered.

Limit the noise

WHY DO people think it is OK to start construction at 7:30 o'clock in the morning? I work two jobs, and another half-hour's sleep would be greatly appreciated. If prohibiting loud construction before 8 a.m. is not a city ordinance, it needs to be.

Don't judge

MY FAMILY receives Medicaid, and none of us has body piercings other than for normal earrings. I am married and have three children, and my husband is the only one working as I am in nursing school. Don't be so quick to judge. If you see us, you wouldn't even know we had Medicaid.

Napoleon and history

THE ONLY thing interesting about history was said by Napoleon when he surmised that history is a set of lies generally agreed on.