Speak Out 2/15/05

Professional services

I WOULD like to comment on the services rendered at Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center. The staff there and the professionalism shown to clients are unmatched in the health field. Maybe some of the doctors and nurses at other facilities need to observe and take notes.

Costs would go up

I'M SO tired of hearing the complaints about welfare for farmers. Even the farmers would rather lose the government control on U.S. agriculture and would freely give up any so-called subsidies that are referred to as welfare as long as the consumers are willing to start paying the price for what products are worth. Six dollars for a gallon of milk? That is what you would see in a free-market system.

Simple calculation

AT THE beginning of winter there was a flu-vaccine shortage. Despite dire predictions, we have had the mildest flu season in anyone's memory. When the vaccine supply got back to normal, doctors urged people to get a late shot just to be sure. Now we are having a late flu outbreak. How many times do you have to add up two and two to get four before you come to the logical conclusion?

No difference

REGARDING THE Black Panthers: Yes, times have changed. That's the point. There should not be more emphasis put on black leaders these days. If a leader from a so-called white group came to speak, it would be labeled as racist. There are not supposed to be differences in races anymore. So why are they still there?

More genocide

A BRIEF update on Gary Rust's good column on the Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s while the rest of the world stood by: The perpetrators of the genocide, radical elements of the Hutu tribe, have reassembled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are again slaughtering members of the Tutsi tribe. History also seems to be repeating itself in the sense that the U.N. Security Council (including the United States) are taking no steps which would allow for military action to eliminate the perpetrators. Another genocide seems more than likely.

Paying for pills

MEDICARE COVERS Viagra, but my birth control pills aren't covered by my insurance. I have to pay to be responsible while old guys get to have sex again for free.

They're no heroes

IN RESPONSE to Gary Rust's column, "No hero," I know a couple of guys similar to Bobby Seale who have a money-raising shtick with the sale of books, ads and other paraphernalia. Rush Limbaugh has a radio show. David Limbaugh has a newspaper column. They demean and insult people who don't agree with them. They have made millions. They are no heroes.

Interstate pothole

WE'RE IN terrible need of the highway department to fix a major hole on Interstate 55 on the southbound side just before the Scott City exit. There's a hole that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. It's tearing up vehicles.

What were you thinking?

I WANT everybody to think about what they voted for when they voted for President Bush. He's got us in the war. Now he's going to attack the Social Security system. Everyone says Social Security seems to be OK except President Bush. We have four more years of rough times ahead of us. I hope at the end of four years the voters will wake up. President Bush has done nothing for us but cause us trouble. For those of you who voted for President Bush, you're about to eat your words.

Restrictions too tight

WE'RE GETTING like China. How can anyone say eight animals in a house is too many when homo sapiens are animals?

It's not welfare

PEOPLE WHO complain about farmers have never had any experience on a farm. I don't consider the help the government gives the farmers to be welfare. Most people don't realize how much it costs to put out a crop. You have to have the machinery, fields, seed and fertilizer. You put in all your money and time, and if you have a drought or bad weather, who suffers? The farmers. The farmers have no income then. Who helps put the food on your table? Farmers need help. Farmers are not getting welfare.

Raise the cap

I THINK the $90,000 income cap on Social Security taxes is too low. I think a $200,000 cap would be better. Look at the fancy homes going up around Jackson and Cape Girardeau. So certainly a cap of $200,000 would be good. I hope our federal legislators are listening.

You have the power

I'M CALLING about all the people complaining about the cuts in the First Steps program. Why do people think the government has to carry the load all the time? Can't people learn to help themselves? Get some training and work with your child. Help them reach their potential. You have the power. I have a sister who is developmentally disabled. When I was growing up, our family helped her to walk, talk and socialize. We want our children to reach their fullest potential. Educate yourself. You have the power.

It's our money

THE MILLIONS of jobs exported to places like China, India and the Philippines pay nothing into our Social Security fund. Why shouldn't these industries be required to pay a surtax on each worker into this fund? Instead, we do nothing but aid the industries with tax breaks. The poor in the United States must find it heartwarming to see us pour money into foreign nations. Those who look down on the poor as freeloaders are casting their gaze the wrong way. If you look up, the extremely wealthy received huge tax breaks from President Bush and, through the use of loopholes, many of these paid little or no tax.

Friendly helpers

TO THE guys working at the Cape Girardeau recycling center, we say thanks. Every time we've been there, you have helped us unload, have been so friendly and have made the day a little better for us. Our hats are off to you.

Stop the plush pensions

THANK YOU, state Sen. Jason Crowell, for looking inward for budget cuts and having the guts to stand up and expose the extra retirement of some state employees. I hope lots of people write their state legislators to encourage this practice to stop.

Cause for celebration

MARTIN LUTHER King, Jr. was an all-inclusive integrationist. Confederate sympathizing segregationists and modern-day secessionists are exclusivist separationists. The former deserves celebration. The latter deserve condemnation.